Using awareness days in your social media content doesn’t have to feel cheesy…promise! 

In this episode of the Courageous Content Podcast I’ll show you how to use awareness days in your content (without sounding cheesy, cliched - or like everyone else online). 

Here’s what you’ll learn about in this episode:

• The 4 styles of content you can create from awareness days
• How to turn awareness days into social media content 
• Ways to make awareness days relevant to your business (even if there isn’t an obvious link)

Key Links

Janet Murray’s Courageous Content Planner

Janet Murray’s Courageous Podcasting Content Kit

Janet Murray’s Courageous Planner Launch Content Kit

Janet Murray's Courageous Blog Content Kit

Save £30 on my Courageous Email Lead Magnet Content Kit using the code MAGNET67.

Save £30 on my Business Basics Content Kit using the code PODCAST67.

Save £30 on my Courageous Launch Content Kit using the code PODCAST67.

Janet Murray’s Courators Kit

Janet Murray’s FREE Ultimate Course Launch Checklist

3 myths about using awareness days in your content (podcast)

Non cheesy ways to turn awareness days into social media posts (podcast)

Janet Murray’s website

Janet Murray on Instagram

Janet Murray on Facebook

Janet Murray on LinkedIn

Janet Murray on Twitter

Janet Murray on TikTok

IMPORTANT: THIS TRANSCRIPT IS AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED. WE GIVE IT A QUICK CHECK THROUGH BUT WE DON’T CORRECT EVERYTHING AS IT’S INTENDED TO HELP YOU FIND PARTS YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO AGAIN - NOT AS AN EXACT TRANSCRIPT. SO THERE MIGHT BE A FEW QUIRKY WORDS/PHRASES HERE!

Using awareness days in your social media content does not have to feel cheesy. I promise I'm Janet Marie. I'm a content and online business strategist. I'm also the creator of the courageous content planner, along with a whole host of content kits that will save you a ton of time on content creation for your business or brand.

In this episode of the courageous consent podcast, I'll show you how to use awareness days in your content without sounding cheesy shade or like everyone else online. First off, I hate to

break it to you. But if using awareness days in your content feels cheesy, it's almost certainly down to your approach.

So if you haven't already, please listen to my episode on common mistakes business owners make with awareness days, I linked to it in the show notes, but if you need a quick refresher, remember that awareness days are there to spark ideas. They're not there to be used as a straight jacket. That means you can only post about certain topics on certain days.

And if you live in the right country, As long as the content is of interest to your audience, it doesn't matter where

that awareness date originates. You don't even have to mention the awareness date, if you don't want to. And you don't need to stick to awareness date that have an obvious link to your business, in fact, not doing so is what will make you stand out from your competitors to show you what I mean, I'm going to take you through the process I go through when I'm planning content, I've deliberately chosen dates that will almost certainly feel irrelevant to your business so I can share you how you can make them.

Yes, that does include both product and service based businesses. With awareness days, there

are typically three route you can explore for content ideas. So I would recommend starting by asking yourself some questions. So question number one. Is this awareness date relevant to my business or brand. If it is great, you can create a piece of content that is directly related to the awareness date.

So in my case dates like social media day entrepreneurs day international podcast day, they feel really relevant to my business and there are other dates. So for example, world prematurity day, ADHD

month autism week, world breastfeeding week. Their topics. I have personal experience of and feel comfortable talking about, even if they're not strictly about business.

And as long as you feel comfortable to share, that can be a great way to connect with your audience. Remember, people like to do business with people. They also like to do business with people that they can relate to, that they have things in common with. So when you ask yourself that question, is this relevant to my business or.

That might

also include a personal experience that feels relatable and you think it will be helpful to talk about online. So question number two, does this awareness day have a theme that's relevant to my business or brand? So for example, I forgot today, which is in July that relates to a theme or topic.

My online community is interested in hearing about because what it's really about. Focus. It's about attention to detail. And if you can't see the link yet, don't worry. I will share

some examples with you. The third question you need to ask yourself is does the title of this awareness state have a metaphorical or a double meaning that links to a theme that does feel relevant to my business or brand.

So for example, national flag day, unless you have a travel business, unless you teach languages or you make flags, this is unlikely to feel super relevant to your business. And certainly not in an obvious way yet most people understand what red flags are. And by that, I mean, warning signs and

actually spotting the warning signs of potential problems is a topic that's relevant to all of us, no matter what we do.

And I will share some examples in just a sec. Now, of course, some awareness days can be used to create posts that simply engage your audience. They help you to get to know each other. And that is totally valuable in. You really don't have to talk business all the time. And remember people do like to do business with people.

If you only ever talk business, it can actually do you more harm than good because it

makes you quite hard to connect with it. And it can also make you just really forgettable. So let's have a look at those three ways that you can use awareness days in more detail. And before I do a quick explainer or reminder about the four stars of content, I recommend in my courageous content plan and content kit, if you have it, it will really put that into context for you.

If you don't actually what they are, are content pillars. If you like, and having content pillars, types of content that you create is just really useful in itself.

First of the four that I recommend is news and trends. So news and trends, content solves a problem or answers a question for your ideal customers or clients.

And it's crucially one that is timely and relevant at the time of publication. So the example I often give is if you are giving tips or advice about. How to survive Christmas with the in-laws. It probably makes sense to publish that in December or maybe even November. It doesn't make sense to publish that content in February

or March.

The second type is inspire. So this type of content is often about reassuring your customers or clients inspiring them to take action. And that includes buying your product or service. That's what you might be inspiring them to do, which is why I put sales content in that inspired bracket. Then you've got community which is all about nurturing your relationship with your audience.

Then you've gotta educate, educate content. Typically answers the question for your ideal customers or clients. A question that's timely and relevant at the time of public. Now I go into much

more detail about this in my curators kit, which goes alongside my courageous content planner. But while it will be appreciated by everyone in your audience, news and trends and educate content is typically particularly effective for attracting new people into your world, because you are being that trusted resource.

You are answering questions, you are providing information and people do generally need that before they feel comfortable enough to invest in your products or service. Community and inspire content is typically

more effective for nurturing people once they are in your world and building that relationship until they feel comfortable to buy.

So let me share some examples with you. The first type of use of awareness days is just taking them literally. So let's say you are a hairdresser and you've identified a date that feels super relevant to your business. For example, love your hairdresser day. You could turn that into a news and trends or educate posts that answers your ideal client's questions or solve the problem by

creating a piece of content, like how to find a hairdresser, who can put your hair up for your wedding.

That's quite a specific. Skill. And the reason I say that could be using trends, content is it would make sense to publish that type of post at a time. When more people are going to be thinking about booking hair for weddings, a lot of people actually book their wedding for the following year. And if you're in the wedding business, you'll know much more about the stats than I do.

From what I gather, they're booking that

kind of thing a year ahead. They might be seeing other people's wedding photos. They might be inspired by what they're seeing. There was a lot of what I would call news and trends, content drawing, lockdown that related to hairdressers. I remember posting something on my own socials, which was actually a reshare of something someone else posted.

And it was something like. In a few weeks from now, we're going to find out what color everyone's hair really is. And that would be an example of news and trends, content, because that made a lot of people smile in quite an ironic way. It wouldn't have

felt so timely and relevant to create an inspire post.

That links to that date, you could share a relatable or humorous beam, a quote, or a story that relates to hair. So as someone who has naturally curly hair, I see a lot of funny Mees and quotes about what it's like when you have curly hair. The one that sticks in my mind is. When someone tells you to brush your hair, when you're a curly girl.

And there's usually a picture of a woman with like a hairbrush stuck in her hair and looking like she's been plugged into

an electric socket, that kind of thing. Remember also though that inspire content can be about inspiring people to invest in your product or service. So you could post a special offer, a color sale or priority booking for Christmas or new year for community content.

Just asking questions is great. How long have you been with your current hairdresser or how often do you get your haircut or colored? Did you cut or color your own hair drawing lockdown? They would all make great community posts. Because they're simple to answer and you don't have to think too hard about it.

Educate posts that

might link to this particular day, how to find a hairdresser who specializes in curly hair, or how to find a hairdresser. When you move into a new area, how to find a hairdresser, if you are going through cancer treatment or something like that. So it really is always about becoming that trusted resource, that source of information.

And remember if you have a product based business, I gave some examples earlier. If you sell products for curly hair posts about products, you should or shouldn't use what you should or shouldn't include

in your hair routine. The best place is to buy your silk cap or other accessories for curly girls.

If you have curly hair, you might know what I mean. So the second approach is theme based. And we'll look again at, I forgot today. So you could create a news and trends post based on, I forgot day, something like three things you shouldn't forget if you're organizing your office Christmas party this year.

To create an inspire piece of content. Remember that needs to be more nurturing. So you might publish a

post on a time. You forgot something. And what you learned from the experience or share a story about the time you organized the Christmas party and forgot that some team members didn't celebrate Christmas, how you navigated that, what you learned from the experience and sharing relatable stories about times shoot messed up can be really powerful because even if people haven't had that exact experience, we've all had time when we messed.

Which means we can relate to your story. Remember also that inspire content can be about inspiring your ideal customers or clients to take action, to buy your product or

service. So if you are in the middle of a launch, for example, you might share a story about a time you missed out on a deadline for something, and you ended up paying more or missing out completely.

And you can add on a reminder about your own offer or deadline. So some examples for you remember news and trends needs to be timely, seasonal, make sense to publish it at that time. Perhaps wouldn't to publish it at another time of year or the month or the week. So it's three things you shouldn't forget if you're organizing your office Christmas party, this year, three things you shouldn't

forget.

If you're buying your partner jewelry for Christmas this year, it's a product based example. Inspire why forgetting my partner's birthday was the best thing that happened to me. The easiest way to create community pose is often just to ask questions. So some examples for you, what do you forget most by leaving the house?

And then finally some educate examples, three things you shouldn't forget if you're organizing a hen weekend for women of different ages or three things you shouldn't forget. If you're choosing an engagement ring for your partner, that's your product based business example. The third approach I shared

was looking to see if there's a metaphorical or a double meaning.

And this one does require you to take the biggest leap in terms of creativity, but in my opinion, that's why it's fun. So to return to the example of national flag day, which is in June, although I think there's another flag day, another point in the year, which is good. Cause it means you can repurpose your posts.

So some examples for. Red flags. You shouldn't ignore when you are in a new relationship or buying jewelry for your partner at Christmas. Why I ignored the red flags in a

business partnership. And what I learned from the experience that will be an example of inspire piece of content community. What are the red flags for you when investing in coaching or buying a new car, adapt to whatever your product or service is?

Educate content. Why autistic women often ignore red flags in relationships and red flags to watch out for when buying jewelry online. That would be an example of an educate piece of content. Just wanna give you one last quick example, national fudge day, which is in June. When I hear the word fudge, I don't just

think of sugar, candy.

I think of its other meaning. So I think about covering things up, concealing the truth, misleading people. So with a date like that, I might use it to inspire ideas like this. So if you using trends, how to tell someone you don't like a Christmas wedding or Valentine's gift without hurting their feeling.

What happened when I lied about my age to get a job. And what I learned from the experience that could be inspire community. Is it ever okay to lie about your age? Why you shouldn't cover up your mistakes at work, even if you risk losing your job, that would be an educate post.

So I hope my explanation.

And also these examples have helped you to see how you can turn awareness days into content, even dates that may not appear to have anything to do with your business or brand. And it does take a bit of time to get into the swing of things. Do remember that content creation is a skill you need to practice.

planner along with fill in the gaps, templates for blog posts, newsletters, and other essential business content.

So while you're figuring this all out, while you are getting more confident about taking awareness days and turning them into content, you've got the scaffolding. So the templates they're filling the gaps, you know how to start, how to finish what to put in between. And that's going to help you get up to speed with this stuff quicker.

But of course you may be worried that using templates.

We'll make you sound like everyone else. And if that resonates with you, make sure you listen to my upcoming episode on how to use content templates without being a copy cap.