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, I've got a lot I want to talk about today, but I want to keep this so short because really, what I want to share with you is really quick to get to and for you to take and run with. So get ready, get a notepad, make sure to just have this on standby to listen to again later. Because what I'm going to share with you is something that I'm really, really passionate about, and I don't think I've talked about it much on this podcast before. I'm sure I've touched on it. That is gatekeeping.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:46]:
Okay. So one of the main mistakes I see, especially with short form video, okay, when people are like, oh, this didn't do as well. Like, you're gatekeeping. You're not telling them what the secret is. You're not telling them what the tip is in the video. You're making them go read it in the caption. We're not doing it. And if we do, it's because the hook was really, really good.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:04]:
Right? I see a lot like, my five favorite recipes I give to people as a, you know, specific type of dietitian, whatever they are, to help balance their da da da da da da. And then people go to the caption, right? Like that. I guess, obviously that could work, and it does work sometimes. But when it comes to a simple tip, just put it on the screen. On the text on the screen. Here's an example, okay? Not just, like Pov or you used to blah, blah, blah, but now you found a new way to da da da da. Like, what is that new way? Stop making people go to the caption and read it. Stop acting like you can't share the goods with people.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:41]:
I have been sharing every single thing I know. I have shared every single thing I know on this podcast for free on YouTube. For free on. Well, my YouTube channel is very small. It's new ish. But TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, for years, for ten years, I have given away every single strategy, tip, method, secret. I've still built a.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:02]:
Which. It makes it feels very awkward to even say it, but it's like, it's not awkward, but just like, it's just crazy to me. Baffling seven figure business, okay? I do not spend money on ads. I mean, I might one day. But I've. How much have I ever spent money on ads? Probably not more than like, a thousand. Never for me. For the social squad society, we have done ads.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:21]:
This is a membership I have with my business partner. But for me, as a solo entrepreneur. Shannon McKinstrie, Boutique Social. My social media management business, I've never spent a dime on ads that I know of, unless my team maybe tested something out. But trust me, no. I've done it organically. I have shared everything, and yet people still hire me. So I need people to stop feeling like if they give away everything and share every tip, they know that it's going to stop you from growing.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:46]:
Of course, there's things you probably need to reserve for your clients or things that are maybe a little too complicated to explain on a medium like social media. Right? We can't fit everything we know into a 90 second reel, but you do not need to be like, ooh, I can't share the name of this brand that I love, these sweatpants, or, I can't share that tip on how my client went viral, or I can't share this cool new tool that now everyone's going to go buy it and never hire me to do their XYZ again. No, you can. Okay, so that's the biggest message today. And again, what I'm sharing with these hooks and reels that have gone viral, what I'm sharing, this is more of the helpful quote unquote category, right? This is the educational, helpful tutorial type of content. Okay, I'll give you some examples, okay. Of some reels I've saved, and again, they'll be in the show notes. And, like, every single reel I've saved this week is one of the reels prompts going viral.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:38]:
And I have it in the Reels Lab this week for my students, but I'll be sharing with my clients as well, is in case your mom never taught you. Now, again, this. That's not going to work for me because most moms aren't out there teaching their children how to show up on social media. But if you do any, like, hair, clothes, cleaning, that sort of thing, that prompt is going crazy. But I used it in my own way. I used it the other day and said, in case no one's ever told you, if you can't access all the audios on Instagram for your reels, you can switch your business category to entrepreneur, and you'll get access to everything. Right? And then in the caption, I make sure to put, like, the fine print of what those rules are. But again, it's totally legal and people loved it.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:16]:
Right? It was really shareable. So in case no one's ever told you, that's a really good hook that you could use. But again, I didn't say, in case no one's ever told you, you can access all the audios and Instagram by this one simple trick and leave them hanging. That's what I'm talking about. Stop gatekeeping. Give it to them. I said exactly what it was, and then they go to the caption for more info. But if all they got was what I said on screen, they left with a actionable tip.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:40]:
Do you see what I mean? So I want you to ask yourself if all your target market saw was the video, and, like, for some reason, your caption disappeared or they don't have, you know, want to stick around for the caption because they're in traffic and they just saw your reel real quick and they saved it and gone with their life. Did you give them something to take and run with today? And that is your goal this week with your content. Okay, so let me give you a few examples. I love this one. And if you're watching on YouTube, you can see it right here. Right? Pro tip. It says pro tip. And the guy is on his stomach and doing this exercise with his legs.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:12]:
Um, probably that sounds really weird, just listening. If you're listening and not watching. But it says, pro tip if you sit all day for work and your back is stiff and achyous. Specificity. Hello. Unlock your back and hips with this exercise. Your future self will thank you. And he's showing it.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:30]:
He is not gatekeeping. A gosh darn thing. 120,000 likes, 80,000 shares. Okay. Okay. And he's got. Let's see that. Got 6.9 million views.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:43]:
And he has several more like it that are around the million. So as you can see, he did not gatekeep. He goes, look, this is exercise. But guess what? People are still going to come to him because we're lazy. So even though he gets the exercise, they might be like, okay, I did the exercise. It helped a little bit, but I still need your help. Okay. All right.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:58]:
That is Chicago back doc is his handle. All right, next up, didn't gatekeep. All right, here's a new nutritionist. Dietitian, et cetera. Maybe, just maybe, she just shares recipes. But I love this. It says, I literally cannot stop making these Dijon maple harvest bowls. Specificity, even in that that tastes like fall.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:16]:
More specificity, more benefits, more what our desires are. And packed with 32 grams of protein. So for the fitness girlies, the protein girlies fall. It grabs easy. She didn't say the word easy, but you can tell it's easy because she takes you step by step. No gatekeeping. Even if I didn't look at the recipe in the caption, I could make this because I'm like, okay, she started with sweet potatoes. Okay.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:36]:
Then she did this. Okay. Or not. Sorry. Butternut squatch. Look the same for a second. Okay, you see what I'm saying? Another. Let's see.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:44]:
And then, of course, the talk to the camera ones. Same thing. Like, give it to them. Don't be like, oh, gotta wait. Oh, here's another one. Ready? In case your mom didn't teach you, here it is. And she's showing you, and she goes, this is how people get a blowout slash waves with those blow dry brushes. Right? A quick demonstration.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:00]:
She didn't make them wait. She didn't say, read the caption to find out how to get a blowout at home. Um, another girl. I wish I could wear a bra with tie front waistcoats. Right. Again, that's a specific. It's kind of style. If you're watching on YouTube, you can see it.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:14]:
And then she shows you exactly how to hide your bra in that type of shirt. Oh, my God, I love this one pov. You start using your non dominant hand to brush your teeth while standing like a flamingo because it's good for your brain and reduces stress. Ready for it. 170,000 likes. 50,000 shares. Let's see if she has it pinned where I can see her views. I don't know, but she's got a lot of 5.3 million.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:41]:
708,000. Like, she obviously knows the secret is to not gatekeep and show them how to do it. And she's showing them exactly how she does it. There is no question of, wait, what do you do? No gatekeeping. Okay, so that's what I want you to do today. That is it. Create some sort of content that you're not gatekeeping anything. You're showing them exactly what to do.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:00]:
You're telling them what to do. An example for me would be like a pov. You know, you're stuck in two hundred view jail, or. I don't have to start with POV all the time, but business owners, if you're stuck in two hundred view jail, use a hook that says this, a five second video of this, and this audio. Watch your view skyrocket. I'm giving it to them, it's all there. I'm not making them download a freebie. But guess what? They're going to want to.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:20]:
Because when you give away everything you know they're going to be like, holy moly. If that's what they do and that's how they do marketing ethically, which that's for another day. There's a lot of unethical marketing out there, you and I know it. Then what would it be like working with him? What would it be like working with her? What would it be like using that team versus the other team if they give all that information to me? Because they truly are here to serve. There's two types of people on social media. The ones in it for the likes and the short term success. And then there's you and me. We're here for the long term and we're here to serve again.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:54]:
Just use those prompts if you need help. Hop into the Reels Lab. This is what I do all week. Study what's working and assign these hooks and reels. And you can also, once a reel does well, you turn it into a carousel, blah, blah, blah. Right? Let me see if there's one more I can give you that you can take and run with. Here's another one. Especially for people in the coaching world.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:13]:
Mindset therapy, things like that. Says ten things to say to your child at school. Drop off, easily digestible. She doesn't go make you wait in the caption. It's all right there. And it's a huge long list. Almost 7000 likes, over 2000 shares. Just beautiful.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:27]:
Laid out like one. It's okay to feel nervous. I'm proud of you for being brave. Number two, I'll be right here waiting to hear about your day when you come back and like did not gatekeep any of it and put it right there on the screen. Love you, friend. Go create something awesome. Go create some good content. I'll talk to you next week.