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One challenge that almost all of us face is differentiation. How do we stand out in a crowded marketplace? How do we get noticed, and remembered, by our ideal prospects? Rachael Mattice, of RM Creative Services, shares invaluable insights and creative strategies that she uses with her own clients, showing you how to elevate your digital presence and leave a lasting impression with your ideal clients.
How to Create Content That Helps You Stand Out Summary
Key Takeaways
- Using trending audios/content can help get your content seen, but finding audios and content related to your niche is better for finding your target audience.
- Collaborations are a great way to stand out online – they show you practice what you preach about community.
- Consistency in branding requires help and support from a team in the long run when bandwidth gets limited.
- Funnels on Instagram work similarly to other platforms – awareness, nurture, conversion – but metrics focus more on saves, shares, replies.
- Campaign launches allow more differentiation between funnel stages, ongoing marketing mixes it up more.
- Metrics to watch: saves, shares, replies, DMs (more genuine engagement).
How to Create Content That Helps You Stand Out Episode Transcript
Rich: My next guest is the founder of RM Creative Services and the host of The Big Vocalist Energy podcast, where she helps amplify the names and author the stories of impactful brands and artists. With over 12 years of strategic content experience backed by data, she tunes in and tunes up your brand’s identity traits until they are showstoppers.
As music maven, entrepreneur, and content creator, it’s her life’s purpose to shine a spotlight on the bold and provide her clients the tools needed to succeed. Please welcome Rachael Mattice. Rachael, welcome to the podcast.
Rachael: Thank you so much for having me, Rich. I’m happy to be here.
Rich: So there’s a lot of marketers and branding experts who talk about the importance of standing out, differentiation, being remarkable. Why do you feel it’s so important?
Rachael: It’s so easy in marketing in 2024 today to blend into the sea of sameness. And especially when it comes to social media marketing, we are all told, and we follow different experts who really want to give the same types of tips and tricks for growing your account and growing your brand on Instagram.
Using trending audio and video clips used to be a very impactful way to get found by other accounts. and it’s just becoming more difficult if everybody is using the same popular song to get found by other potential clients or other potential accounts. So more and more, the clients that I work with and that my team works with at RM Creative Services, we really tap into what makes them particularly unique, and we really lean into it.
A lot of our clients also march to the beat of their own drum. Some of their tastes in what they like in music, in art, in culture, isn’t really what the popular kids usually typically like and listen to. And that already makes it a bit more of a challenge for them to stand out online when half of the world is using a Beyonce song in their videos.
So we really work with clients who want to lean into those unique aspects. And that is really what’s going to make them grow online and really to truly stand out and in the sea of all of those other video clips or content that’s just using the same type of patterns, the same type of look and feel, the same types of photos and even the same types of videos.
Rich: So you bring up a really interesting point there. Because I’ve talked to other TikTok and Reels experts, and one of the tips they always give is about leveraging some of the trending sounds, music, what have you. How do you balance that, with standing out, with differentiating yourself? Is there a way that you can marry these two different ideas?
Rachael: I think so. So for example, a lot of our clients are into music that is a lot heavier, let’s say it’s metal, it’s rock, it’s punk. And those types of genres are usually never the ones that are on the top charts right now. But that doesn’t mean that the million other people who do like those types of songs and music aren’t also using that.
And we have seen with some of our clients, and even with our own Instagram accounts, that there are cases of trending audio with those types of bands or artists. And that is a way that you can get into the mix of all of that other content that’s trending. But the better part about that is that you’re going to be finding your niche And I think it really just does come down to knowing who your target audience is, knowing their likes their hobbies, their interests. Because in that way, you can potentially find a song that you like that is trending and is also in your niche and is also in the niche of your target audiences. So really, you do just have to find those specific interests and talking points that you can also relate to with your audience.
Rich: All right. I’m also wondering about this desire to differentiate ourselves, this desire to stand out. How much does authenticity play? Because I’m looking at the reflection of my camera right now and I see a room full of Spiderman stuff. And that’s not an affectation. Literally, he has been a guiding force throughout my entire life, as nerdy as that sounds, that comes from a place of authenticity. But sometimes, do people feel that they need to differentiate their brand by moving away from who they are? And then what recommendation would you have for them, or what if their point of differentiation maybe isn’t really authentic to them but they think it might work?
Rachael: That’s a really great question, Rich. I love that you have the Spiderman and the different types of superhero content in the back of your office. My office is a bit bland right now, but I have one of my old, this is a concert photo that I took back when I was a music journalist, and I still work with a lot of those musicians today. But I think when it comes down to building a brand and authenticity, I do think there is a middle ground with finding out hobbies and interests that will help bring in new clients for your brand.
So as we’re talking about this as potential small business owners, brand owners, I do think that you have to assess what is going to work for building an audience with those different interests, but also what is going to help bring in new leads and sales for my company. Will those interests for Spiderman or heavy music bring in sales right away? Probably not. But it’s going to start the conversation. It’s going to build a relationship, build a connection that could eventually lead to a referral or to a sale.
I like thinking of them as conversation starters. When we show, I love Spiderman superhero movies or Lord of the Rings, it’s just an easy, quick connection point where it gets people talking. It gets you to find something that you have in common that can eventually lead to that deeper conversation down the road.
So to answer your question, I do think there has to be a more strategic approach for how you use some of those pieces. But I think at the very basis, think of them as just ways that you could start having conversations with strangers. And that’s how you build your business, and you build your accounts online.
Rich: I’m also thinking to your point about heavy metal, which I tend to like and gravitate towards. You wouldn’t think, okay CPA, their interest in heavy metal probably won’t get… but if they were just to go after people who were in rock bands, even if it was local rock bands, the referral sources I would also think, “You can totally trust Rich, he listens to Dokken while we’re going through our taxes and stuff”, could be a great way of also building up a kind of a vertical for you, if you will.
So, what are some ways that we can differentiate our brand online that you worked with your clients on, including some ways that maybe we hadn’t thought of yet?
Rachael: One thing that I am really seeing with our clients and just online in general with success is collaborations. And collaborations can be in a lot of different formats. And that’s really what I’m seeing as moving the needle for a lot of businesses and just what is making them stand out. They are practicing what they preach and building community by also supporting others, giving them a platform to share their ideas. And so I think collaboration is really a key way to stand out on Instagram or on other social platforms.
And collaboration could be a lot of things. It could be going on a podcast together. It could be doing an Instagram live. Sharing tips and stories that you’ve learned in the past from your business. It could be a joint blog post and you’re using the Instagram collaboration feature. I’ve always been a big supporter of collaborations for that feature or for that reason, I should say.
But other ways that people can stand out is start leaning into, if you are more of an artist, if you’re a creative, I know that lo-fi content really does help with engagement. It helps getting us laughing and finding something where we find common ground. But if you’re an illustrator or you’re a painter, you should not give up on posting some of that incredible work on Instagram because people will see that they will gravitate towards that.
And so as much as I say of course, you should be adapting and developing content that will make your audience go, “that brand gets me, they see me”, you shouldn’t give up what brings you joy and what brings you fulfillment. And you should be sharing that with the world, too. And that’s also how you’re going to stand out online.
Rich: If companies want to take your advice on that collaboration, what are some ways that they might find good collaborators, whether it’s on Instagram or somewhere else in their marketing?
Rachael: I think a good first step is just finding out and assessing what are your goals, what do you want to get from these collaborations? Is it that you are just looking to build your social media following and to build relationships with people in your same peer group? That could be a very basic goal, but you can do the manual outreach and research yourself, or you have a team member who can help with that.
It’s just like what we’re doing here today, Rich. We’re both in marketing, we’re digital marketers, and so we have a common thing to talk about. And it’s also really important for brands if they want to collaborate to think, what does my audience need right now? What are they really looking for? And if it is they have questions about tax season, let’s talk to a CPA who has experience working with small businesses. That could be a really great collaboration that benefits both parties and also provides that extra value to your audience. So that manual research and putting that list together, of course, is a very foundational way that you can go about it.
If you have the bandwidth, you also have the financial income, you can also consider hiring a PR specialist or an events coordinator or manager, who can help you put press releases together and do all of that research for you. So those are a couple of ways, either you do it manually yourself or you hire the support and hire the team members to do it for you.
Rich: Okay, I want to bring the attention back to Instagram, which is one of your favorite channels. As I scroll through your account, there’s definitely a specific vibe and a consistency through all your imagery, the fonts, colors, and so on. How do you maintain that consistency, and how far are you willing to take it? Is there a point where you purposely break it, or is it always going to be on brand, at least on Instagram?
Rachael: First and foremost, I have help. And I think that’s a really important message, that as the brand owner of RM Creative Services, my responsibilities go beyond just social media. I’m also the main sales manager, the person who is bringing in leads, getting the business deals together. And so my personal bandwidth for creating content on Instagram by now, just because I’ve worked in social for so long, I know my personal bandwidth. I know my limits. I know which tasks take me a bit longer to do than perhaps somebody else on my team who could do it faster.
So for our content, I definitely have help and support. I have help and support with the design, or even with the video editing aspect. I still do all of the copywriting, and the strategy, and post ideas ourselves. I do all the captions, but some of those other areas that might take me a bit more time, I have team members for support.
And I think for long-term consistency, that’s so important. We are building brands to last longer than a year, to last longer than five years. And there will be stages where you get burnt out, you just get busier. As you and I, Rich, were talking about this earlier, just how much you have on your plate right now, that we have to lean on our team members to help with that. So that is definitely first and foremost, I have help. And for the most part, that help is, really key and crucial.
And as far as the look and feel, I’m not opposed to always testing out and experimenting new formats. People’s interests change. Social media changes practically every six months to a year. And being constantly open to trying new things is important. And we’ve really tested out a mixture of types of content. There’s always things I want to do even more of, but I do have those realistic expectations of, this is what we’re going to accomplish this month. This is what we can feasibly do, and the rest we have to focus on our clients, or the rest that we have to focus on sales or other areas of the business.
Rich: It does feel, however, that even if you’re trying different formats, that you do have a brand that’s almost like a North Star, and you’re using that kind of to guide. At least that’s what I saw when I was going through it.
Once you or your clients have defined their brand and they’re living in it, talk to me a little bit about the marketing or the nuts and bolts of Instagram. How do you develop a funnel for Instagram, and what does that look like for you and your clients?
Rachael: So as far as building a funnel for clients, I think the foundations of marketing are just where we start. Especially with Instagram, there is a marketing funnel that is similar to other social media platforms. You have your awareness stage, and that’s primarily to get new eyeballs on your content or new eyeballs on your account. And each different type of content format serves a different purpose on Instagram.
And so your Reels and your memes, your giveaways, are your top of funnel content meant to just bring in new eyeballs, or your current followers to see your content. Once you actually win somebody over, then we do move on to developing content for that middle phase, the nurture phase. And that’s where you see some of those more really value driven Instagram carousel posts. Or that’s where Instagram lives play in, you’re building you’re furthering that relationship with your audience members and with those new people that you just went over.
And then last but not least, we do take into consideration the conversion phase or your Instagram stories, or your conversations happening in DMS, or your broadcast channels, which is one of the newest Instagram features that brands could take advantage of. And so depending on the brand, whether they’re B2B or they’re B2C, they’re a service provider or they’re a product-based brand, we develop their Instagram strategies with this funnel in mind. And also what’s worked for them in the past.
So as far as just other nuts and bolts as far as the strategy, we’ve definitely been recommending our clients to also keep track of kind of these silent metrics. We’ve seen a big shift in how people are interacting on Instagram. In the past year or so people are having a lot more conversations. We’ve been focusing a lot on in story replies in DMS, and kind of those more private channels. And so we’ve also been advising clients, don’t be too concerned about your likes and your comments, because those are important, but you can also look at your saves or your shares. Because that’s also a huge indicator of whether or not people are really finding your content valuable.
So we’ve been really focusing on content that is going to help deliver some of those silent metrics. Because that is telling us as marketers, okay, people are interacting, they’re just interacting in a different way. And they’re still telling us that your content is very valuable to them.
So from the very basics again, we start with those foundations of the Instagram funnels. And we’ve really just modified how the metrics that we’re looking at for to gauge whether the strategy is successful or not.
Rich: All right. This may be a really basic question, but as I’m thinking about digital marketing in general and campaigns that, for different stages of the customer journey, I usually say awareness, consideration, and decision, but whatever your labels are, they work the same.
If you’re online very often, you’re just trying to get in front of people when they’re in the awareness stage, then give them different information when they’re in their consideration stage. But you’re often driving them somewhere. So it’s either your overall campaigns or specific ad campaigns, but we’re seemingly talking about Instagram organic.
So as you’re putting together content that hits the pain points at all those three stages, I guess I’m not understanding how do you differentiate that with the people who are following you? Once they’ve moved to awareness, there’s not a way that we can just show them consideration or decision content, is there? Or is it basically they’re still going to see that awareness content, but they’re going to pay more attention to whatever stage they’re in.
Rachael: So basically your question, Rich, is how do customers or how do clients differentiate the awareness content versus the nurturing content?
Rich: And can you serve it up to specific audiences outside of ads? Or is it just all going to be in the mix for you, every month you’re going to put out awareness, consideration, and decision content, but people will gravitate to the content for the stage they’re in? I guess I’m wondering if there’s any control you have over that.
Rachael: I think so. I think the short answer is ‘yes’. And I think the best example that I can think of where there is a bit more of that clear definition, is if you are running a campaign or you’re launching a new product or service. Because there is a general flow to that type of content and it’s similar to how we were talking about with Just the Instagram funnel where a lot of if you’re let’s say launching a New digital product or a new training. You are going to see on an account’s timeline a surge, for example, of, Instagram reels.
So if their goal at the beginning of the campaign is for lead generation, they need to get as many new audience members as they can to their account and as many new eyeballs you’re going to see a lot of that content that isn’t hard selling. At the beginning, and then you will see that transition to where some of that content is becoming more black and white. You’re seeing more of the before’s and after’s, the transformations that past clients or past customers have had from that product or service. And then you will start to see, all right, the cart’s open, or our waitlist is officially open for this program or service.
And I think when you aren’t launching or don’t have a campaign, you will have more of that in between content, you will have more of that just basic nurturing and community building. Things that just continue to educate people, but also make them laugh. Get them onto your email list, get them to read your blog, get them to listen to your podcast. I hope that answers your question.
Rich: I actually think that was a much better answer than my question was. So I appreciate that. Because my question was all over the place, and I think you really nailed it down with the difference between ongoing marketing versus maybe campaign driven marketing. So that, in itself, was very helpful.
What are some of the metrics – you kind of teased this before – but what are some of the metrics that you think are most valuable right now as you’re trying to decide, is my Instagram marketing working for me or not?
Rachael: Definitely I would say some of those silent metrics right now are going to be the most informative for your strategy, and specifically for Instagram. Looking at ‘saves’ on your videos or your static and carousel posts, looking at ‘shares’. Memes are always the one that gets some of the most ‘shares’ because they’re easy, they’re fun, they’re humorous, and people go to them for quick laughs, and they want to share them in their stories right away.
So memes I feel like will always have their place in Instagram and Instagram strategies. But aside from ‘saves’ as well as ‘shares’, of course you still have your ‘likes’ and your comments, which are important. But because people aren’t as forthcoming with showing some of that outward love, you can also gauge story replies or story interactions, because that’s a little bit more of a safer space. People can’t see who is replying to your stories. And I also even gauge DMs. If you’re posting a piece of content where you’re specifically asking people to DM you with a question or a comment, and you get 20 DMs from that one post,
that’s fantastic. That is a sure way to gauge whether or not your content is actually working. So I would definitely say saves, ‘shares’, as well as story replies, or even DMs.
Rich: Excellent. Rachael, this has been fantastic. And if people want to learn more about you, learn more about RM Creative Services, where can we send them online?
Rachael: First and foremost, you can follow us on Instagram, since we’re talking about Instagram strategies, at @RMcreativeservices. And that’s our handle across all of our social media accounts, from Threads all LinkedIn. Or you can visit us on our website at RMCSofficial.com.
Rich: All right. Thank you so much. And Rachael, thanks for coming by today.
Rachael: Thank you so much for having me, Rich.
Show Notes:
Rachael Mattice helps to create specific solutions to help her unique clients reach their marketing goals, regardless of where their brand is in its lifetime. Check out her website for examples of how they’re elevating brand awareness. And be sure to check out her Instagram for expert tips.
Rich Brooks is the President of flyte new media, a web design & digital marketing agency in Portland, Maine, and founder of the Agents of Change. He’s passionate about helping small businesses grow online and has put his 25+ years of experience into the book, The Lead Machine: The Small Business Guide to Digital Marketing.