There’s a sentence I hear constantly during branding shoots, discovery calls and pretty much every networking event where someone is clutching a lukewarm coffee and questioning all their life choices:
“I’m just rubbish at content.”
And honestly?
I don’t think that’s true.
I think most small business owners are simply too close to their own business to see what everyone else sees.
Because when you live and breathe your business every single day, the things that make you brilliant start to feel… normal.
You forget that the thing you can explain in thirty seconds took years of experience to learn.
You assume everyone already knows what you know.
You dismiss your personality, your process and your expertise because to YOU it’s just Tuesday.
Meanwhile, your clients are sitting there thinking:
“Thank god someone finally explained that in a way I understand.”
Dancing Reel Content Safe Zone
I see this all the time with business owners before a branding shoot.
They tell me:
- “I’m awkward.”
- “I don’t know what to say online.”
- “I never know what to post.”
- “I’m boring.”
- “Other people are better at this than me.”
And then we spend an hour together and suddenly I’m watching them:
- light up talking about their work
- explain things passionately
- make people feel comfortable
- crack jokes
- solve problems without even realising it
That’s content.
Not dancing reels.
Not pointing at floating text bubbles.
Not pretending to be a millionaire entrepreneur while standing beside a rented Lamborghini in Dubai.
Just YOU talking about what you know in a way that helps people.
Keep it Simple
The problem is, most business owners think content has to be:
- polished
- groundbreaking
- wildly original
- perfectly aesthetic
- professionally filmed
- posted every single day at precisely 7:03pm while Mercury is in retrograde
It doesn’t.
Good content is usually just:
- clarity
- personality
- consistency
- connection
That’s it.
And honestly? People are craving more realness online.
We are all exhausted by overly polished content that says absolutely nothing.
Sometimes the posts that connect most are the ones where someone simply says:
“Here’s something I’ve learned.”
or
“Here’s a mistake I made.”
or
“Here’s how I can help.”
Simple works.
Magic Content Myths Debunked
I also think social media has convinced small business owners that everyone else has some magical secret formula they’ve somehow missed.
Spoiler:
they don’t.
Most people are winging it.
Some are just winging it with better lighting.
And because we constantly compare our behind-the-scenes to everyone else’s highlight reel, we start believing:
- we’re bad at content
- bad at marketing
- bad at visibility
- bad at business
When actually?
We’re usually just overthinking ourselves into silence.
The Human Touch
One of the biggest mindset shifts I see during branding shoots is this:
People stop trying to look “professional” and start looking like themselves.
Some of my favourite branding images are the ones clients nearly didn’t choose because they thought they looked “too relaxed”, “too colourful” or “too much like themselves”.
Funny how those are usually the photos everyone else loves most.
And weirdly enough? That’s often the moment their content starts connecting because people don’t build trust with logos. They build trust with people.
Your audience wants to know:
- who they’re buying from
- what you care about
- what working with you feels like
- whether they can relate to you
That human connection matters more than perfect branding ever will.
Obvious Content
And listen, I know visibility feels vulnerable.
Especially when:
- you’re putting your face online
- talking about your work
- trying to sell yourself
- worrying what people think
That’s hard.
But hiding completely doesn’t help either.
Because if people don’t know:
- who you are
- what you do
- why you care
…they can’t choose you.
And chances are?
The thing you think is “too obvious to post about” is probably exactly the thing your audience needs to hear.
You’ve spent so long inside your business that you can no longer see the parts that make other people choose you.
That’s why sometimes it helps to have someone outside your business reflect it back to you.
Honestly, that’s one of my favourite parts of personal branding photography.
Not just creating images.
But helping business owners see themselves the way their clients already do:
- capable
- interesting
- trustworthy
- human
Real Talk
So if you’ve been sitting there thinking:
“I’m terrible at content.”
Maybe the truth is:
you’re just too close to your own brilliance to recognise it.
And maybe your audience doesn’t need more polished content.
Maybe they just need more YOU.
If showing up online feels harder than it “should”, you’re definitely not alone.
Whether you need fresh brand photography, help figuring out what makes your business stand out or simply someone to make the whole process feel less awkward, I’d love to help.
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