I’m a huge fan of MasterChef. I love how ordinary people are able to take a few simple ingredients and create magic. In a way, I see similarities in the work I do – I take a story and make it come alive on the various social media platforms. But there’s something else I have in common with the cooks from MasterChef. It’s the need for the basics to be in place before that magic can happen.

On the popular TV show, under every cook’s workbench is a box of the basics: flour, milk, butter, sugar. It’s a given that these will be in place before they start cooking. They’d struggle to prepare the delicious dishes they do without these. Instead, it would be sub-standard, bland tasting dishes that would not get the judges votes.

In my world, it’s the same thing. I need the basics to be decided before I start cooking.

So then what’s in my box? These three things:

One: The reason for being on social media and more specifically which platforms are best suited (Social Media Strategy)

Two: An understanding of the audience I’m speaking to (Target market/Personas), and

Three: Key messages that the business wants to drive (Content Marketing Strategy).

This is always my starting point when I work with clients. It makes the process of content creation and measuring objectives so much simpler.

Without these basics, posts are ad hoc, nilly willy and you miss the opportunity to provide real value to your audiences. Posts hardly get the desired engagement because they have no flavour, no spice nor any sugar. It’s like talking to yourself in an empty room. Egg whites without the yolk. Chocolate cake with no icing. Lasagna without the cheese.

In almost 80% of the time, when  I start working with a new client, their frustration comes from not knowing why their levels of engagement on their Pages are so low. They’ve jumped headfirst but haven’t prepared the basics.  They’re talking in the dark. However, once we start working together to map out the requirements for great social media posts, I’ve observed some real excitement at the prospect of making a true connection with audiences. Comfort food!

To slice through the noise and to grab people’s attention, the message needs to resonate and the information must add value.

Wanna win that MasterChef title and create magic? If you don’t have these three “ingredients” in place, then let’s chat!

Photo by Fabrizio Magoni on Unsplash