Executive Edge: Effective Strategies for Content Creation For Executives
If you are still in camp ‘content creation is just for influencers’, then this week’s episode / blog is for you because I will share with you not only the lesser known reasons why content creation should be on your agenda, no matter which role, industry or professional you are in and also share my workflow how to make it part of my routine rather than a separate task.
I’ll be honest to say that I’ve considered more than I could ever count in my life to stop this podcast, cut back on content for LinkedIn and develop new masterclasses but yet - here we are … 150+ episodes later on my not first but 3rd podcast so I’ve been creating content on steroids for more than 8 years now and especially putting together this episode, made me realise that I won’t stop anytime soon because of more reasons than just the obvious ones which I will discuss in a second.
Creating content isn't just about building a following or boosting engagement; it's about so much more.
It's about establishing credibility, building relationships, and staying top of mind in your industry. I’m sure you heard those benefits plenty of times so I thought I share with you my initial motivation for it but one that has stuck with me:
One of the key reasons is personal development in 2 ways: learning new insights as well as practising communication skills. When you create content, whether it's writing articles, recording podcasts, or producing videos, you're forced to articulate your thoughts and ideas clearly.
This process of making complex concepts easy to understand makes you think of different ways how you can communicate the same idea to different audiences and platforms. I don’t know about you but for me - when I learn something new, my thoughts are usually quite scattered around how I talk about the topic and the language that I use is quite unpolished and bumpy.
It’s simply because I haven’t developed a deep understanding of this subject just yet - the more you dig deeper and understand the context to the content, the easier it is for you to add your own flavour, make your communication more unique and authentic by using your own stories and experiences and also by being able to get your message across through visual representations of the concept (like frameworks, charts, diagrams etc) as well as through using metaphors, similes and analogies.
If you’ve seen Ted Lasso you’d know exactly what I’m talking about in this context. He literally had a catchy phrase for every situation. Some of my favorites were: “There’s more pointing fingers than giving direction” or ‘You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It's a goldfish. You know why? Got a 10-second memory” or “Remember, there's two kinds of coaches: them that's humble and them that's about to be." I’m usually not one to remember a lot which is why I always take notes but even then, I forget a lot.
This is why I ‘force’ myself to go back to my notes and do something with those little gold nuggets. May it be to include it in a masterclass ppt, to create content for myself or for my clients or in keynotes. If you don’t have a reason to remember and/or a system to use new learnings, you forget and that means, the time spent on listening or watching anything is a waste of time.
My mother language is German and I avoid speaking or writing it as much as I can. Let me tell you - I forgot most of it already so I can speak from experience that - without practicing a new skill, whatever it may be, you will forget.
That’s one of the motivators - to practice newly learned skills or insights but the other reason is to sharpen your own communication style. Doing these weekly episodes for example have forced me to come up with a system and a structure to it so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel every week but also give myself an opportunity to talk about a topic that’s relevant to my authority positioning and the audience I want to target and that also helps in sales conversations, when I prepare for keynotes or when I’m in board meetings.
Consistency is key when it comes to content creation.
By regularly producing content, you not only refine your messaging but also hone your delivery. You learn to articulate your thoughts more clearly, concisely, and persuasively. Plus, you become more comfortable expressing yourself in various formats, whether it's through writing, speaking, or visual media.
And let's not forget about the feedback loop that content creation provides. When you put your ideas out into the world, you invite feedback, criticism, and engagement from your audience. This feedback is invaluable for refining your communication style and ensuring that your message resonates with your intended audience.
Another important reason (and one that I think is more known) is networking and relationship building.
By sharing valuable insights and expertise through your content, you're not only adding value to your audience but also positioning yourself as a thought leader in your field.
This can lead to new opportunities, collaborations, and connections that you may not have otherwise had access to. However, the reason why isn’t always discussed which is why I want to discuss it as it also influenced my own way of content creation and the journey my audience is going through. Google found out the decision makers (aka consumers) follow the 7-11-4 rule and especially for high ticket investments, people are doing more research, and needing more affirmation that you are the right choice over someone else.
I was giggling the other day when someone who I connected with on LinkedIn and who runs a training and executive coaching consultancy and has enquired to work with me via a few LinkedIn messages and said all of my posts have resonated with him but also put a break on because he wants to go through all of my YouTube and podcast content before he wants to arrange a call.
And that’s absolutely fine - I do the same thing but on the contrary, I also checked out his online footprint and guess what? Not a single thing to find besides a very generic LinkedIn page and a static website. So he expects people he considers working with to have all the content laid out there before he can move further in his decision making journey but then doesn’t give his potential clients or staff an opportunity to get familiar with his thinking, work and approach.
Anyway - I stop with the rant but I thought it was funny that it came from someone very senior and definitely proves the point that high ticket investments take more touch points before people comfortably make a decision. And that shouldn’t come as a surprise also to you given we live in a trust recession where everyone claims to be the best, the first, the fastest, the [you name it] and more often than not, the disappointment of them not being able to deliver on their promise follows.
Content can do the heavy lifting for you when you let people get to know your approach, your framework, your actual work you’ve done so there isn’t any convincing going on because the prospect already did their homework.
It’s more a confirmation that you and your personality resonates with the person just as much.
But I get it; finding the time and motivation to create content can be challenging, especially when you're busy with your day job or running a business. And for most of us, content creation isn’t necessarily a part of our role. It just helps to be more effective and productive in our respective fields as well as helps with future opportunities.
That's why I want to share my workflow for making content creation a seamless part of your routine. I’m sure you have heard of Gary V’s ‘documenting over creation’ approach which basically means he shares what he’s doing, what he’s thinking and what he’s learning at that moment. Now whilst it is a great idea and I agree with him to a certain extend - most of us don’t have a 30+ people team following us around with cameras, turn it into snippets and share it all over social.
Also- when you go from one meeting to the next, prepare one document after the next and have to make so many decisions, there is only so much mental capacity left to come up with a witty, insightful and catchy caption.
This is why I’m a big fan of batch creating because it avoids context switching and doing any tasks in batches, may it be the full day or for a dedicated period of time, helps you to stay in the zone and be quicker in the execution of the tasks.
This is why it’s a well-known productivity method and I absolutely swear by it. It also helps when you have busy periods coming up or the opposite - when you are away. I’m creating this content in April but it’s not going to be released until June / July because I’m going to Europe for a month and won’t have the time, nor the mental capacity to think too much about content. However, I can easily smash out 6-8 episodes in a day, record it in the morning of another day and then schedule everything.
So in order for you to make this approach work, here is my recommended workflow:
Set up systems where you can save content and can edit and access it easily.
So I have 3 ways of saving content which I also coined the 3-O’s: ON the platform (like LinkedIn or Instagram where you can save posts or articles, ON-the-go is capturing any insights, quotes or ideas I have when I’m out and about, listening to a podcast episode or an audio book or simply capture a conversation that sparked a new idea. And lastly - it’s ON demand so this is more long-form content like reports, research or anything that requires a little more time. I have an email folder where I save it and also a few folders on my Google drive that i can refer back to.
Schedule content creation time in your schedule and put it in your calendar.
If you’re anything like me then you know that - if it’s not in the calendar, it doesn’t happen’. For me, Sunday is the day where I create most of my content, simply because it’s quiet, there are little to no disruptions and I seem to create quicker because I can fully dive into that with no other agenda.
Monthly topics and content themes.
Since I’m a very process and systems driven person, I allocate topics to the month that I’m then thinking of in which ways I can talk about the topic and also who I can bring on as a guest. Most of my podcast guests are my coaching clients because I know they have a lot of value to share and we also use their insights to repurpose and create content for them but we also bring in external guests on topics that I know are of interest for you but I don’t necessarily have anyone in my network (yet anyway). And the topics come back to the content pillars that you'd define in your branding strategy - meaning: which topics are most relevant and aligned to your authority positioning and audience so you can stay on brand without getting boring. My content pillars are: Personal and Authority Branding and Building obviously, Executive Coaching and Presence, Communication and Influence as well as Content and Connection Building.
Be smarter with content rather than working harder.
Then I create one long-form post a week which is this very episode and the easiest for me to produce since I’m a better and quicker writer than speaker but I then record this script for the podcast and repurpose it into different content assets. Mondays are for connection content so I share some universal graphs, visuals etc and ease people into the new week. On Tuesdays I always do a 1-min short video on the topic, Wednesday is my carousel and promo day of the episode, Thursday I promote my services, Friday is a personal post and Sunday is my newsletter (which again, is a repurposed version of the long form content where I also link the 1-min video to it.
I basically think of different ways to resonate with different types of learners without reinventing the wheel but maximising the touchpoints. It also takes people a few times to even grasp the message and point in case- my to date best performing post on Linkedin tanked for the first 6x or so times I posted it over the years and now it has over 150,000 views, 750+ likes and a ton of comments and still generates leads because I have a call to action button in there.
Reuse and repurpose - as often and in many ways possible.
And that brings me to my final point - don't be afraid to repurpose and recycle your content. I use a scheduling tool for all of my content so I can access the posts and formats easily and can schedule them again for the future. I think posting nilly vanilli and out of the blue is where things fall through the cracks because there is no way you can capture and also analyse how well this piece of content performed.
So, if you're still skeptical about content creation, I encourage you to give it a try.
It's not just for influencers; it's a powerful tool that can help you grow personally and professionally, build relationships, and achieve your goals. Stay tuned as we dive deeper into this topic and explore practical tips and strategies for getting started with content creation.
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