Can I reduce time on planning and creating posts on social media? There’s no denying that creating content takes time. You must consider what to post, design a graphic, write a caption, select hashtags, post the content, and engage with your audience in the comments—and then do it all again, and again, and again.
Streamline Content Creation Using Batchworking To Reduce Time On Planning And Creating Posts
Let’s go back to batch working and how to use it in content planning.
How Does Batch Work?
Batch work is a very focused, topic-specific type of work. When working in batches, you divide your work into different hours/days and focus on only one thing at a time. Batch working can be applied to all aspects of your life and work, but we will focus on how to use it for content creation in this article.
The idea is that by focusing on one task at a time, you can enter a flow state, where your productivity and creativity will truly flourish. As a result, higher-quality content is produced in less time. It’s a win-win situation!
Step 1: Create a Content Calendar for a Month
As previously stated, the first step in planning and creating social media content is to create a content calendar for the entire month.
Assuming you have a monthly content plan and roadmap in place, you should follow the steps below each week to streamline the content creation component of the puzzle.
Step 2: Create All Visual Content
Determine what visuals are required for the week using your content roadmap. Make a list of everything you’ll need, including stock photos, custom graphics, videos, Reels, cover images, and so on.
Once you’ve compiled your list, it’s time to get to work. You can use a tool like Canva to create custom branded graphics. Create (or buy) a template library that you can easily customize with new content each week. This keeps your branding consistent and saves you time over starting from scratch each week.
Step 3: Write All Captions
Captions do not have to be time-consuming to create. You can quickly write captions that convert your audience by batching captions and following a caption formula. A good caption should include the following:
- Hook: Get their attention right away. Consider your caption’s first 7-14 words to be an email subject line. You must persuade your audience to click “read more.”
- Value: Deliver on your hook promise by sharing content that educates, entertains, or sells.
- Call to Action: Tell your audience what you want them to do next in your call to action (i.e. share, like, comment, click, buy, sign up, tag, etc.). Keep your calls to action simple and entertaining to increase the likelihood that your audience will respond.
Step 4: Schedule Posts
After you’ve completed your visuals and captions, it’s time to schedule your posts in accordance with your content calendar. Set your posting schedule in Buffer’s Publishing tool’s Settings.
Then go to your queue, drag and drop images, copy and paste captions, and then click “Schedule Post” or “Add to Queue.” Depending on the type of post, it will either automatically publish at the scheduled time or you will receive a push notification to post yourself at the scheduled time.
Step 5: Include Hashtags (if posting to Instagram)
When scheduling a post on Instagram, you have the option of adding up to 30 hashtags to the first comment of your post. Buffer’s hashtag manager lets you save hashtag groups directly within the platform. This makes it simple to select the appropriate hashtag group(s) to include in your post. Hashtags, when used thoughtfully and strategically, are an excellent way to broaden the reach of your content.
Reduce Time On Planning And Creating Posts: The Advantage
Consider not constantly wondering, “What should I post?” You will begin to see the benefits of your efforts as you develop the habit of planning and scheduling content ahead of time. You will not only benefit from your content strategy, but you will also save time and reduce the stress associated with social media content. Adopting a content batching routine, rather than “posting just to post,” allows you to create high-quality content when you are in your “content zone” and schedule it according to your social media strategy.
When you plan your content ahead of time, it can better support your overall business goals. If you want to promote a product or service, an event, or a company milestone, planning ahead of time allows you to work backward to create strategic social media content that supports those goals.
Finally, by freeing up time and energy in the content creation process, you free up time to focus on other aspects of your business. That extra time can be spent connecting and engaging with your social media community, or it can be spent on other aspects of your business such as sales, admin tasks, networking or team building, or even self-care. Consider what you would do with those extra hours each month as motivation to stick with your new content process.
Businesses can benefit greatly from social media. You can use social media strategically and thoughtfully if you plan ahead of time.