The Social Playbook - January edition: Getting started with content creation

The Social Playbook - January edition: Getting started with content creation



Social media isn’t just about posting some random content. It’s about why certain content works, how brands stand out, and what makes people pause mid-scroll.

The Social Playbook is a monthly community series where we break all of that down. Through real brand examples, creator stories, and practical insights, we’ll decode how engaging content is built, how smart marketing strategies are used, and how you can apply the same thinking to your own social media journey. Stick around — there’s a lot to unpack.

To kick things off, we’re starting with the basics: Getting started with content creation

If you’re a newbie creator, someone planning to take content creation seriously, or if “grow my social media in 2026”  is already on your vision board, this one’s for you. By the end of this post, you’ll walk away with a clear understanding of the foundational steps of content creation and how to actually get started.

Why do you want to start content creation?

Before thinking about reels, aesthetics, or algorithms, pause and ask yourself one simple question:

Why am I doing this?

Maybe you want to improve your communication skills. Or maybe you want to educate people about something you love, document your lifestyle, build a brand through social media, or open doors to new opportunities. There’s no “right” reason—what matters is clarity.

When your why is clear, your content feels more authentic. Your ideas flow better. And staying consistent feels less forced, even when growth takes time.

Who are you creating for? (Finding your niche)

One of the most important decisions in your content creation journey is to define your target audience. Your niche defines your direction, and choosing the wrong one can slow down your growth.

Start by putting yourself in your audience’s shoes and asking yourself what kind of content you would actually stop and watch.

Niche down as much as possible. Trying to appeal to everyone often means connecting with no one. When you understand your niche deeply, you naturally start positioning yourself as someone worth listening to.

Let’s look at an example.

For example, say that your passion is fitness. Instead of creating generic lifestyle content, you want to focus on this specific subject. So you share your workout routines, daily habits, and beginner-friendly guides. You know there are many young people searching for the right fitness guidance, and your content speaks directly to them.

That’s your niche: young audiences interested in fitness and healthy living. That clarity will help you create content that actually connects.

The best niches always strike a balance between what you love and what has real growth potential. When you find that balance, the right audience starts finding you.

Research your content

Once you know why you’re creating content and who you’re creating it for, this is where the real work begins, research.

Whether you’re posting a reel, writing a thread, or sharing a carousel, research helps you understand what’s already out there and, more importantly, how you can add value instead of repeating the same thing.

Research includes:
  1. Studying your niche
  2. Observing what performs well
  3. Spotting gaps
  4. Understanding what your audience actually cares about
It’s how you move from just posting to posting with intention. When you research well, your content feels thoughtful, confident, and trustworthy. 

Pro tip: Don’t get stuck in research mode forever. Watching endless “how to create content” videos won’t make you a creator—creating content will. Learn, take notes, hit record, post, repeat. Knowledge without action is just noise.

Set your own style

While researching, it’s natural to get inspired by creators you admire, and that’s a good thing. Inspiration fuels creativity. But there’s a fine line between being inspired and copying.

Instead of recreating someone else’s content frame by frame, focus on building your own style. This could be a consistent color palette, a font you always use, a familiar intro or outro, or even the way you speak on camera.
These small elements add up to a personal brand.

When your style stays consistent, people start recognizing your content without even seeing your name. Take inspiration, remix it with your personality, and make it yours.

How you say something matters more than what you say

On social media, everyone is creating content, but only a few make people stop scrolling.

Here’s the reality:
  1. On mobile, people decide whether to watch your content in under 2 seconds.
  2. If your first 3 seconds don’t grab attention, your content is already lost to the scroll.
That’s why a hook is non-negotiable. A good hook creates curiosity, delivers instant value, or makes the viewer think, “Wait… what?” Your goal isn’t to explain everything upfront, it’s to make people stay.

So if you're a fitness creator in an overcrowded feed, your hook is the difference between “just another reel” and “okay, I need to watch this.”

Relatable/beginner hooks
  1. “I started my fitness journey with zero motivation — this is what actually helped.”
  2. “If you’re new to fitness, stop making this mistake.”
  3. “I wish someone had told me this before I started working out.”
Problem–solution hooks
  1. “No gym? No problem. Here’s how I started.”
  2. “Can’t stay consistent with workouts? Try this.”
  3. “This is why your fitness routine isn’t working.”
Curiosity hooks
  1. “This small habit changed my entire fitness journey.”
  2. “I didn’t change my diet — I changed this.”
  3. “You don’t need 2 hours in the gym. Here’s proof.”

Stay consistent. Stay curious.

This might sound obvious, but it’s the most important part. Consistency is what separates creators who try from creators who grow.

Social media changes fast with new trends, new features, new tools, and so on. The creators who win are the ones who keep learning, experimenting, and adapting without losing their niche or voice.

Consistency builds trust. Staying updated keeps you relevant. Do both, and growth will follow.

Content creation isn’t about going viral overnight. It’s about showing up, learning, and evolving. Stay consistent, stay curious, and let your growth compound over time.

Let’s learn, build, and grow together.

Stay tuned for an exciting February edition of The Social Playbook.


    • Recent Topics

    • Generate leads from instagram

      hello i have question. If connect instagram using zoho social, it is possible to get lead from instagram? example if someone send me direct message or comment on my post and then they generate to lead

    • Adding Markdown text using Zoho Desk API into the Knowledge Base

      Hi Zoho Community members, We currently maintain the documentation of out company in its website. This documentation is written in markdown text format and we would like to add it in Zoho Knowledge Base. Do you know if there is REST API functionality

    • Create case via email

      Good Afternoon, I have just registered and am taking a look around the system. Is it possible to create a case via email.  I.e. an employee/client/supplier emails a certain address and that auto generates the case which then prompts a member of staff

    • Need a Universal Search Option in Zohobooks

      Hello Zoho, Need a Universal Search Option in Zohobooks to search across all transactions in our books of accounts. Please do the needful Thanks

    • Locked Notebook

      Hi, I hadn't used my Notebook in some time and was refamiliarizing myself with it. I clicked a lock icon and now I can't unlock. When I hit the information or unlock icons I'm taken to a page with the notebook icon and a keyboard. When I type, nothing

    • Hide fields only for creation

      Hello, I'd like to hide some fields only during the creation of a contact in Zoho CRM. In fact I have some fields that are automatically calculated thanks to an automation, so when my users create a contact I don't want them to fill those fields. I know

    • Issues with Zoho Sheet in Mac

      I have downloaded the Zoho App from App Store but It is failing to Save As, Open & Download Operations. App Store

    • Weekly Sales Summary

      Is it possible to generate a weekly report in Zoho Books to show -$$ amount of estimates generated -# of estimates generated by Salesperson -$$ amount of Sales Orders created -$$ amount of Invoices generated

    • OpenAPI Specs are just plain wrong

      The provided yml files for generating the OpenAPI specs are absolutely riddled with errors and inconsistencies. From missing fields on the objects, to just incorrectly named resource objects. I'm having to go through and manually changing the spec to

    • Add Account column to Invoice screen

      Please show the account column on Invoice creation screen. It is an unnecessary step to have to click add additional info and then select the account for line item. Example : on the bill creation screen when entering description we can easily code it against an account. On the invoice screen it requires additional click. Adding the column on the Invoice screen will make it faster to enter transactions. We currently have 5-6 different accounts that we code line items against, You can imagine the extra

    • Custom Footer – Zoho Writer Document

      Hello everyone, I’m having an issue adding a custom footer in a Zoho Writer document. I would like to insert my company information (including a logo + address) in the footer. The problem is that when I add these elements, the main content of my pages

    • Report grouping

      I have added a grouping in a report but it is not working how i had expected. I wanted to group a summary on a field named Size but when i add the grouping the report is still showing me each record and making a summary at the bottom of the report. What

    • Social Media Simplified with Zoho Social: Preview your Instagram grid before posting

      For a platform like Instagram that relies on visual appeal, it's important that you plan your image and video content in a way that holds your audience's attention. Planning your grid ahead of time gives you the benefit of understanding how your posts

    • Error code 1000

      Can you please tell me why the following, occasionally causes this error via the api, not every time ?... zoho.books.updateRecord("salesorders",organizationID,salesorderID,{"template_id":"#################069","custom_fields":[{"label":"DelDate","value":"Tuesday,

    • VAT rates - exempt and out of scope

      Good Evening, UK based company here. I am a bit confused in respect of setting up VAT rates for exempt goods and services; at present I am simply leaving the VAT rate blank in the transactions in order to prevent any VAT appearing in the VAT return. When

    • How to loop through Multiple Upload and Display Actual File Name

      I have been reading the help on the File Upload Control and reviewed the Deluge help on files and I can not figure out how to loop through the uploaded files and do anything but get the automatically created file names. The code below will run but each

    • abou arattai

      I want to use the Arattai app for business purposes, so please convert my account to a business account.I have my own invoice app, and I want to link it with the Arattai app for direct messaging.

    • Configurable Zoho Cliq Notifications for Zoho People Alerts

      Hello Zoho People Product Team, Greetings and hope you are doing well. We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho People notifications, enabling a native delivery via Zoho Cliq with admin-level control, similar to the notification settings available

    • Looking back at Zoho Calendar in 2025

      Hello Zoho Calendar Community, As we step into a brand-new year, we’d like to take a moment to thank you for being an active and valued part of the Zoho Calendar community. Your trust, feedback, and continued engagement motivate us to keep evolving and

    • There was an error while connecting to GSTN

      I am trying to file GSTR1. Everything flows smoothly until I reach the final step of filing the return. After I enter the PAN and OTP for filing it raises the error "There was an error while connecting to GSTN"

    • Zoho Books Extension: What Happens If Custom Fields Already Exist?

      When developing Zoho Books extensions, what happens if the target Zoho Books organization already has a custom field with the same API name as one defined in the extension? I’m asking because we originally created an on-Books version of this functionality,

    • Internal Server Error (500) When Attempting to View Banking Transactions

      I am experiencing an Internal Server Error (500) when attempting to view transactions across all of my banking accounts. Despite multiple attempts to resolve this, I have received little more than runaround from support, and the issue remains unresolved.

    • How do I add a blank line to the Organisation Address Format?

      I'd like to have my VAT number, for example, shown prominently by having a clear gap between it and the address block above, but any blank lines in the address format get ignored in PDF outputs.

    • Automatic Invoice Number generation for createRecord

      Hello, while testing some custom Buttons in my Zoho Books application, I noticed that I get an error that previously did not occur. After some further digging I found that the automatic transaction numbering of invoices no longer work in my organization.

    • Adding number of days to an estimate.

      I need both QTY of item and "number of days hire" in my estimates at the line item level. Any clues as to how this is done would be greatly appreciated. It needs to calculate. Thanks J

    • Books Api: listing expenses created after certain dates

      Is there any parameter I can add to the List Expenses endpoint that will let me look up expenses by when they were created?

    • Why can't we change the Account type from an Expense to an Asset?

      Like the question. Why in QuickBooks for example if I mistakenly created an account as an expenses and I already captured information in those accounts, I can just change the account type from expense to asset

    • Is it possible to do validation for the Actions added to Reports?

      We have an all-around On Validate function that checks all the possibilities before the Created/Edited form submissions. We want to have a button in the report view, so we can change records without entering. We are able to add this button, and it does

    • Ability to Edit Ticket Subject when Splitting a Ticket

      Often someone will make an additional or new request within an existing ticket that requires we split the ticket. The annoying part is that the new ticket maintains the subject of the original ticket after the split so when the new ticket email notification

    • [Free Webinar] Environments in Zoho Creator - Creator Tech Connect

      Hello Everyone, We’re delighted to kick off the 2026 edition of the Zoho Creator Tech Connect Series and are excited to continue this learning journey with you. The Creator Tech Connect series is a free monthly webinar featuring deep-dive technical sessions

    • Zoho Voice API SMS

      I made a post request in Zapier to try to send an SMS. Authentication appears to be configured correctly. I followed the documentation and I'm getting a 400 Error "Internal Server Error". Not helpful at all. Anyways, I could not find any information on

    • How do I change (error) display messages

      Hi! I would like to edit display messages like "invalid entries" and "enter a value for Nome" and so on into Italian language messages. How can I do that? Already tried on Validate on form submit. Where I am failing? Thanks in advance.

    • Record Overseas Transactions Along with CC charges

      Hi All, We receive payments via stripe in multiple currencies and stripe takes around 2.5% fees. The amount is settled in INR into our local bank. What should be the currency of the income account used for Stripe payments? Here is a sample flow that we

    • Easier onboarding for new users with stage descriptions

      Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're happy to announce a recent enhancement we've made to Bigin. You can now add descriptions to the stages in your pipeline. Previously, when creating a pipeline, you could only add stages. With this update,

    • Pieds de page personnalisé - Document Zoho Writer

      Bonjour à tous, Je rencontre un souci avec l’ajout d’un pied de page personnalisé dans un document Zoho Writer. Je souhaite insérer les informations de mon entreprise (notamment un logo + adresse) dans le pied de page. Le problème, c’est que lorsque j’ajoute

    • Credit card transactions are backwards after importing statements

      I am new to Zoho Books so I'm importing my firm's bank and credit card statements in. My credit card statements have a single column with negative numbers so that is the option I chose. But when I went to categorize the credit card transactions, I can

    • Permissions on Views

      Having the option of any agent creating custom views is firing back and got a situation where there are a hundred different views across the team and tickets are not being dealt in the most efficient of ways. Tickets seems to be missed by some agents,

    • Function #8: Add additional charges to invoices

      Here goes one of the highly sought-after custom functions in Zoho Books. If you find yourself needing to apply additional charges to customers on their invoices (say credit card surcharges, or fuel charges applicable to customers from a certain region,

    • VIsual maindmaps in Zoho notebook Ai

      Can I create and export VIsual maindmaps in Zoho notebook Ai

    • 1stDibs Integration to Zoho Inventory

      Hello is it possible to integrate my Zoho inventory and 1stDibs?

    • Next Page