Content trends and time-saving tools: Showing up in 2023

Showing up consistently is crucial to getting clients online. The more you show up, the more people will find out about you and the services that you offer. The more your content resonates and inspires, the more leads and clients you’re likely to get.

But it can feel frustrating when the rules seem to change constantly.

If you’re already putting a tonne of effort into your online content and you’re not seeing any growth in audience or lead flow it’s disheartening. So how can you get the attention of your ideal clients when the online space feels noisy and already over-crowded?

Here are some tips to speed up production, increase quality, and actually get the meaningful attention you need in your business.

Personalize your content

Everything you create is for your ideal client. The more you know about their specific needs and interests, the better. When you create for them the more interested they’ll be in you as a service provider.

  • Understand what they need from you.
  • Understand their online behaviors and where they spend time online.
  • Understand the language they use.
  • Understand what is habit-forming and what they want more of and base your content strategy on that.

Sure, it’s important to know what works in the algorithms and search engines, but at the end of the day, it’s about the people, not the robots.

Use interactive content

Your content gets really impactful when it transfers from the screen into their world! Aim to create memorable experiences with your content.

  • Can you share an exercise or activity that can be useful or fun for them?
  • Can you create a quiz or training that helps them to understand what a specific concept means for them?
  • Can you get them to take a specific action that takes your advice or compassion into their day?

This all gets easier when you really understand who you’re talking to. (See point 1 above!!)

Video content

If you use Instagram to grow an audience for your business you might have heard a lot of controversial hoopla about the potential TikTok ban in the US. This has already impacted how people use TikTok and in turn how Instagram distributes reels. (Reels: Short-form video content) Reels used to have incredible, almost immediate reach, but that’s gone waaaaay down.

Again. My point here is about the people and not the robots. The reach is down at the moment, specifically for reels and specifically on Instagram, but jumping through social media hoops is a flippin’ endless game. Creating for the flighty algorithms is not my recommendation here. Short-form video content is a great way for people to ‘meet’ you, whether it’s on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube or any other platform.

  • Share a quick nugget of wisdom and support it with text and image posts.
  • Share a quick fun, relatable video that lets people get to know you.
  • Create long-form video content to go deeper on a subject and provide oodles of value.
  • Do a live stream or event to get people ‘in the room’ with you.

Don’t give up on video just because there’s an algorithm change. It’s still a really powerful way to get known by your audience. When your intention is to offer value and build connection, it’s time well spent.

Voice search

Do you Google things differently these days? There has been a humungous increase in how people use search.

71% of people now prefer to conduct their queries using voice instead of typing.

(Statistic from OBERLO)

And now that the tech has caught up, there’s no going back. (Google used to come up with the most hilarious interpretation of my Irish accent a couple of years back!)

What this actually means for your content (especially for webpages and articles) is that you need to use more natural language. This makes it more important than ever to understand the words that your ideal client uses and how they ask questions.

Core values

Do you share a similar set of core values with your ideal clients? Do you have a shared worldview?

Writing this paragraph has opened up a thousand thoughts in my mind.

  • How cancel culture is ever-looming.
  • How there are people out there that I do and don’t agree with and how important it is to be open to other points of view.
  • How debate and empathy for people who have a wholly different experience of the world is essential no matter what you’re doing online.

I deeply dislike the term “like-minded individuals” as it has an aftertaste of exclusion.

For fear of getting too ‘meta’ here. This paragraph about values, reveals mine. I’m keen on inclusion, and I know it’s a life-long exercise.

In saying that. In my own content, I try to get behind and show support for the causes I believe in while remaining conscious of my privilege. The key ingredient here is authenticity, an over-used word I know, but for good reason.

I’ll write more about this another time but ultimately, I feel it’s important to use your voice, to speak up and not show up in a way that goes against your better instincts, just to get a few more likes or subscribers.

In your content you can do your part, but not as a lead generation trick, rather to lead by example and show your humanity. The point here isn’t directly ‘to get clients’ but to show up with an actual voice with an actual opinion rather than just churning out tips and tricks like a robot.

Speaking of robots…

AI and templates

Artificial intelligence (or “AI” tools like ChatGPT) can speed up production for a busy business owner. AI and editing tools like Canva make it easier than ever to create high-quality content consistently.

While tools and technology are really valuable in content creation, it’s important to remember that the ultimate goal is to connect with human beings! No matter how advanced the production tools may be, it’s the human touch that is going to make the content engaging, inspiring, and relatable, especially now that people are using AI to create massive volumes of content, without taking time to personalize it.

Putting yourself in the content makes the real difference in building those connections and creating a loyal following of great-fit clients.

Here’s a way to use AI to get more content out there without turning into a bot!

  • Use chatGPT to flesh out your content, create templates, brainstorm, and iterate.
  • ALWAYS FACT-CHECK OFF THE PLATFORM. ChatGPT is notorious for false info. It’s better to use it as a starting point rather than an end-to-end production tool.
  • Take the content created by the AI and put your voice in it.
  • Take your content to Canva and create the visuals that match your brand. When I work on Content with my clients, we create templates and brand kits that make content creation 10 times faster!
  • Batch create to save time.

In 2023 it’s better to embrace tech’ and templates for greater volume and higher quality, but human connection is still the part that makes all the difference in building a loyal following of great-fit clients. Trends are important to be aware of, but the people you want to reach are the most important part.

If you want to show up online in a way that increases your lead flow, book in for a free strategy call with me here 🙂