My learnings from being on 11 platforms 😳

Get all my content workflows and lessons in this email. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌    In this week's Content Creator to CEO newsletter, I'm going to elaborate on this request submitted by one of our loyal readers, Molly! The reason why I'm using the word 'elaborate' is because reading this request sparked a lot of ideas beyond just how to manage making content. Because the reality is so much more than that! {NAME}, I definitely feel in the 4 short years of being a content creator AND CEO who cares about the bottom line... I have certainly been around the block. Here are all the platforms I've been on: - Instagram - Youtube Videos - Youtube Ads - Facebook Ads - Instagram Ads - Facebook Groups - Podcast - TikTok - Newsletter - Pinterest - LinkedIn - Blogging It's actually crazy now that I've listed out the # of platforms I have tried. I honestly don't know if I should be ashamed or if I should be proud 😳... That said, in today's email, I'm going to: 1) Share my content platform journey and some past workflows I've done, and 2) Reflect on my top 4 learnings as I've navigated 10 different content vehicles in the last 4 years Let's go 🚀   🌍 History of Vanessa's Content Journey + Workflows The list I shared up top seems scary, but I assure you that I didn't do ALL those platforms at once! Here's my history, with context on the support I had for content specifically: ✨ 2019: Instagram, Youtube, Facebook Group Support: Video Editor (PT Contractor) Workflow and Post Frequency: > I create and schedule all content (IG and YT). > Video editor edits Youtube videos. Back then I posted 2x/wk for Youtube. ✨ 2020: Instagram, Youtube, Pinterest, Blogging, Linkedin, Newsletter, Podcast Support: Social Media Manager (PT Contractor), Video Editor (PT Contractor) Workflow and Post Frequency: > I create all content for Youtube (1x/wk), Podcast (1x/wk), and Instagram (3x/wk).  > I brief the video editor and they edit the YT video. > SMM optimizes and schedules my YT videos on a weekly basis. > SMM transcribes Podcast and Youtube videos into Blog Posts and shares it on Pinterest on a weekly basis. > SMM shares the weekly blogs in our weekly Newsletter, and repurposes the content on Linkedin on a weekly basis. > SMM also takes my IG captions and turns them into graphics on IG to repurpose content. This is batched on a monthly basis. ✨ 2021: Instagram, Youtube, FB/IG/YT Ads, Podcast, Tiktok Support: Social Media Manager (FT Employee), Video Editor (PT Contractor), Ads Team Workflow and Post Frequency: > I create all content for Youtube (1x/wk), Podcast (1x/wk), and Ads. > I write Instagram captions only. I batch this monthly. > SMM schedules and optimizes videos on YT and Podcast on a weekly basis. > SMM Creates graphics and write captions for IG based on my previous captions and schedules them on a monthly basis. > I film Tiktoks weekly. These double up as IG reels. > SMM edits and posts the Tiktoks (5x/wk) > SMM also helps find trending sounds and content ideas. > Ads team runs the ads. ✨ 2022: Instagram, Youtube, FB/IG Ads, Newsletter (so far) Workflow: > I am the SMM (Yes - we are hiring a new SMM soon and they are being interviewed right now!) Youtube is 1x/wk. Newsletter is 1x/wk. IG is 5x posts/wk (Usually 3x IG reels, 2x carousels or single posts) I am currently chasing my tail with content so I've got no organization tips for you here other than calendar blocking 😅  Right now, I create content weekly. For instance, I typically reserve Thursday and Friday for content creation - but because we're in a busy season right now, I've been creating content on weekends (For instance, I'm writing this email right now on a Sunday.) What's REALLY saving my ass right now is posting my IG reels which are just repurposed from my Youtube videos. [Like this one.](  So with that little history lesson, you probably have some questions. Hopefully I can answer some questions by sharing my top takeaways from the last 4 years: 👉 Lesson #1. Hiring experienced contractors can be expensive, but worth it for certain functions. In 2020 I was on more social media platforms despite having less people on my team because I worked with contractors who had a lot of experience. At the time though, I thought they were expensive so I switched to hiring full time employees who had less experience, but I could train up. What I didn't realize is that developing people takes time, so I ended up being busier than ever before because my business got more complex. There's no black or white when it comes to employees vs. contractors and it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what works for you. I hope to share more learnings with you when it comes to team this year as this is still something I'm trying to figure out! 👉 Lesson #2. I don't need anyone to create new content for me. I just need someone to explode the content I've already done. Through working with so many SMMs, I learned that no one can create my content better than I can (more about this in lesson #4.) I used to think I should offload as much content creation activities to a Social Media Manager, but now I realize I've been approaching it wrong. So here's what I'd want my next SMM to do this year instead: - Work with video editor to chop as many Youtube Video tips into 15 - 30 second IG Reels/Tiktoks and post them on their respective platforms (1 post per day). - Work with a content writer to repurpose my Youtube videos as blog posts and share them on Pinterest and Linkedin (maybe.) - Also optimize for SEO. - Repurpose some of the things I have written in these CEO newsletters (we're sitting on a content landmine here!) - Think: IG quote posts, mini blog posts, tweets, carousels, etc. - Make sure everything is scheduled and organized. - Interpret data and see what content pieces I should keep creating, what to axe, what platforms are working better than others and why. 👉 Lesson #3. If it's too good to be true... You might be right. There's a reason why the strategy outlined above is focused on repurposing rich media. Keep reading. In 2021 I did A LOT of Tiktoks and IG reels: Singing, dancing, acting. Very entertainment focused. Very trend based. I posted reels 2x a day 5x a week and I even grew 10,000 followers in 10 days. I did a whole Youtube video about it because it was a strategy that was working for me at the time. But here's the catch: The moment life got busy and I stopped creating all that content, I ended up losing a lot of the followers I gained which stunted my growth. Not to mention, revenue didn't really change despite gaining those 10k followers in 10 days. If anything, my revenue continued to plateau. Learning lesson: Capitalizing on trends can work well for the short term, but might NOT attract higher converting followers in the long term. This is why my strategy for 2022 is is more about focusing most of my effort on creating 1-2 solid pieces of content instead of trying to do a bunch of small things. 👉 Lesson #4. What constitutes as a "CEO" activity is subjective. I used to think that I needed to hire a Social Media Manager to "offload" content until I realized that my content is the secret sauce to this company. Without my content, we would lose our competitive edge. However, I was led to believe that there were some activities that weren't "CEO" activities: "Why are you writing captions at this stage in your business?" "How come you're in Canva? Your SMM should be doing that, not you." "Why are you coming up with content ideas? Isn't someone on your team doing that?" As a result, in 2021, I tried to outsource as many "content" things as possible, and guess what? I ended up hating my job. I hated my job because I literally cut off the things that actually made me happy, and instead I did "CEO" activities that made me feel like I was drowning in paperwork. So learning lesson? You decide what a CEO activity looks like. Protect your zone of genius - even if that means writing your own damn captions! ^ Just remember what's most important is outsourcing the things you A) Aren't good at, or B) Don't like doing. {NAME}, when I saw Molly's suggestion I honestly had 20 content ideas buzzing, but I don't want this email to be too long than it already is! That's why if you enjoyed this email and would like me to expand on more content tips or lessons learned, please do me a favour and share your favourite section of this newsletter and share it on your Instagram stories (tag me @vanessalau.co so I know!). ^ If you have follow up questions, put them in your story so I can screenshot it and remind myself to write another newsletter to answer them! ❤️️ As always: My mission is to help you become the content creator you dream to become, while also helping you becoming the CEO you're born to be. I hope I achieved this mission today by sharing this Forbes story. Until next week, Vanessa - your content creator to CEO mentor 😊 👉 PS: New video now up! 11 NEW Strategies I've been using to grow my Youtube channel! [Click here to watch.]( I've been on Youtube for 4 years and I'm always experimenting with new ways to grow my channel. This video is perfect regardless if you are just starting out, or if you have been on Youtube for a while :) >> [Click here to watch!]( Psst... you would like to learn how to monetize your content, then [click here]( and attend my free training if you haven't already. This is where I share the steps on monetizing as a content creator with 1:1 coaching or consulting offers. 😊 - Vanessa [Click here]( if you do not want to receive further emails about the 'Confessions of a Content Creator to CEO' newsletter Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Vanessa Lau International Inc., PO BOX 27371 Garden City PO, Richmond, British Columbia V6Y0E9, Canada