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

    • Unable to mass update a picklist field

      Hello, I have the records within our Accounts module divided between two account types: Parent Accounts & Member Accounts. I am attempting to mass update accounts from one picklist value to the other (within other specific criteria in our custom fields)

    • Process checklist in CRM

      Hi We've created a new sales process that I'm mapping into the CRM - issue I have is that some of the tasks / milestones I would like to capture require very simple tick box responses but there are quite a few under a variety of sub categories so I don't

    • CRM project association via deluge

      I have created a workflow in my Zoho CRM for closing a deal. Part of this workflow leverages a deluge script to create a project for our delivery team. Creating the project works great however, after or during the project creation, I would like to associate

    • Holidays - Cannot Enter Two Holidays on Same Day

      I have a fairly common setup, where part-time employees receive 1/2 day's pay on a holiday and full-time employees receive a full day's pay. Historically, I've been able to accommodate this by entering two separate holidays, one that covers full-time

    • Where is the settings option in zoho writer?

      hi, my zoho writer on windows has menu fonts too large. where do i find the settings to change this option? my screen resolution is correct and other apps/softwares in windows have no issues. regards

    • File emails in Shared email folder

      Hi, I am unable to allow users to collaborate in Shared email folders: User 1 shares a folder let's say "SharedTopic" with full permissions Users 2 and 3 can see this folder but are unable to add emails to this folder or search in this folder. For example,

    • This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

      Hi Team, when I,m trying to create a email account (imagixmidia.com.br) it's showing this error >>  This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details plz help me  thanks

    • How to manage task lists in Zoho Desk?

      Hello, I use Zoho Desk for IT customer support. I have a list of standard operating procedures (SOPs), including SOPs for onboarding new users, offboarding users, losing a device, etc. These are lists of tasks to be performed depending on the situation.

    • User

      If user is already part of manage engine endpoint central , what hapens when i try to add them to another Zoho org / directory? Are these users added as external users?

    • Activating Zobot instead of chat

      Hi folks, I know this will be obvious, but I have not been able to locate the details on this via google or youtube. We've had SalesIQ life chat set up for a while now and it is working perfectly. I have just finished development of a Zobot (using codeless)

    • Adding a new section to the related details sidebar when creating a new ticket.

      Hello, I was wondering if you can add a new section to the related details sidebar when creating a new ticket. I was wanting to have it to where it also shows the account information related to the contact chosen as well. This is the section I am referring

    • Displaying only unread tickets in ticket view

      Hello, I was wondering if someone might be able to help me with this one. We use filters to display our ticket list, typically using a saved filter which displays the tickets which are overdue or due today. What I'd really like is another filter that

    • One Contact with Multiple Accounts with Portal enabled

      I have a contact that manages different accounts, so he needs to see the invoices of all the companies he manage in Portal but I found it not possible.. any idea? I tried to set different customers with the same email contact with the portal enabled and

    • Is Zoho Shifts included in the Zoho One plan?

      In case the answer is no: there's any plan to make it available via One? Thank you

    • Zoho Tracking Image location

      So we've been having an issue with tracking email opens. Specifically in Gmail. Our emails are not that long either, maybe 4 sections of image/250 characters of text/button per section.  But all my test accounts I used via Gmail we're showing opens. But then come to find out the tracking image is at the very bottom of the email. So If the message is clipped (It always just clips our social icons on the bottom) and the user doesn't click the show more button it never tracks the open.  Looking at other

    • Creating an invoice to be paid in two installments?

      Hi there, I own a small Photographic Services business and have not been able to find a way to fit my billing system into Zoho, or any other Accounting software. The way my payments work is: 1. Customer pays 50% of total price of service to secure their

    • Zoho Tables is now live in Australia & New Zealand!

      Hey everyone! We’ve got some great news to share — Zoho Tables is now officially available in the Australian Data Center serving users across Australia and New Zealand regions! Yes, it took us a bit longer to get here, but this version of Zoho Tables

    • Delivery and handling of documents e-stamped using Zoho Sign

      Hello everyone! Zoho Sign makes it easy to pay non judicial stamp duty online and automatically attach the digitally generated e-stamp challan to electronic documents. We also manage the delivery of physical e-stamped papers. We periodically receive these

    • Introducing Dedicated Modules for Plans, Addons, and Coupons in Zoho Billing

      We’ve enhanced the way you manage Plans, Addons, and Coupons in Zoho Billing. Previously, all three grouped together under Subscription Items. Now, each one has its own dedicated module, giving you a cleaner and more intuitive experience. This update

    • Sortie de Zoho TABLE ??

      Bonjour, Depuis bientôt 2 ans l'application zoho table est sortie en dehors de l'UE ? Depuis un an elle est annoncée en Europe Mais en vrai, c'est pour quand exactement ??

    • Drop Down Value

      Hi, May I know why Zoho Flow treat this drop down as number and not as string. If so, how can I fetch the right value for filtering. This field is from Creator, in Creator upon checking by default it is a string since it's not a lookup field.

    • Zoho CRM's mobile apps: A 2025 Recap

      2025 marked a year of steady progress for Zoho CRM's mobile apps. We rolled out several updates and features to improve usability and make everyday CRM work a lot easier to manage. Here’s a look back at some of the key releases from 2025. Android releases

    • Facebook follower count doesn't match FB Analytics

      Hi all, I am wondering if anyone else has issues with follower counts for Facebook not matching FB's native analytics tool. On the Zoho dashboard, it's showing 1,007, but FB shows 1,060. All the other channels match up. Any insights are much appreciated!

    • Meta and Facebook data report discrepancy

      I have been currently gathering manually facebook follower data thru meta. In zoho marketing plus the social media reporting only allows for page likes, and so there is a discrepancy with the data. please the difference in files attached. Is there way

    • Unlocking New Levels: Zoho Payroll's Journey in 2025

      Every year brings its own set of challenges and opportunities to rethink how payroll works across regulations and teams. In 2025, Zoho Payroll continued to evolve with one clear focus: giving businesses more flexibility, clarity, and control as they grow.

    • Can I export all attachments from Zoho CRM?

      Can I export all attachments from Zoho CRM?

    • Community Digest — Noviembre y Diciembre 2025

      ¡Hola, Comunidad de Zoho en Español! Cerramos el año de la mejor forma con nuestro último Community Digest de 2025, donde podrás encontrar las últimas novedades de nuestros productos. ¿Todo listo para empezar 2026 con el mejor pie? ¡Vamos a ello! Zoho

    • Zoho Projects Plus’ 2025- the year we launched

      We’ve been building project management tools for the past 19 years, and a question we often hear is: Different teams in our organization prefer different project management methods; while the development team prefers agile, the marketing and sales teams

    • Zoho Books emails suddenly going to Spam since 11 Nov 2025 (Gmail + now Outlook) — anyone else?

      Hi everyone, We migrated to Zoho Books in July 2025 and everything worked fine until 11 Nov 2025. Since then, Zoho Books system emails are landing in customers’ Spam (first Gmail, and now we’re seeing Outlook/Office 365 also starting to spam them). Impacted

    • How do you print a refund check to customer?

      Maybe this is a dumb question, but how does anyone print a refund check to a customer? We cant find anywhere to either just print a check and pick a customer, or where to do so from a credit note.

    • Company Multiple Branch/ Location Accounting

      Hi All, anyone know whether company can maintain their multiple Branch Accounting in Zoho  Books. It will be chart of Accounts & Master Data will be same but different report available as per per Branch. Thanks & regards, Vivek +91 9766906737

    • Zoho Books Invoices Templates

      It would be really helpful to have more advanced features to customise the invoice templates in Zoho Books. Especially I´m thinking of the spacing of the different parts of the invoice (Address line etc.). If you have a sender and receiver address in

    • Email Administrators! Join our tips & troubleshooting series

      Greetings to all the admins out there! This announcement is exclusively for you. As we step into the New Year, we’re excited to start a dedicated series of admin-specific tips curated to support you. These posts will help you overcome everyday challenges

    • Deprecation of the Zoho OAuth connector

      Hello everyone, At Zoho, we continuously evaluate our integrations to ensure they meet the highest standards of security, reliability, and compliance. As part of these ongoing efforts, we've made the decision to deprecate the Zoho OAuth default connector

    • Free Webinar : Unlock AI driven business insights with Zoho Inventory + Zoho Analytics

      Are you tired of switching between apps and exporting data to build customized reports? Say hello to smarter & streamlined insights! Join us for this exclusive webinar where we explore the power of the Zoho Inventory–Zoho Analytics integration. Learn

    • Import Function: ONLY update empty fields

      When setting up an import from a spreadsheet to CRM, there is a checkbox "Don't update empty values for existing contacts" (see screenshot below). While I see some limited benefit from this functionality, I think there should also be an "ONLY update empty

    • Begin the year with best practices in the Zoho Desk mobile app : Part 2

      In focus: Optimizing collaboration and supervision Let's begin 2026 with Part 2 of our tips series on driving your ticketing operations at your fingertips. In Part 1, we explored streamlining operations within tickets. This helped individuals at Omniserve

    • How to update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records

      Hello Zoho CRM, How do I update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records at once? To give you a background, these leads were uploaded or Imported at once but the lead status record was incorrectly chosen. So since there was a way to quickly add records in the system no matter how many they are, we are also wondering if there is a quicker way to update these records to the correct "Lead Status". I hope our concern makes sense and that there will be a fix for it. All the best, Jonathan

    • JWT Token authentication problem that sometimes generates infinite redirect loops

      Description : Nous proposons un bouton sur notre plateforme permettant de rediriger l'utilisateur vers le portail ZohoDesk via un jeton JWT pour une authentification transparente. Cependant, il arrive que certains utilisateurs soient pris dans une boucle

    • ZOHO Work Drive Back Up

      I am looking for a ZOHO Work Drive backup solution. Something that is cloud based. There's lots of these kinds of options for Google Drive and other providers, but I have not seen anything for WorkDrive. Any suggestions?

    • Next Page