There are a few universal truths here:

• Obsession over the hook: The first 3-5 seconds of a video, the "above-the-fold" caption text, the first words spoken on camera, the subject line, the headline, or the video title on YouTube—all of these elements need to grab attention. If they don’t, your audience will scroll past.

• Platform-specific content: There’s no one-size-fits-all approach for content across different platforms. Even if the format is the same (like Reels), different platforms respond to different types of creative.

If you want to dive deeper, I highly recommend Gary Vee’s book, Day Trading Attention. It’s packed with strategies for content creation, and it’s highly relevant for consumer goods and services.

It goes without saying—you need to be posting as much high-quality content as you can manage. How do you know it’s good? The data will tell you. Consistency in putting out content gives you the feedback you need to refine and improve. For small businesses, a key to a strong organic content strategy is sustainability—you need a plan you can maintain long-term.

While viral moments can happen, counting on them is like hoping to win the lottery. You can stack the odds, but you can’t control the outcome. Building a brand on social media is a long game, and it’s the long-term effort that wins.

When businesses reach a certain size, they often outsource organic content management to agencies or freelancers. The successful consumer brands I’ve partnered with treat content creation as a team effort, involving everyone—from the CEO to employees. Why? Because people connect with people, rather than brands themselves. More people creating content also means more output. Sure, social media managers do the heavy lifting with shoots (product and B-roll), editing, scheduling posts, and community management, but that doesn’t mean others in the business shouldn’t contribute to the creation of the content. More is better. In fact, in the partnerships section, I’ll explain how to get your customers to create content for you—that’s a real winning strategy.

The best content strategy I’ve heard and implemented is simple: “Do cool s**t and talk about it.” The “talking” can often be more about showing rather than telling. Run events, do product collabs, and engage with cool brands or people, then post about it—before, during, and after. That will give you plenty of content to post consistently.

Here’s another strategy I often use, mainly for ad creative, but it works for organic content too:

1. Define the marketing objective. For example, you’re putting a new PDF lead magnet to market, and are using the video (ad or organic) to promote it and generate leads with it. 

2. Write a script starting with a hook, then flesh it out by add benefits and other various common copy elements (depending on the desired video length), and end with a call to action.

3. Film yourself talking to the camera–reading the script using a teleprompter app.

4. Upload the video to Capcut for editing.

5. Add captions, mix in music, and splice in B-roll footage (like behind-the-scenes content, packing orders, admin tasks, or your retail location in action).

6. Export and schedule or post.

Paid and organic content work hand in hand. High-performing organic posts can be boosted through paid ads, amplifying reach and engagement in ways organic alone cannot. Organic content also fast-tracks creative testing, a process that can be expensive when relying solely on paid ads.

One last tip—most brands make their content about themselves. “Here’s what we do,” “Here’s why we care.” Instead, always keep your customer in mind. What’s in it for them to engage with your content? What are you actually selling?

A sustainable content strategy, one that is manageable over the long term, is key for brand building and performance marketing. It will help bring in new leads and customers. Lastly, a reminder, if you want to deep dive on all things content strategy, I highly recommend Gary Vee’s book, Day Trading Attention.