8 types of content that are boring as F**k – it’s a blog that needs to be written.
And the sad thing is all of these stem from marketers who should know better.
When businesses come to us wanting to improve their visibility, engagement, and sales, they leave with at least 25 unique content ideas for their business.
Thousands of businesses have worked with us, and their uniqueness cannot be wrapped up in a 30-day prompt list or template.
It’s worth a reminder that Not All Qualifications Are Equal…
When I use the phrase “I’m Qualified,” what I actually mean is:
I studied business and marketing for 7 years.
That’s GCSE, A Level, and University.
Those marketing and business fundamentals are still relevant to this day.
They are the strong foundations in a 25-year career in journalism, events, and social media.
Now I’m not exaggerating here when I say there are people in marketing who have done a 1-Day Online Course In “Become a Social Media Manager / Trainer.”
In the blog below, we look at the worst offenders and 5 types of content that are boring as F**k:
Hello Month
Nothing says “I don’t know what to post on social media” more than “Hello March,” “Hello April,” etc.
Sure, there’s something of a reset at the start of the month and a sense that all is possible.
But there are better ways to create a sense of importance:
5 Massive Wins From February
3 Most Popular Products Of March
The One Thing I’m Excited for In April
“I didn’t know this a month ago”
If you do one thing in May, do this
Don’t copy these exactly, as if everyone reads this, it will turn into a boring template.
Use your imagination and create more excitement than just “Hello March.”
National Awareness Days
For most businesses, National Awareness Days should be 1 post in 365.
Read that again – 1 post in 365 days.
If it’s National Curry Week, naturally, as an Indian restaurant, it makes sense to jump on it and create a sense of hype.
If you’re a Cancer Charity, it makes sense to encourage people to fundraise on World Cancer Week.
The National Awareness Days we’re talking about as boring are the completely vague, pointless ones that social media managers list as your 30 posts this month.
Pinocchio Day. National Tell A Fairytale Day. Wear Pink Wednesday.
Those are all awareness days social media managers have seriously told businesses to use.
It’s a case of “tell me you don’t care about social media strategy” without telling me you don’t care about social media strategy.
B Roll Footage
Is everyone tired of b-roll footage?
Sorry, Wendy… I don’t need to see you typing again or a time-lapse of you sitting with an old school friend who is pretending to be your client.
Great content is getting lost while b-roll and ChatGPT captions get likes from engagement pods.
And that line is very telling.
Don’t assume that a type of content is working for a business because it has lots of likes on it.
A lot of the methods in this blog are part of engagement pods and membership groups where WhatsApp messages are sent daily begging people to like and comment on their posts regardless of quality.
Instead of getting fake “b-roll” footage, actually:
Work With Clients
Public Speaking
Write Case Studies Of Actual Results
Talk To Camera and Educate People
“I just thought I’d jump on and go live”
Why?
Like, what did you think you’d just jump on randomly on video in a car park?
Go back to that marketing strategy and content pillars, and I’m pretty sure a 5-minute live video about you replying to emails wasn’t in there.
If you do go live, plan it out as if you were broadcasting for TV. Have a structure, a loose script, no dead air. And a strong ending.
The Trendjack that is 2 weeks too late
Remember the Gary Barlow “This is my idea of a very nice day out” trend.
It fitted in perfectly for one of our clients and it hit the mark straight away.
It was on brand for the business, and the audience loved it.
We saw other brands do it for the next 24 hours, and it amused us.
And then what?
It was everywhere for a month, and for 95% of businesses, they were too late, and it became boring.
Same with Beyonce’s “Texad Hold Em.”
Same recently with the Kendrick Lamar Super Bowl trend. In this case, for most businesses, it wasn’t on brand, but even the ones it was, they missed the moment and should have left it.
Random Quotes Without Context
We know this works for Steven Bartlett and the influencer types.
But do we really need to see “You have the same 24 hours as Beyonce” quote or “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take” or “Good ideas start with great coffee” or “The only bad workout is the one you didn’t do”?
Don’t forget this.
People connect with you for YOUR insights, YOUR knowledge, and YOUR thoughts!
They don’t connect with you for endless reposts or quotes of others.
LinkedIn Reposts
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a LinkedIn repost in 15 years that’s made me go WOW!
And that’s when the algorithm chooses to show me a repost as it rarely does.
I get why people want to repost other people’s content.
They either want to support someone that know … or the boss has begged them to repost every company page post on their own LinkedIn.
But the best way to support someone on LinkedIn is to put a meaningful comment on the post. Not just congratulations, well done, fantastic – but a real human comment that you thought about a little.
Comment X to Get X
The Manychat trend replace click the link in bio on social media.
And I understand why people use it get more eyeballs on content.
But from a user perspective the actual post is usually dull as hell.
And then there’s the dealing with sales funnel and automation that inevetiably comes from.
Belinda – I just wanted the information. Not a sales pitch every day trying to get me on your course!
Now you know what makes for boring content, take these 2 steps:
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok @altrinchamhq
Follow us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amccann/
Book a 2-hour strategy session to develop 25+ great repeatable content ideas and have a full social media strategy
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Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
