Stop Trying to Beat an Algorithm and Start Telling Your Story

You’re trying to run a business here.

You don’t have time to think about tomorrow’s Instagram post or scour the internet for how to write a blog.

But as much as we want to avoid it, content marketing is the world we live in.

As a frantic business owner trying to keep clients happy and pay the bills, beating an algorithm shouldn’t be top on your priority list.

You need a better strategy because “beating the algorithm” is not working for you.

When creating content on your website and your social platforms, you need to focus on telling your story instead.

That doesn’t mean becoming the next Ernest Hemingway, either.

It means leaning into your brand values and attracting an audience who wants more of you.

Set Expectations for How Often You Post Content

Content burnout.

Easily the number one soul-crushing reason why wedding pros stop showing up online.

They think they have to be in all the places all at once. So what do they do?

They slap together Canva graphics, throw together a caption, put up a post, only to realize they have to do it again the next day.

Showing up with content should be fun, not exhausting!

So before even thinking about how you want to share your brand story, you need to be realistic with yourself.

Think about your bandwidth, your team, and everything in your business that needs you.

Now start to ask yourself how much time you actually have to create content. Not creating content that’s for the sake of checking off a to-do list, but content that reflects the best of you and your work.

Maybe that’s posting two times a week on social and creating one blog a month. Maybe you scrap the blog altogether and focus on Instagram efforts.

Whatever it is, leave behind the “must-show-up-as-much-as-possible” mentality.

A team member can support you with content if you don’t have time or you can carve out some time in your schedule. Because if you know me, I don’t want to spend any time I don’t see value back from. 

So let’s create high-quality content that turns into sales from the get-go.  

Drown Out the Noise and Lean into Your Brand Values

There are SO many marketing gurus suggesting their methods for creating stellar content.

I don’t know which one’s right, Brandee. There are so many!!!

So you try to apply little things from each of them. And it’s almost like you have 100 puzzle pieces going to 10 different puzzles.

That doesn’t make sense, right?

Someone gave me the advice to find someone I aligned with, follow their strategy, and stop listening to all the others.

It’s not that any of them are wrong.

It’s just you can’t put 100 different pieces of them into the same puzzle.

And if you’re going to find a “guru” you trust to follow for the long haul, that means knowing your brand values.

Understanding Your Brand Values

Now that you’ve drowned out the noise, it’s time to grab a rusty shovel and start digging up who you are as a brand.

For Blush, our bride is romantic, timeless, and classic. So when we create any type of messaging it’s created for her.

Our team values helping brides share their stories with loved ones.

We create a space where a couple can intimately thank the friends and family that brought them together.

That’s our bride. And the same values she has are similar to ours as a brand.

Now think about your brand.

Do you value having fun and creating a heck of a get-together? How about adventure and travel—do you value creating a stunning destination wedding?

Whatever those values are, lean into them. Then you can start creating content from a place that represents you and your ideal client best.

Tell Your Story and Tell it Well.

Ok back to being an Ernest Hemingway.

Telling your story doesn’t mean writing a 500-page best-selling novel. That’s way off from what we went into business for, right?

If you pay close attention to the work you do, stories are everywhere.

• An interaction with a bride
• Your startup story
• Talking with the mother of the bride before the wedding
• How a couple met—these are all stories!

Pay close attention to these day-to-day moments that highlight your brand.

And then what? Just tell them!

Even something as simple as sharing the story of a wedding day can speak volumes.

When you come from a place that is authentic and rooted in wanting to connect, you will find those connections.

Don’t Hide Behind Your Content Either

I’ve taken up this passion project, apparently telling people to stop hiring social media managers.

What I think is interesting too is a lot of wedding pros hire out the engagement as well, which I, gosh, I could go, I could go on about.

I won’t tell you whether it’s right or wrong.

But I’m going to say that YOU are the person that can engage on your platform best.

On our Blush platform, it’s not me engaging but I’m also not the one running the company anymore.

So to me, it makes sense that our Sales Manager or Instagram Manager are the ones engaging because they’re part of my company.

But for my coaching brand, I’m always the one engaging with you.

I know when my content is going up and I make sure to be available and engage when it goes live.

I attract people to my Instagram because I engage and we put out content people like to read to get to know me.

My content starts the conversation, but it’s ultimately me that closes. So I make sure other than sharing quality content, I’m engaging with others on the platform as well.

Hand in hand? You’ll be unstoppable.

Approach Social Media in a Fresh New Way

You shouldn’t strive for 5000 followers or boosting engagement rates.

What matters more is sharing content that makes your brand irresistible (and true to you).

As you know, social media is a noisy place. Lots of entrepreneurs and brands screaming their heads off but not sharing anything worth saying.

Be different. Be a clear and strong voice your dream clients gravitate toward. Because that’s what they’re looking for anyway.

If you are eager to show up on social media in a fun and fresh way,  I’ve got to give a plug for my Making a Reel Plan: A Busy Entrepreneur’s Guide to Making Reels.

It takes the pressure off of showing up on social media in a “perfect” way and gives you permission to show your true self!

And we all need more of that, don’t you think?

Even though I’m not about beating the algorithm, Reels is hands down the best way to get a ton of organic traffic to your pages.

And a lot easier than you think!

So let’s stay consistent, stay inspired, and make social media fun again.