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It’s 🚃 Cable Car Day, Reader! If you’ve never ridden a cable car, have you really visited San Francisco?

In today’s edition:

• Today's 👉 Tip of the Day is for Instagram content

• 💡 Inspiration for ✍️ social content

• 🍎 Apple Podcast downloads 📉 falling

• TikTok 🛍️ consumer and 💲 business insights

A clearly documented content plan is the foundation of everything you create on Instagram. It keeps you organized, on schedule, and creative. It's important for solo marketers who need all the support they can get and it's vital for marketing teams that need to coordinate.

6 Steps to Organize the Chaos

Pick a productivity tool or use a spreadsheet to create a board that's dedicated to Instagram production. Next, create columns within the board that show the batch-creation process: 

• Column 1: Ideas. This is where you and your team collect and review content ideas.

• Column 2: To create. Check this column every time you sit down to film a batch of videos.

• Column 3: Recorded. This column is full of filmed ideas.

• Column 4: To Edit. Whether you edit your clips or pass them to your team for editing, this is where videos go when they're almost ready for publishing.

• Column 5: To Schedule/Post. Once videos are edited, they end up in this column.

• Column 6: Posted. In this column, you store past content ideas so you can check references, repeat successful ideas, and avoid accidental duplicates. 

Every time you have a content idea, a card gets created in the Ideas column. Then, as the idea moves through your production process, that card moves along the columns and everyone on your team knows what’s happening.

Today's tip is inspired by Elise Darma.

How to Be More Valuable in 2024…

Are you feeling undervalued at work? Are you looking for a way to shine to your boss or clients?

Imagine acquiring specialized knowledge that helps you get a raise, increase your rates, or bring in more revenue for your company. This is what happens when you attend Social Media Marketing World 2024—taking place next month.  

"I love this conference and always leave with my wheels turning and all kinds of new inspiration. Rock on—you guys are awesome," said attendee Ashley Logsdon.

I’m ready to invest in myself.

What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Post 

Ever feel like you're lacking inspiration? If so, I can relate and I've got a few ideas for you.  

But first, know that uncertainty is normal. For example, I had no idea what to write before posting this. 

For the longest time, I thought, "It's better to post nothing than post something wrong and look like a fool."  Now, I know that's a limiting belief—the part about posting something wrong. 

We rob the world of our insights when we don't share them, my friend Ray Edwards recently reminded me.

And it doesn't help that I'm dyslexic and don't see my obvious mistakes. I'm not letting that stop me now. Even though I go through at least 10 passes on each post I write, I still publish posts with mistakes.

But, if I roll back the calendar to August, I was telling myself a different story. 

On Saturday, August 5, 2023, I posted that I was facing a lot of resistance to creating content. 

"Will anyone care?" and "Will I run out of things to say?" were questions at the top of my mind. 

When I publicly shared my concerns, something amazing happened. A ton of people posted encouraging words. The sum of the feedback was, "Go for it! What have you got to lose?" And so I did. 

I've been consistently posting unscripted videos and long-form text posts like this ever since, using these tips: 

Tip #1 

Share a relevant story. And maybe even confess to anxiety or overwhelm.

Many years ago, I was a blogger. The year was 2006. Blogging was hot. Twitter and YouTube were newborns. 

I wrote a blog post entitled "Dangerous Distractions, Why I Love my iPod." 

In that post, I wrote, "With disruptive technology like instant messaging, email, and cell phones, it is easy to get in touch with people, yet it's harder for us to get work done!"

I loved my iPod. I remember rocking out to tunes with my corded white earbuds coming from that tiny little thing. Little did I know it would grow up to include web access and a million apps. 

Today, that blog is gone. And iPods, instant messaging, and cell phones? None of these words are part of everyday language anymore. Social posts similar to this have replaced blogging. 

Tip #2

Talk about the old days to trigger memories, nostalgia, and curiosity. 

In August, Business Insider published a post entitled, "Social Media is Dead!" 

After reading the article, I decided to pen a reaction—and publish it very quickly. I wrote a murder mystery-themed post, where I explored the facts and broke down who the "killer" really was. 

The response from readers was pretty epic.

All I needed to do was add my unique perspective to relevant industry news.

Tip #3

Let the news fuel your posts. You might just ride the big wave of timeliness. 

Tip #4

Why not create a post that shares a series of tips? If you want to get creative, try this:

Don't reveal where you're going or what you're talking about until after you've shared a setup that makes it super clear.

I used this very method in my keynote every year at Social Media Marketing World.

I'd love you to come and see me in action.

Tip #5

Come up with a list-based post.

So there you have it, five different ideas you can put to work when you have no clue what to post.

And to think I had no idea what to write.

Today's advice is provided by Michael Stelzner.

TOGETHER WITH YOUR BRAND

Imagine Your Brand Message Here…

Are you struggling to reach your target audience? Looking for new customers? What if your message could blossom in front of hundreds of thousands of marketers… What would that make possible? 

Consider partnering with Social Media Examiner. Imagine what could happen for your business when you get the right message in front of the right people. What are you waiting for?

Contact Emily to learn more about our media sponsorship options.

🗞 Apple Podcast Downloads: Apple recently made a major but quiet change in how it reports podcast listenership—switching off automatic downloads for users who have not listened to a show in two weeks. While largely technical, this shift dramatically reduced the official listener numbers for many top podcasts, especially those that publish frequently. Industry insiders acknowledged noticeable declines, with some shows seeing download drops from single digits up to 40%. Sources: Apple, Semafor

🗞 TikTok Research Report: A recent survey explored how consumers are using TikTok as more than just an entertainment platform—they are also leveraging it as a search engine. The survey found that TikTok's short, informative videos in a distinct storytelling format appeal to users. Over 40% of Gen Z respondents were drawn to content tailored to their tastes, while over 25% of baby boomers liked the narrative-driven videos. Most people (62%) preferred tutorial videos but also appreciated product reviews (39%) and personal stories (38%). This firsthand content led consumers to rate TikTok as having high expertise and experience. The survey also looked at business owners' strategies on TikTok and found that 1 in 4 small business owners use TikTok influencers for product sales or promotions. Source: Adobe Express

Did You Know?

The minute hand was added to a clock in 1577. Jost Burgi invented the minute hand as part of a clock made for Tycho Brahe, an astronomer who needed an accurate timepiece for stargazing.