Navigating Content Creation When Everything Feels Overwhelming

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:05]:
I am your host, Shannon McKinstrie. Welcome to Good Content, the podcast where I remove the never ending content creation guesswork and overwhelm so that you can actually enjoy being on social media again and growing your business with what has always worked. Good content. All right, there's a lot going on in the world right now. We know that, right? And especially if you're here in the states, and I live in North Carolina. My podcast manager is actually from the Asheville area. So obviously the last few weeks have been heavy on my heart and everyone's and just other, you know, there's stuff going on everywhere now. You know, another hurricane is coming toward Florida right now.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:43]:
Feels a little hard to just kind of create some fun content, right? If you're like me. With that said, on top of what's going on, all the stores are full of Christmas stuff right now, right? Today for me is October 8, and it is like Christmas everywhere. Christmas commercials already today show I was watching this morning and they were like, you know, these are the toys and things to get now because they're going to be gone. I'm like, what on earth? So just know if you're overwhelmed by everything you see in the feed and all the doom and gloom and holiday talk, and we're stressed, too. Your audience is stressed, too. So I've said it a million times, one of the best ways to create good content is to not add to people's overwhelm and make them feel capable of one little thing that's going to help them make their day easier or puts a smile on their face or something that they can share with someone to make them feel good. Right? We all want to. At the end of the day, we truly do want to help people.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:35]:
And just seeing the outpouring of, you know, everyone sharing everywhere to donate and everyone just hopping on social media to try to help, it's just been really, really cool. So it was just a really, it's been a really good reminder that there are still so many good people in the world. And if you're listening to this podcast, I know you're creating for good and you're here to serve because that's who my people are, right? I don't give a bunch of, like, unethical tips to grow. I'm, you know, I. I would say, like, I could have a whole lot more followers if I did, like, unethical marketing. But I have made my mission to just create really good content that my people need and want to see. And if that comes with people following me, awesome. Obviously, I want my content to get to the most amount of people to help them, but not just for the follower growth.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:17]:
Right. But obviously we're running businesses. Obviously we want to optimize our time on social media. So I am here to help you get followers. But I just want to say that, like, oftentimes I tell people when they're stressed, I'm like, how about just don't worry about how many people this reaches, and if it helps one person, that's dope. Like, that's really cool. So with that said, right now everyone's overwhelmed. So I think right now is a good time to really kind of have a come to Jesus type of talk.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:40]:
And if you're worried about your numbers, just know there's a lot going on right now. And the content, again, doing really well is obviously the funny relatable because we're looking for an escape when we get on Instagram. Let's be real. We're probably sitting at a stoplight, sitting on the toilet. It's like we just kind of want something to make us giggle, something fun to share with our friends, or a really cool, quick, easy, instant gratification thing that we can go and, you know, we can learn. Right? We don't want a masterclass. We just want something easy. So I want you to really think about your person right now.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:08]:
What are they stressed over? Why are they stressed over that? What's holding them back? Is it money? Is it time? But again, I want you to remember, like, it's not. That's surface level. Oh, I don't have time. Oh, I don't have enough money. Right. And then the same with their pain point. Oh, I want to lose weight. Oh, I want to make more money.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:27]:
Oh, I want a cute outfit. Right? That's surface level. Why do they want the cute outfit? Why do they want to lose weight? Why do they want to make more money? That's where your messaging comes very, very clear. So right now, you really want to make sure that your content is speaking directly to them because there's a lot of noise and there's a lot of overwhelm. So I want you to make sure your content is like, hi, this is what I do. I know this is your problem, and I am here to help you. And this account is for you. Right.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:53]:
So with that said, I want you to think about something with the holidays coming up. What is something that you can help them with with the holidays? Okay. It's all about relevance, right? So right now, we know they're stressed. We know they're overwhelmed. And maybe some of your people are displaced. Maybe some of the content you were sharing might not exactly work this week. Maybe it'll work again in a couple months or a week. Right now, maybe they are just like, Shannon, please tell me something cool to buy for my kids.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:18]:
Please tell me something that's on sale that will help me, please. Right? It sounds, what's the word? Almost tone deaf, me even saying it. Right? But, like, I want to encourage you still, if you feel sick to your stomach over everything, you're like, I physically can't create content right now. I don't feel right doing it. That's okay. Your people will understand. You can even put a post on stories, put a post on your grid and say, taking a little bit of a week break. I'll be back.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:41]:
If you need anything, here's my website, okay? If you want to continue content like I do, because I know my people still need me. And honestly, content for me is an outlet. It is an outlet to help me put my brain at rest. I know that price sounds crazy to some of you, but it does. Like, this is what I love doing. So for me, I'm going to keep showing up and things like that. So, with that said, I'm going to share a few reels that I've saved over the past week that you can now pivot to you if you still want to post right now, if it feels heavy to you, of course, like, take a break. Right? So this is what's going viral right now.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:09]:
Here's one says, when you want cookie crisp cereal, but don't want all the carbs and sugar, I mean, let's be real. We all grew up with cookie crisp. If you're a millennial, um, or even it's been around for even longer way before then. So hopefully, you know, the amazingness of that. This is Sarah's fit food, and it has over 11,000 likes. Let's see how many views. 700,000 views. So really, really good.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:33]:
Again, not everyone has low reach right now. We got to stop saying that. Oh, my reach. Is that everyone's reach? Is that. No, it's not. This stuff isn't. Again, we're overwhelmed. This just goes, hey, you want this? The recipes in the caption.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:45]:
Boom. But brilliant wording when you want cookie crisp cereal. What's brilliant about that? If you've been listening, you know, it's something we can attach to. We are familiar with cookie crisp cereal. We are familiar with target. We are familiar with hocus pocus. We are right. So think of the relevance right now.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:04]:
Like Halloween fall. Right. We're familiar with certain movies that are coming up in the holidays. If you have an Airbnb and it feels like the holiday. Talk about that. We know the holiday. We know the feeling of that movie. Say that POV, you find a cozy cabin and blah, blah, blah, and it feels like you're stepping into the holiday with Kate Winslet.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:20]:
Right. Use things that people can already attach to so they don't know you, but they know cookie crisp. And they also know they need to cut down on carbs and sugar. She didn't just say when you want cookie crisp cereal but are being healthy. No, that's boring. We don't want to be healthy. We want to eat yummy food and be skinny. Right.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:38]:
So when you want cookie crisp cereal but don't want all the carbs and sugar. Brilliant. And then all the video does is show her making it. That's it. All right. So what can you do with that? What is it you sell? If you sell a product that gives us a dopamine hit, whether it's a fun recipe, whether it's a fun outfit, whether it's a cool plant, a piece of art when you want blank but don't want blank, what is it they don't want? They don't want to spend a fortune. They are on a Walmart budget. Right.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:01]:
Think about those things. Those are the things you got to remember. But remember, if you guys want to stand out on Instagram right now or TikTok or anything good content is calling your people out with words they can attach to. All right, next one. Another one that went viral. Also, I've said voiceovers and talk to camera videos are going bananas. This one's a voiceover and I'll just let it play for a moment. Ever wonder when to use cafe curtains versus regular curtains? They're perfect for scenarios like this, where you want privacy from the street, but you don't want to sacrifice on the natural life.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:29]:
And she does a voiceover showing the difference between regular curtains and cafe curtains and when to use them and when to not. But she's demoing. Right? So again, 26,000 likes. I'm sure it's something she thinks everyone knew. And she goes on to say, you want to use cafe curtains when it's a window, you're just trying to block the street. You're not trying to block the light. So think of something that is helpful to them that you think they already know. Think of something that is just easy, like here's this fun recipe I made of cookie crisp.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:52]:
Okay. And oh, my gosh, the way I love this one, y'all. This one is by a Dallas blogger, and she's spraying perfume on her ankle. And that's it. It's a four second reel, and it says, this is the most dangerous place to spray your perfume. Kind of funny, a little risque, right? But what's so fun is she's demoing it, so it sparks that curiosity. So, again, now that I've broken down those three, I want to break down why they catch people's attention so fast, not just the words. Okay, so we've got a blogger showing where to put the perfume, the interior designer showing the difference between cafe curtains and regular, and a food blogger showing how she makes a really yummy, delicious cereal, but without the carbs and sugar, they're, all three are demoing something.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:37]:
So they have a visual hook and they have the written hook. And that is essential for right now. I believe that's one of my main takeaways from observing these. So for me, one of my visual hooks. Now, I do my whiteboard over here, and I make sure that I've got a pen, and then I'm, like, going like this, and I'm, like, pointing. That's a visual hook. It's going, hey, look here. A visual hook is like putting on your lipstick, pouring a cup of coffee.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:01]:
So if you are doing a b roll with text overlay and it's boring, b roll. Be doing something. Open your laptop, start typing, put on lipstick, brush your hair, put your seatbelt on. It's a visual hook. So with that said, those are three reels from three different industries that can help each and every one of you. I don't care what you do, what you sell. These will help. All right.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:21]:
Visual hook. And call out what they want to know. These people need to cut sugar and carbs, but they love cereal. She made it unique, these people, for the interior designers, they just want a cool way to make their house look pretty. She showed exactly how to do it and demo it. This creator with the perfume is literally just sitting at the edge of her bathtub, spraying perfume on her ankle. 250,000 likes, 11 million views. And guess what? A couple weeks later, she did it again and got 6 million views.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:50]:
It's not that deep. Okay, so again, we are overwhelmed. What is this? Easy trick hack. Recipe. Perfume placement, bronzer placement, paint color. Something easy. You guys, you do not need to save the world with every post. We are all trying to save the world.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:09]:
Every day with our brains panicking over all the things happening. We are on Instagram because we want a simple thing that will just make our day a little bit brighter. It's all heavy. If you create content that's not around, you know, the heaviness. It's okay. I get it. I feel the same. Um, it feels almost not right.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:28]:
And if it doesn't feel right, don't post. So over the weekend, I didn't post. Cause I felt really like, ugh. Did a post with some local NC creatives of that I know. And we did a post about where to donate. Took a couple days off, and now I'm like, I'm ready to go. You know what? My people still need. Still need me.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:43]:
And I felt good to create content again. So, again, when that happens and you feel heavy, do what feels right to you. You don't have to follow all the rules. Okay. So anyway, I just want to reassure you, there's a lot going viral, there's a lot going crazy doing so well. Do what feels good to you, but know your people and give them something really small. And again, those are all helpful. Those are all under the helpful category.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:05]:
But I know that you've got so many helpful ideas and tips in your brain that you haven't shared, and that's your sign to do it. Do it just like those. They'll be in the show notes. I love you, friend. I got to go to Indy. I will have a ton to share with you next week about what's working. And, you know, all this stuff. I cannot wait.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:18]:
And I love you, friend. I hope you have a wonderful day. What.