Are you a business owner who complains about not having time to create content on social media?
Well, it's usually because
- You're stretched thin across too many platforms (In this case, stick to 1 or 2 platforms only.)
- You are not following a documented content strategy (Make sure you have one.) or
- You simply do not prioritize content creation as much as you do other business-related tasks.
We prioritize the things that are important to us. So if you know that creating content is important to your business goals, then you must set aside time for it.
I have recommended content creators to others simply because I see them creating content consistently. In the same vein, persons have also recommended me to others because they see my content frequently.
When you create quality content consistently, you not only increase your visibility, but you establish credibility and build authority in your field.
That's why in this post, I'm sharing 10 tips to help you create social media content more consistently.
Tip 1: Pick your content themes before you create content
Your content should be organized into different themes. Themes are broad ideas relevant to your industry and audience needs and preferences.
For example, my industry is Instagram and Facebook Marketing. My target audience comprises consultants, coaches and service professionals. My content themes thus include things like Audience Building, Instagram Growth, Facebook Advertising, Content Creation and Lead Generation.
Whatever your themes are, be sure to map them to the consumer buyer journey. This ensures that you meet audience needs no matter how close or far away they are from making a purchase decision.
Tip 2: Keep a running list of content ideas
Always keep a running list of ideas to refer to when it's time to select content.
As you go about your day, interacting with people, reading and doing research, different content ideas will pop up. You should therefore have a place to deposit those ideas along with any source links to related articles, authors, videos etc.
Your idea bank, as I call I, should be easy to access. For example, I use a note taking tool called Evernote to take screenshots of content I come across. Others use the popular app, Trello or a Google spreadsheet.
Don't worry. Your tool needn’t be anything fancy. It can be as simple as the notes app on your mobile phone.
Tip 3: Create a content calendar
You should plan your content for distribution one to two weeks in advance. That way, you're not skating when it's time to actually create content.
In your content calendar, identify your content topic, publication dates and the social media platforms you’ll publish to.
Apart from those key details, aim to identify things like the:
- Purpose of each content piece
- Key message you want to convey
- Action you want people to take and
- Preferred format for the content
Another important thing to remember is that you don't have to post content every day. On Instagram and Facebook specifically, you should not post content more than once daily. You’ll end up wearing out your audience to the point where they unfollow.
What's more important is that you identify a specific cadence that you can stick to. You can get away with publishing three times weekly on Instagram and Facebook. Shoot for quality over quantity.
Tip 4: Repurpose content
Your ideas don't always have to be these grand works of inspiration. They can be content you are repurposing from an existing piece of content that you already have.
Remember, if you're following a content strategy your followers are likely growing. This means there are persons who would not have seen your earlier posts.
Take the opportunity, therefore, to repeat certain messages in a different format or graphic. For example, if you used a static image before, repurpose into a video, question or quiz.
Tip 5: Create schedules
You need to schedule time for research. You also need to schedule time to actually create and publish your content.
Now, the way you approach scheduling is dependent on your lifestyle and preference. For example, some people choose to do content planning and creating on set days in the week. Others prefer to tackle a bit of each task, every day at their most productive times.
Like I said, do what works for you. The point is to create the habits and stick to them.
But before you decide your schedule, you need to have a realistic idea of how long it takes you to get tasks done. How long does it take you to do content research? How long does it take you to write or record content?
The next time you do a task, make a note of how long it takes you. Bear this in mind though:
Your work expands to fill the time you set aside. When you allocate a lot of time to do something, you usually use up all that time. But in actuality, you may find that you could do it in much less time.
In these cases, deadlines are great for giving you a swift kick in the butt. So when using this method, shave off 15 to 30 minutes from each task. This gives you a hard deadline for getting tasks done.
Tip 6: Create outlines before you create content
The actual creation of content is where everyone struggles the most.
This is partly due to your skill level. If you're good at creating graphics, you’ll be able to do this quicker than most. And if you’re good at writing, you’ll knock this out faster than others.
But whatever your level of aptitude, you still have a message to convey. That’s why it's best to create an outline of what you want to say before you fully create content.
In your outline, identify the main message, your angle and any supporting points. If you get this right, content execution becomes a whole lot easier.
Tip 7: Create templates
Templates are essential for content creation. In the very least, you should have a few templates set up for the layout of your images and video graphics.
When I first started out, I thought I had to make my content look different each time. But then I realized that it was the message that mattered most. So I put a lot more energy into crafting my messages and less time into creating graphics. Using templates made this possible.
Hands down, the easiest tool to do graphics today is Canva. You can’t go wrong with their free version.
But with the pro version, you have access to a lot niftier features. These include background removers, editing effects and access to a diverse set of images. This saves you a lot more time. Why? Because you don't have to go searching for different apps to achieve the final look that you want.
Tip 8: Create lists
Each time you create content, you’ll notice that you’re basically doing the same things over and over again. That’s because creating content is largely a repetitive task.
For example, most people swear by hashtags. If you want to use them, it's best to work smart. Create a list of hashtags relevant to your content themes, industry, brand and audience.
Plus, whenever you deal with a specific topic, add topic-specific hashtags to your hashtag list. So when the time comes, you can simply fetch your hashtags and enter them in your calendar or scheduling tool.
You should also create a publishing checklist. This checklist should cover the things you need to do immediately before, during and after publishing.
For example, before publishing Instagram content, you want to engage on the main feed and in stories. When publishing, you may want to insert alt text on your images. And after publishing, you may want to check for any errors, follow new accounts and do more engaging.
Finally, you should create a checklist for analysing the performance of your content. This is necessary to help you stay on-track to meeting your goals.
Tip 9: Use an automated publishing tool
After you create content you have to publish it. Publishing itself can be a time consuming task. And oftentimes, you're not able to manually publish posts.
This is where automated social media scheduling/publishing tools become really helpful. You can upload your posts into these tools and set dates for them to be automatically published to your accounts.
There are lots of publishing tools available. For Instagram, there are tools like Later, Planoly and Tailwind. They all have free versions. Some of these tools also give you access to hashtag tools, grid planning tools, analytics and even advice on the best times to post.
You can also use an all-in-one tool like HootSuite, Canva or Facebook's very own Creator studio. These allow you to publish content to more than one platform.
Tip 10: Outsource
Listen! If you know your time is better spent elsewhere and you can afford a budget for a content creator, then hire one.
The key is to have your content marketing strategy honed first. Then, find a creator you can trust and hammer out key responsibilities. That way, you have a system to create content consistently and you free time to focus on other activities.
Conclusion
From my own experience, I’ve seen the benefits of creating content consistently. Your audience grows, engagement increases, relationships build and you generate leads.
Here’s a recap of my 10 tips for creating content consistently:
- Identify content themes before you create content
- Keep a running list of content ideas
- Create a content calendar
- Repurpose content
- Create schedules
- Do outlines before you create content
- Create templates
- Create lists
- Use a publishing tool
- Outsource if you can
If you're still struggling on how to make Instagram or Facebook work for you? Schedule a free discovery call and let's discuss your needs.
I’m a content marketing specialist and owner of C.D BLACKMAN SOCIAL REBELLION MARKETING, where I make it easy for professional service-based business owners to create content marketing strategies that attract leads and clients more predictably.
Great post.