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You don't bake just one cookie, you bake a batch of cookies.
Treat your social media content strategy the same way!
I don't know about you, but I can't pass up a cookie. Pies, cakes, other diabetes-inducing treats, yeah. But not a cookie.
So, at this point you may be wondering, "what in the heck does social media content creation have to do with cookies?"
Imagine if everyday you went into the kitchen, pre-heated the oven, pulled out all the ingredients to make those amazing chocolate chip cookies from Grandma's recipe, but instead of making a batch of cookies you only make one.
You clean up the kitchen, put everything away and you just have one cookie. Then the very next day, you walk into the kitchen and do it all over again. Sounds pretty pointless, right?
That's what it is like to create one social media post, post it, and then come back the next day to do it all over again. After a while, it's going to get old. And you’re going to get worn out with this type of social media marketing plan.
The same is true when you create your social media posts that way. It gets old, you get busy and it actually takes away from other things that you could be doing. And ain't nobody got time for that!!!
Buuuuut, what if I told you that you could create multiple social media posts, in one sitting, and that it would:
Save you time
Keep you showing up consistently
Keep your posts relevant to your brand
Allow you to create better content
That is what batch creating your marketing content can do!!! Batch creating your content is the act of setting aside time in your schedule and creating multiple posts at one time. So, let's talk about the amazing benefits, and if you hang around till the end (which I hope you do), I'll give you some killer tips for batch creating your amazing content.
Batch Creating Social Media Content Will Save You Time
Now, if you've got all the time in the world, you can skip this part. However, I'm guessing that you're like most business owners and would love to get a little time back in your schedule, right?
Well, batch creating your social content will actually SAVE you time. Sounds crazy, but I promise it's true.
We're going to use our cookie analogy again here. Think about how much more efficient it is to create that batch of cookies, rather than going to the kitchen every day to create one. I mean, you've already got the over pre-heated, you've got all the materials out, might as well make a dozen or so cookies instead of that one.
That's exactly how it works with creating multiple pieces of content in a social media content calendar. By focusing on creating several (a week or two worth) pieces of content, you won't have to carve out time during the rest of the week to creating your posts.
This time that you get back will allow you to focus on other aspects of your business!
Batch Creating Your Social Media Content Will Keep You Consistent
One of the biggest mistakes that I see many interior designers (among others) make on social media is not showing up consistently! Consistency keeps your brand top of mind. It is important to be put out fresh content on a regular basis on your social media channels if you want to attract more business, followers, or engagement..
I'm going to geek out here for a minute - don't say you were not warned.
The way social media works is through algorithms. Sure, they differ a little among platforms, but they do have one thing in common and that is pushing content that people respond to.
So, if you are consistently creating content that your audience loves and they are engaging with it, then they're more likely to see your content in their feed.
But, if there's no content, then there's nothing for them to love. They can't interact with it, and the algorithm starts feeding them other content that they've been loving since yours wasn't there.
That's where batching can really help. Prioritizing your social media content plan by dedicating time in your schedule to create it ensures that you'll have content to post, even when things get busy.
Batch Creating Your Social Media Content Keeps Your Posts Relevant To Your Brand
I'm going to be brutally honest here for a minute. When people don't know what to post, and just throw something up, it shows. Sorry, not sorry.
Look, if your constantly in a rush to get something up for the sake of getting something up, things are going to get sloppy.
Your messaging is going to be all over the board and you're going to leave your audience scratching their heads wondering what your brand is all about.
Or, you could turn your audience off my over-promoting. You don't want your brand to be known as the "buy from me" type. That's not a good look for any brand.
Your social media content needs to contain a variety of content types. Not sure about social media content types? Then definitely check out this article.
When you batch create your content for social media, you have time to evaluate whether or not it makes sense to talk about "A" after you just posted about "B". It just makes for a better experience for your audience. And we want our audience to have a good experience so they interact with the content, right? (Remember that algorithm thing)
Batch Creating Your Social Media Content Allows You To Create Better Content
Have you ever noticed that when you sit down to do a task you tend to just get in a flow? Once you start writing your social media content the creative juices get to flowing and it becomes easier and easier to create more pieces of social media marketing content.
You actually have time to develop our brand "voice" and keep it consistent throughout all your content. You'll typically find that writing one piece of content will actually spark a new idea for another piece of content.
If you're creating each post right before you post it, you don't have time to sit back and think about it. Now that post that you could have made 100x better is just sitting there and not doing much for you.
How To Batch Create Your Social Media Content In Five Easy Steps
Well, look at you! You stuck around and now you get the good stuff. Below are the five steps to easily batch create your content.
But, before I jump into the steps, I strongly encourage you to have a content plan first. Remember those content types we talked about? Yeah, the content plan is basically just a calendar with those types scheduled out, so you know exactly what type of content you're going to be creating. It makes things a lot easier.
Step One: Schedule Your Time
You need to set aside some time on a day and dedicate it to creating your social media content.
I typically create one to two weeks worth of content at a time when I"m social media batching. I've noticed that if I create more, I sometimes don't end up using it. Things change and come up, so planning too far in advance just wasn't effective for me. That may be different for you though with your social media marketing.
Step Two: Choose Images/Create Graphics
You know that saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words", well that picture does help to write a thousand words.
It's nice to have an image to go off of as it provides some inspiration for the caption.
Step Three: Write Your Captions
Now that you know what you're going to write about and the image that will go with the post, it's time to start writing. Keep your captions conversational and be sure to use plenty of white spaces so that it's easy to read.
Step Four: Hashtag Time
Now that you have your image and caption ready to go, determine which hashtags to use with your post.
Step Five: Use A Scheduling Tool
I highly recommend that you use a social media scheduling tool such as Planoly or Later. Once you get your content done you can load it one of these tools and let it automatically post (unless it's a carousel post, they can't do that).
Don't forget to get back on though, and engage with your audience! This will also help boost your post reach.
So, I hope that I have convinced you to come over to the dark side and start batch creating your social media content. It really will change your life if you give it a try.
WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!!!!!!!
I can't let you leave empty-handed. That would be rude!!!
Before you go, you need to grab some of these amazing FREE resources:
These are great resources for those days when you're just feeling a little stuck.
Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.
Summary:
In this post, we discussed why and how to batch create social media content so that you can work smarter, not harder in your content strategy!
Batch Creating Social Media Content Will Save You Time
Batch Creating Your Social Media Content Will Keep You Consistent
Batch Creating Your Social Media Content Keeps Your Posts Relevant To Your Brand
Batch Creating Your Social Media Content Allows You To Create Better Content
How To Batch Create Your Social Media Content In Five Easy Steps
Step One: Schedule Your Time
Step Two: Choose Images/Create Graphics
Step Three: Write Your Captions
Step Four: Hashtag Time
Step Five: Use A Scheduling Tool
Lezlie Swink
Swink Social Co