Confession: I’ve shipped posts that were less-than-ideal. Who hasn’t?
It’s easy to blame the algorithm. A small team, lean budget, or overbearing approvals process.
But the real culprit is often simpler.
Social media is an endless churn. When something has to go out every week, nobody has time to wait for a brilliant idea to arrive. So we post what we can, and the feed fills up with fine-but-forgettable work.
And then we scroll our own feeds, and discover a post that stops us in our tracks. We save it and screenshot it out of equal parts inspiration and jealousy: “I wish I’d made this!”
But the teams making those posts aren’t necessarily more talented. They just have better systems for catching and developing ideas.
Today: two creative workflows that keep fresh content ideas flowing, a before/after revealing how to structure your reels for max attention, and an accessibility hill I’ll die on, because everyone should be able to read your brand’s content.
STRATEGY CHECK-UP
Creative workflows for scroll-stopping ideas
If my life as an artist has taught me anything, it’s that consistent creativity isn’t born from magic fairy dust. It comes from your processes and habits.
To reliably harvest fresh, creative ideas for social, you need structure and scaffolding. So here are two ways to build that into your content production:
1) Conduct a monthly “writer’s room”
Leading a team brainstorm can feel like pulling teeth. This is not that. A ‘writer’s room’ is more like a pitch session: everyone brings 1-3 ideas to the meeting, then workshops the best ones together.
Social teams at Fortune 500 brands adopted this from the world of TV, but you don’t need a big budget or huge team to benefit. The goal isn’t to produce television-quality content, it’s to maximize the creativity on staff.
This part’s critical: don’t limit your room only to the marketing team. Fresh voices and perspectives can make a surprisingly outsized impact — so tap subject matter experts from across your org to come in and pitch, too. Set clear goals and expectations so everyone shows up prepared.
2) Keep a log of ideas from beyond the feed
Whether or not you have a team who can pitch and workshop ideas, keep your antenna up for signals from the wider world. Seek out newsletters you wouldn’t normally sign up for. Read articles and books or watch documentaries on topics outside of your expertise. And create a dedicated space to log ideas and references.
For example, I have a Note pinned (in Apple Notes) for each of our clients. When a new content idea pops up, I log it as a checkbox bullet; then once it’s been used in a post, it floats down to the bottom. I also recommend bouncing your ideas off of a trusted creative colleague, asking them to riff on what you’re thinking about.
Make this a deliberate practice you do every week. That way, you won’t wind up scrambling for post ideas the same week fresh content is due. You’ll always have a cache to pull from, and that blank content calendar will look a lot less daunting.
HILL I’D DIE ON
When you can literally be sued for not having an ADA compliant website, why is it okay for brands and creators to make social posts that not everyone can read? (Um, it’s not!)
I’ve been beating this drum for a long time, but the butter yellow text trend on Instagram has brought it back into the conversation. Visual impairment is a spectrum, and pale text over busy or low-contrast backgrounds is more difficult to read than you might think. Even folks who can see just fine are less likely to absorb your message if they have to squint to read it.
High-contrast text is the bare minimum, and it’s a low bar to clear. Between drop shadows, legibility bars, or even just choosing a different background, there are so many creative ways to ensure your text is legible while staying true to your brand aesthetic. So let’s all do better!
POST MAKEOVER
From long-winded ‘local news’ vibes to instantly attention-grabbing
The original hook
“Hi I’m Dr. Flume, I’m a pediatrician with Baylor Scott and White Pediatrics, and I’m here to talk to you about sleep schedules [0:05] as your kids are getting back to school. [0:08]”
The problem
This video has potential. The speaker is warm, polished and poised. The topic is timely and relevant to its audience. But it’s constructed more like a local news segment than a social post. So in the 5-8 seconds it takes to reveal its topic, most people will just swipe away.
The makeover
The script should launch straight into the question on parents’ minds: “Your kid’s bedtime got later and later over the summer, but now they have to wake up 2 hours earlier for school. How do you help them reset their sleep schedules?”
Closed captions are a great start, but I’d also include a text hook above her head saying: “How to safely reset your kids’ bedtime for back-to-school.” (While there is text like this on the profile cover image, that won’t reach new viewers in the feed.)
After the hook, I’d pop in the intro for credibility: “I’m Dr. Flume, I’m a pediatrician with Baylor Scott and White, and parents ask me about this all the time. And the first thing you need to know is, how much sleep does your child really need?”
Rather than taking us through every age bracket one by one, I’d use a visual overlay to deliver the information more quickly. I’d also add faster cuts and key frames throughout (zooming in and out) to make the rest of the video more visually dynamic and help keep people engaged all the way through to the end.
The takeaway
On social, you’ve got 1-2 seconds to engage a viewer and make your topic clear. That’s why even polished speakers need a well-structured script to pique curiosity and keep an audience watching. The trick is to open a loop, and then as soon as you close it — open another.
But even if you don’t nail this in filming, a lot can be achieved by rearranging clips in the editing stage. If this ends up looking jumpy to you, don’t worry. Social media audiences are used to seeing visible edits now, so you really don’t need a flawless performance.
Like I covered in this series, a warm, engaging team member with a good outline and a strong edit can be just as captivating as a polished, media-trained speaker.
Here’s to stopping the scroll,
Megan Van Groll
Ways to Work With Me
When you’re ready, here’s how we can work together:
Hire me for 1:1 consulting and strategy. Does your social media need a strategic reset before 2027 hits? From one-time audits and strategy workshops to ongoing fractional CMO engagements, I can help your team start the new year with stronger positioning, and the strategy and systems to execute on it. Book a call to start the conversation.
Hire my team for content + creative services. My micro-agency Evoke + Engage accepts only 1-2 new clients each year for ongoing content creation, paid social, and other social media marketing services. We have an opening for 1 new retainer client in Q4. Interested in grabbing it? Book a call to see if we’re a fit.
