How polished should your content be?

How polished should your content be?

This post was inspired by a conversation with a friend of mine who operates a Men’s Fashion startup, working as a stylist and tailor.

We were chatting about ways to help grow his business and a large part of his strategy is to produce quality content that will reach his audience of male, medium to high income earners who take pride in their appearance and sense of fashion.

The question he raised was: how polished should this content be?

Comparing himself to the big players in the men’s fashion space, such as GQ and Tom Ford, he held the perception that his content needed to be of a similar style and production quality.

Our audience almost always wants one thing above all else and that’s authenticity. They want to see and feel a connection with the real you. They want to know who you are, what you do, how you do it, why you do it. They want to hear your story.

Despite the vast array of digital platforms, I think as a society we’ve become a bit disconnected. We’re all looking for something raw and honest in a sea of often overly-curated content, that shows vulnerability and a human component.

Rather than aspiring to be polished, aspire to be authentic and show who you are through every piece of content and interaction you have with your audience. This authenticity is what people connect with: your behind-the-scenes pictures on Instagram, the moments you share with friends and family, the interactions you have with your customers. People want to see the real you and feel like they know you.

When it comes to being ‘polished,’ most smartphones have a high resolution camera and access to great editing software such as iMovie, where you can add tags, effects and edit your videos. There’s a great app called Snapseed which is excellent for editing photos, if you want to add some flare to your images.

It really is as simple as saying “hey, this is me. This is what I’m up to,” or “hey, look at the job I’ve just done for this person and how great they feel as a result.”

Through photos and videos, we can share who we are and build a connection. There are great examples across every industry. Take Kayla Itsines for example – she began sharing her clients’ fitness results with before and after photos, and built an empire worth an estimated 45 million from it.

People value other people’s values and they want to understand what those individuals and businesses stand for. The trick is to keep it simple and be genuine. If you’re authentic about what you do, you’ll take your audience on that Journey with you. Don’t procrastinate or try to make it perfect! be prolific and share your journey.

Stay Dangerous,

Kevin Spiteri

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