Welcome to The Rachel Kurzyp Show.

I’m excited to talk about all things Reels with you today.

It’s a well-known fact that I’m not a fan of jumping on the latest marketing trends or adding new channels to my content strategy if I don’t think it will serve my business.

I resisted Reels for the first few months because I didn’t see the need to incorporate more video, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to show up in this way, and the content I saw being produced was lacking substance, creativity and relevance in my humble opinion.

Pointing and dancing have their place but I don’t believe they should replace stand-out content, go back and listen to episode 36 to learn more about what it takes to create content that has your dream clients lining up to work with you.

So if you’re interested in incorporating video, namely Reels, into your content marketing strategy, then this episode is for you.

I’m going to share how I’ve been using Reels in my business and how I have made this new feature work for me.

My hope is that by sharing my insights and strategy, it will give you some ideas of how you can use Reels and prompt you to do some strategy work (because I’m sneaky like that!).

So you can see what I mean in action, I’m going to talk through one particular Reel that at the time of recording this has nearly 10k views. I’ll leave a link to it in the show notes too so you can check it out.

So let’s talk strategy first up. I recorded this Reel back in May when Victoria, Australia went into its 4th lockdown due to a Delta strain outbreak. I had finally just started getting my energy and creativity back after taking a social media break in April and I was determined not to lose it.

So I came up with the idea to host a 5-day lockdown content challenge that would support my community to continue showing up, creating content and inviting people to work with them – why, well I know from experience the power of content marketing. It’s opened many doors in my business and allowed me to be financially secure. And it’s done the same for all my clients.

I decided to do a Reel for the first challenge because…

1. People’s attention was at an all-time low and video is great for capturing and holding people’s attention.
2. The creative direction was best supported by video. I’ll explain more in a minute.
3. I wanted to get in front of new people who may be looking for marketing and content support going into another lockdown. Instagram is supporting video content so I knew it would be well received on the app and had the potential to be shared with more people.
4. The challenge also supported my launch strategy for my 6-week course Create Content with Confidence by allowing me to show up and serve my community. This is why my call-to-action focused on having my community tag me in their content so I could engage with it and share their results on my feed.

Let’s look at positioning.

I wanted to use the lockdown content challenge to position myself as a content and marketing coach for creatives and multi-passionate small business owners.

And while I’ve been told that my BS-free and fun approach to content creation comes through in my writing, I wanted to show this visually.

Using a Reel made sense because…

1. I could show my face and my dream clients could get a real sense of me as a person. Over 60% of communication is conveyed through body language which explains why face-to-face and real-time video still trumps most forms of online communication.
2. I wanted people in my community to feel a sense of joy, ease and connection which was the opposite of how people were feeling and the general conversations happening at the time. Especially around their sales, content and marketing. People were rolling their eyes at $27 guides that promise to have 365 days of content written for you. So I positioned myself and my challenge as the opposite of this.

Now let’s look at the creative.

Coming up with ideas or the creative elements of content, in this case, Reels, is so much easier when it’s backed by strategy.

I decided to do a video demonstrating the first challenge which was focused on helping my community repurpose its content. The video focused on how easy it is to copy and paste content on Instagram while the text focused on how to overcome mindsets that my dream clients have about repurposing and reposting content – mostly that their audience would know and judge them for it.

Using a Reel allowed me to:

• Use trending music that acts like a Hashtag or Thread on other platforms. As soon as you hear certain songs you know what the content will be about allowing you to build an instant connection with the audience.
• I was able to play around with novelty and timeliness and proximity – which are news values (a throwback to my journo days but still very relevant here) I wore PJs and a dressing gown to visually represent where my community was at both mentally and physically.
• I was able to demonstrate how they could repurpose their content quickly and effectively. Written instructions can be hard to follow even for the simplest things which is why showing your dream clients the process step by step can increase the likelihood of them completing it.
• I was able to express my personality and give people a sneak peek at my house and this supported me to build the know, like and trust factor. I was just like them, stuck in lockdown feeling all the feels but I was still choosing to take actions that support my business.

So what were the results of this hard work?

I gained more followers, people subscribed to my email and dream clients bought my product The Copy Advantage because they saw me as an expert in this space. I was also able to engage with my community and continue to build 1:1 relationships and because of this I now have feedback and testimonials that I can use in my sales copy.

The title of this podcast episode is a little cheeky because 10k views probably wouldn’t count as viral for many people BUT viral is irrelevant if you’re not becoming known for the right thing and you don’t have a way to move your followers from your Reel and into your community. It’s so easy to get hung up on vanity metrics especially when platforms or features are new.

Don’t be fooled by business owners who tell you that you have to use a platform OR share certain types of content (say no to pointing and hair flips if it’s not your thing) OR that views equal sales. It’s just not true. You can go viral in your community by creating content that feels authentic to you because showing up as your true self in that power is what is going to have your dream clients lining up to work with you.
And if you’re still unsure about what your business stands for and how you want to position yourself online, I’ve got you covered too.

I’d love to invite you to join me for my FREE live masterclass How to Create Stand-Out Content.

Over 60-minutes, I’ll share with you my signature 3-step method for creating authentic content consistently and building a memorable brand online.

You’ll leave with a greater understanding of:

1. How to create content that has your dream clients saying “WOW, she’s speaking to me.”
2. Cringe-free ways you can show your expertise and authority that aren’t #humblebrags
3. How your brand can stand for something by sharing your personality, values, mission and vision
4. Simple ways to build deep and genuine relationships with your followers that allow you to be of service

Head to rachelkurzyp.com.au/contentmasterclass to save your seat.

I can’t wait to answer all your content marketing questions live.

Thanks so much for tuning into today’s episode.

If you’ve found what I’ve shared valuable please leave a review and hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss when a new episode drops every Wednesday.