Maintaining Your Brand Identity When Everything is Trendy

In my eleven years of managing and teaching social media, I’ve actually never been asked this question before… and it was a good one. The question was: “with all the trends and the tips and the tricks out there, how do I make sure I'm not losing my identity in my content?” Here’s the thing, everyone keeps saying nothing is original anymore and yes, that is a problem, especially with the rise of AI, but remember, your content needs to be you. So let’s talk about how to preserve your brand identity when creating content.

In this episode we’ll be covering:

• Data based approaches vs. quick fixes when it comes to your content strategy.
• How the quick fixes are where people really struggle with losing their identity.
• Leaning too heavily on AI and the impact it has on your content and audience.
• Going back to basics when it comes to creating content.
• Using the helpful tips you see online while still keeping your brand identity in it.

Other episodes you might have missed:

• Episode 014: Why Creating Specific Content Leads to Higher Engagement
• Episode 016: Overcome Social Media Overwhelm with Timeless Marketing Strategies
• Episode 027: Let Your True Personality Shine
• Episode 029: Tailoring Successful Reel Techniques to Your Niche
• Episode 035: Turning Inspiration into Unique and Original Content

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Transcript

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. So I was asked a really cool question at a conference I was speaking at earlier this week. Also kind of made me sad, but it's such a great question because I've actually never, or this has never come up in my gosh, 11 years of managing socials and teaching social media and this is what she asked. She said, you know, with all the trends and the tips and the tricks out there, how do I make sure I'm not losing my identity in my content? I don't know if you feel that way ever, but I was like, oh my God. And that is why I do what I do and that is why I have this podcast and why I create the content I do and why I have the formulas and methods I come up with and why I have the Reels lab because. And that's why there are blanks when I give people prompts.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:06]:
You know, I help them fill in those blanks with powerful messaging. But because it needs to be you. In this age of AI and chat GPT, everyone keeps saying nothing's original anymore. I'm like, yeah, and that's a problem. And that's why I'm on this mission and have been forever in teaching social media a little bit differently than I wouldn't say most. But here's what I'll say. There's two types of marketers. Okay, ready? There's two types of businesses.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:31]:
Let me put it in an analogy. There's weight loss coaches out there, I'm sure, or weight loss programs, products that go, magic pill, quick fix. And then there's the nutritionist, the dietitians, the science based people who are like, no, this is, you know, there's the quick fix. Like, lose this. Do keto maybe, I don't know. I'm not hating on keto. Keto warriors don't come at me. I've done keto.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:51]:
I actually loved it and felt great, but for me it wasn't sustainable. Like, I'm going to want cake on my birthday. I need a bagel when I'm in New York City, you know what I'm saying? There's so many different ways to lose weight. There's the ketos, there's the macro. I don't even know what half the stuff is out there. I'm just like, bruh, that's why I started going to see nutritionists and dietitians for my weight loss journey. Because I was like, look, I need something sustainable and I know it's not going to be easy and I know there's no quick fix because every time I've done the quick fix, the weight comes back, same thing. So we're talking science based and quick fixes.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:19]:
I'm not hating on either or saying one is better than the other. Okay. Hey, sometimes you really just need to lose 10 pounds in a week and go on a cabbage diet. I don't know. There's also. Think of home builders. We are right now building a home in the Outer Banks. I'm sure there's home builders that could be like, we get this up.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:34]:
It could be we went the longer route, the more expensive route because this is, we can afford it now. We picked the really nice stuff. I'm sure you're like, yes, this all makes sense. Right? Every industry. And I know you're going, yep. And there's people in my industry who do this magic pill stuff too. And I do more the data science, approachable, sustainable. There we go.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:56]:
So are there social media marketers out there who preach fear tactics and clickbait? Yeah, and good on them. I mean their stuff goes bananas. Stuff like, I cracked the algorithm. No you didn't, you can't. That's a great hook. And usually most people who say that would be like, I mean, I didn't, there's no cracking. But here's what I did and they'll take you through it. I don't know, I wouldn't say that's exactly unethical, but there is a lot of unethical marketer marketing out there.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:23]:
We know that. So just like in my industry I teach from a sustainable, approachable, data facts backed approach. And then there's the marketers who are like, magic quick fix, da da da da. Both work, right? You might get a lot of followers because it's one of their tactics, but you want to get them to stay. And that's where I come in. I'm like, okay, I'm more the long term, a lot of them are. The more the short term. Not hating, not talking smack.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:49]:
It's the truth. So there's two types of marketers out there. There's two types of everything. So the quick fixes, that is where people seem to really struggle with losing their identity because it doesn't feel right to them. And there's a reason a lot of these things don't feel right. And you know, someone saying you have to do this and speaking in absolutes makes people feel like they don't even want to show up on social media in the first place. Social media is your account. Is it for a target market? Is it for an audience that you have studied and that you're serving and showing up for? Yeah.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:20]:
You are still in the content. And that's where I get so worked up with all the people saying, you know, grab this from ChatGPT or do this. No, because then you're lost. You're not. It's. You're gone. And guess what happens? People feel disconnected. So while the quick fixes and the fun, like, do these little hacks to gain followers.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:38]:
Sure. Cool, I'm over here. Like, I want to help you find the right followers so that they. You have an army behind you of people who love you and are spreading the word about you. Right. Both are great. Take the short term people and then pair it with my stuff and let's go. Right.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:51]:
But again, there are a lot of unethical things out there that aren't backed by data and that stuff gets me triggered. But we don't have to go there today. We're going to be happy. So with that said, how do you not lose your identity? What I've been saying for months on this podcast, on Instagram, on TikTok, on LinkedIn, we have to go back to basics. And I mean basics, I want you to think. In 2010, what were you posting on Instagram? You were probably posting your latte. You're probably posting where you took your dog to the park. You're probably posting golf with the boys.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:24]:
Right. Why aren't you posting that anymore? You can still post that. I posted something silly about a crisp Pinot Grigio and a night of yapping with your girlfriends the other day. Nothing to do with my business. Brought in followers though, because guess what happened? People went to my bio and are like, oh, she teaches Instagram too. I could use some tips. And they followed me like, you don't always have to post about business. You don't always have to use my 4H method.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:49]:
You don't always have to use someone's nurture versus growth method. You guys are allowed to post something you want to post just for the heck of it. So anyway, but how do you take my tips and other people's tips and keep your identity in it? When I say heard content, you can bring yourself into it. That would look like, I don't know who needs to hear this today? But Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then the caption tell a story about why that was on your heart. For helpful content. This is what I made this morning for breakfast. Forty pounds down. That way

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:22]:
You're not just saying, here's a fun breakfast. It's like, no, this is what I'm eating. Y'all want to pull up a chair? Let's eat together. The nutritionist, I keep telling every dietitian, they're like, oh, I'm sorry. I'm like, what are you eating for lunch? And show us. Show us the bowl. Show you putting the stuff in. Like, that's what we want to see.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:37]:
That's how you bring your identity back in. You've got to get away from five tips to this. Why bring yourself into it? So instead of saying, like, five ways to. I'm looking at a horrible, messy corner in my house. Five ways to declutter a room. The five steps I take when decluttering a room for a client. Do you see how that lands stronger? That's not chatgpt. That's you.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:59]:
That's not AI. That's you, right? Three things I do at night to make sure I wake up. Blah, blah, blah. Not three things to do at night. Three things I do. Three things my people do. Do you see what I'm saying? And then for the humor, of course, describe relatable situations that you find yourself in. I saw a hilarious one from realtors I followed today about, like, they're saying, congrats, it's time for home inspection.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:20]:
And then it turns the person who was pretending to be the home buyer and they go, great, my dad's going to come. And then it flips back to the realtors, and they're fml. Every realtor listening to this knows, because they're like, great. I was joking about earlier with people saying like, great, here comes Bob the Builder. Here comes Tim the Toolman Taylor to wreck it. All right. It's like a Realtor's worst nightmare. That's what I mean.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:38]:
Humor situations you find yourself in that, you know, people in your industry or your ideal clients will hear and be like, gosh, that's really funny. That's that. And that's how you bring your identity back in, too. Because whatever you find situations that are kind of humorous, there you go. And then lastly, happenings. That's one of the best ways, because what you're doing is me sharing, going to Taylor Swift. With my daughter. That's a happening.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:59]:
Me saying, I just spoke at a conference in front of 200 women. That's a happening. Maybe you just got to 10,000 followers. That's a happening. It's an announcement in your business, something behind the scenes. Maybe you just got to work with your dream client. That's a happening. That's you.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:14]:
No one can take that from you. And guess what? People can copy you all day. They can't do whatever you are, why they're following you or your team, the team culture, the company culture. There was another question I got the other day. Someone said, you know, because I was like, you want to make people feel capable in your content, right? That's like one of the big things. That's one of the big things is making people feel capable. And someone wrote me, I love this question. She's like, well, I sell products.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:36]:
I sell, like, candy grapes. And I was like, well, it's not that people don't feel capable to buy candy grapes. We know what to do. We put in an order. We get it. You're making them wow people, right? So the holidays are coming up. I told her she should do something like pov. You're.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:51]:
You're tired of giving your clients chocolate every Christmas as a gift. And you. And you, instead, you wow them this year with candied grapes. And just the video shows it. You're making them feel capable of going like, what is it about your product? If it's food, if it's the sign behind me, right? Like, this isn't. This isn't life or death. I don't need the sign. It was a fun novelty gift from my husband, and he surprised me and I was wowed.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:16]:
And I was like, how it was? I was so touched. So a lot of you, when you're selling, that's kind of what you're doing. You're making people feel capable of buying something, wowing people at a party, blah, blah, blah, that sort of thing. So there you go. There you have it. That's how you don't lose your identity and your content will feel original because, yes, there is nothing feels original anymore. That is right. And that's the problem.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:38]:
And that's why we are going to be champions in this battle of fighting the algorithm, of getting our content in front of more people, because it's not going to look like everyone else's. So there we go. Yeah. If you feel like your identity is gone in your content, let's get it back. Love you, friend.