Are you terrified of writing content on social media?

Writing content in any form scares many people. Some people say that is not their gift so it won't work for them.

Nonetheless, I coach my clients to embrace content marketing to position themselves as an expert in their field and draw people to them.

Admittedly, people are gifted with many different skills. Engineers, doctors, nurses, project managers, application developers, and all the leaders who drive companies: the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Chief Finance Officer, Vice President of Business Development, Vice President of Technology, Vice President of Pharmacovigilance and Safety Operations, Senior Vice President, Consumer Products, and so many more all have specific skills. However, underlying all their specialized skills is the need to communicate.

Reading and writing remain the basis for building knowledge.

Today, we listen to audiobooks and watch videos, but we still need to grasp fundamental concepts in communication to work at all.

You must know how to write to send an email. Writing content is only writing to a larger audience.

You choose the topic and write about your expertise. With today's technology, you can rewrite, edit and spell-check to ensure your content is ready to publish. But don't take too long.

The remarkable thing about online writing is you can go in and edit if you make a mistake. Obviously, all 875 million people on LinkedIn won't read your content the moment it is published.

Tips for writing content:

1. Jot ideas down when you think of them.
2. Capture your ideas with an audio note on your phone.
3. Write a note in Evernote when you think of a good idea.
4. Answer the questions you get asked by your coworkers.
5. Provide valuable information to your field.
6. Define industry terms and correct wrong interpretations.
7. Explain a fundamental concept.
8. Weigh the pros and cons of a concept.
9. Identify industry statistics.
10. Debunk common myths in your industry.
11. Help readers make decisions.
12. Share productivity tips for the industry.

To learn about writing content read successful content marketing pros:

This is where I started. Back in 2008 or earlier, I started checking out other people who were writing content. Specifically, I studied people who were doing it right. In my early days on Twitter, I kept an eye on people who were writing content and followed them to their blogs. In those days, people commented on blogs and it often became a community. This is where I met many people that are still friends today.

Writing content on social media:

Experts I follow:

Jim Connolly There are many references to Jim on this blog but his marketing blog transformed my life.

Joe Jacobi A friend in real life, Joe is a performance coach and writer today appearing on many podcasts and is very visible on LinkedIn. It was his Gold Medal blog 15 years or so ago that added to my interest in writing content.

Jason Alba A career industry friend, Jason blew me away back in 2006 when he shared things on the career forums. He spoke to how job seekers feel with amazing eloquence and honesty.

Today you can find so many talented content marketing experts in any field. To learn how to write content, start by reading. But don't be afraid to dip your toes in and write your own content.

Specific LinkedIn Tips:

Richard van der Blom, a renowned LinkedIn expert shared his findings on LinkedIn. Go to his profile and look up his infographic on algorithm research 2022.

My takeaways:

• 3-5 hashtags
• Comments get 12X more reach so dip your toes in by commenting on LinkedIn posts aligned with your expertise.
• Do NOT edit your post within 10 minutes of publishing. But you can edit, read above.

Experiment:

I shared before that I am starting to play with video. I edited my YouTube channel a bit and added three test videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/JulieWalraven/featured. This gets me to move out of my comfort zone. So far, there is a slideshow video and two content with my audio. Next, I will work on actual videos with me.

If you are ready to begin your career journey and you want to work with me in my innovative live writing and coaching process, we will create your resume and LinkedIn profile. I offer multiple other tools and strategies for an effective job search. I will coach you on how to be effective in content marketing and writing content to reach your network more effectively. Learn More.