Working with a professional photographer can be a considerable asset to your brand. It's essential to find one that matches the style and vibe of business. Be mindful that not all photographers are commercial photographers or content creators. Variety.Communicating with your photographer about where the images will be used on social media will help them use the correct orientation. An IG story will need to be vertical, but a Twitter cover photo should be shot in a wide landscape format. If you don't know where the image will end up, let them know you need various options. Framing.We could get very technical here, but for the sake of keeping it straightforward and informative, let's run down the key terms. Framing refers to what is in frame or what you will see in the final image. When planning shots, it's best to refer to them as follows:
Intention.Not all social media content is smiley. Let your photographer know how these images are being used. If it's for a blog about mental health awareness, you likely don't need an enormous grin on your subject. Make a shot list before the filming date and record all the shots you hope to achieve. Use basic descriptions to minimize confusion. For example: 3-4 full and medium shot photos of a man looking concerned (header image for the blog). Trust.During your photo shoot, you should trust your photographer. Standing over their shoulder, asking to see each shot over and over, or giving excessive direction is going to kill the creative process quickly. The time to plan is before the filming. Once you are on location, you need to give some freedom to the photographer. If you can't trust them, don't hire them. Clarity.Explaining artistic concepts can be tricky. Your definition of specific terms may not be the same as your photographer. Visual references are always helpful, like creating a Pinterest board. You can also reference other IG accounts and websites that inspire you. With a little bit of research and some simple planning, you can be sure to create a strategy that will keep your project on track. Then you can enjoy the filming process more while the professionals do the work.
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Everyone says video is the answer to everything, am I right? On social media, it has to be one of the most recommended formats. It performs better, it can convey emotion easily, and it builds trust. So here is why I wouldn't say I like it. It's super hard.The thing with speaking on video is that it's a learned skill, so it's not something that comes naturally to anyone. Like public speaking, there is a real art to it. You have to understand your intonation, control your breathing and know how your body posture is reading on camera. For many people, the idea of being on video causes a lot of anxiety. So much so that even with preparation, they buckle once the recording starts. It takes planning.Showing up for filming without a plan is the perfect way to set yourself up for failure. Thankfully you run the same odds of messing it up by over-preparing. Getting hung up on the perfect script can backfire if the nerves sneak up on you. With your shoulders creeping up to your ears and your tongue in knots, creating video content is never boring! Putting yourself out there.Believe it or not, very few people love putting their faces out there for the world to see. Gone are the days of drawing male genitals on your favourite realtor on a bus bench and welcome to the world of internet trolls. The fear of being judged or experiencing negativity can be very intimidating. We need to remind ourselves the reward is much greater than the risk. It's non-negotiable.Video is the best way to connect with your customers on social media. Be smart about it. Mix it up with other static posts that support similar content objectives. Video doesn't have to do all the work. Develop concrete strategies before you film. You won't get a better idea once the camera starts. Seriously. Most importantly, get some sleep, eat a good meal, drink some water, and keep your head in a positive mental space. If filming late in the day is going to give you too much time to build anxiety, suggest a time in the morning. Give yourself the best chance to succeed by allowing yourself the time to breathe and come in relaxed. You are fantastic and believe me when I say you are going to do awesome.
It's time to hit the beach (safely) and enjoy the sun with your closest friends. Enjoying your summer 6 feet apart from your besties is going to be super hard if you can't get a handle on your social media. So let's talk about the dreaded content calendar! What is a content calendar?There are many ways to put together a schedule of your content, and depending on your industry, you may be able to create content as far as two months in advance. Now, this isn't a set it and forget it, because even the best plan still sometimes changes overnight, remember COVID? Right. So the goal here is to create the best monthly strategy and then nurture it every week. Three kinds of content to schedule.Complete posts can be fully scheduled, including copywriting, graphics and photo/video. These posts should be considered evergreen content, meaning they are not date specific and would make sense anytime. Creating campaigns is a great way to use this method because you can ensure you will be discussing all of your content pillars. Partial posts typically are just photo/video content plotted into a scheduler every month (without using autopost) and leave you the freedom to do your copywriting weekly or daily. This method gives you more spontaneity while still making sure you are hitting your frequency goals. Make sure to be batch shooting your images and creating a bank of visuals for anything you intend to schedule. Live content. Yes, you can plan your live content, and you absolutely should. Just because you record it live doesn't mean you can't anticipate it or even create a weekly series. Mark it in your calendar so you can build your fully scheduled posts on other days. But what am I going to say?Since we know you are basically in your bikini already, let's not complicate this. Choose your content pillars or focuses. Over a month, you might need 3 or 4. Think of these like buckets that you will fill with great ideas (maybe think of them like sand buckets). Each bucket represents a big idea that is something you need to paint a full picture of your brand. What you are going to put inside of these buckets can be as wild as your imagination goes. From a blog post, Q+A live video series, infographics, inspired photography or funny memes. What's important is that the creative content supports the big idea. Planning this all out not only helps you start on those tan lines, but it's going to create a strategic and thoughtful blueprint for your social image. My favourite planning tools.For FB and IG, I've recently fallen in love with Creator Studio. If you are using a lot of UG content, something like Planoly can help you organize things visually. Hootsuite is helpful if you need one place to do everything, the drawback is it's not specifically good at anything. And if you just need a fun place to organize ideas, I'm a bit of a Trello fanatic. Good luck, and enjoy the summer ON and OFFline! Check out this webinar I was invited to do for WESK - Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan on the topic of content calendars.
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