Do you ever feel like your social media content creation process takes way too long? You’re not alone! The average time spent on content production for a 100-employee business is about 10 hours per week or 3 hours per day. Crazy, right?!
Luckily, there are some simple steps that you can take in order to speed up the process and get more out of your efforts. This blog post will cover my 5 best tips for creating social media content quickly.
1. Brainstorm ideas for content before you create.
Taking me time to brainstorm ideas first is going to save you a ton of time in the long run.
Take a look at accounts that are similar to yours to see what types of content perform well in your niche. It’s important that you don’t copy other accounts but do take notes of any similarities that you see throughout your research.
Create a master document where you will store your content ideas. This could be a note on your phone or a digital spreadsheet. It’s helpful to have this list available to you on your phone or mobile tablet because you never know when inspiration will strike for a new content idea.
If you need help getting started, download my 150 Free Social Media Content Ideas here.
2. Create and use social media templates to help you get started.
Social media templates are great because they provide a set format for your posts. With templates, you won’t have to reinvent your post every time you go to create something.
Integrate your branding into your templates to create a uniform and cohesive look for your social media channels.
Some template examples that you may want to include in your files:
- Inspirational quote
- Review / testimonial
- Carousel / multi-image post
- Short checklist
- Photo with decorative accents
- Product template
3. Create a social media content calendar.
A social media content calendar is a schedule that details what type of posts will be shared on each day. It allows you to have all your images, videos and text in one place.
A calendar can help brands stay consistent with their social media. It also allows the business to create a good mix of content for their audience.
When working with clients, I always recommend using the 80/20 rule when it comes to your content. 80% should be informational / educational, and 20% should be selling your products / services.
4. Batch create your social media content.
Batching your content essentially means that you time block out the different tasks needed for content creation.
An example batch creation session might look something like the following:
10am – 11am – you brainstorm your ideas
11am – 3pm – you create your graphics / shoot video content
3pm – 4pm – you edit your video
4pm – 5pm – you write your captions and add hashtags
5pm – 7pm – schedule your posts
Batching your content helps your brain to stay in a single “mode” when creating. You become much more efficient when you are completing one task at a time.
5. Schedule out your posts.
On the platforms where it’s possible, automate your process with services like Later.com or Planoly.
With these platforms, you will be able to schedule out your content, and when the time comes, it will post automatically.
Keep in mind that social media platforms often add new features. With that, scheduling content to those new features may not always be an option right away. In these cases, I like to use the Drafts feature within the platforms to store my content before posting it.
In conclusion, some of these steps may take some time upfront to get set up. Once in place, though, they help immensely in streamlining the social media content creation process. That way, you can spend less time on marketing, and more time on the parts of your business that you love.
Make sure to grab the 150 Free Social Media Content Ideas to get a jump start in this journey, and I can’t wait to see what you create!