As a business owner, tell me if this scenario sounds familiar to you…
You’re working like crazy with a to-do list a mile long. One minute you’re on a client call and the next you’re catching up on invoices.
You’re slammed — and your social media is taking a hit because of it.
As a savvy businessperson, you know neglecting your social media is a risk you can’t afford to take, but how do you prioritize your content and get yourself back on track?
To start, set up systems to streamline the process. Whether it’s a basic list in a Google doc or a proper content calendar, your planning can be as simple or complex as you need it to be, just as long as it works.
When you organize and plan your social media content effectively, you:
- Save serious time. A little work upfront will allow you to stop stressing about your social media and focus more time and energy on higher priority tasks.
- Stay consistent. With a week (or more) worth of posts planned and ready to go, you’ll have peace of mind knowing there won’t be gaps in your content.
- Reduce stress. With a content calendar in place, you’ll be able to stop worrying about creating new content every day.
Ready to get started? Here are 6 simple steps to follow.
- Stick to a Schedule
We all have those days when the creativity just won’t come or you’re swamped with client work and the last thing you have time to do is craft a clever Instagram post on the fly.
To avoid this scenario, put your content creation on your weekly schedule — and stick to it. Pick ONE day a week to plan content and, on that day, spend just ONE hour planning content for the next seven days.
Sounds manageable, right? It is — and it will greatly increase your efficiency (while lowering your stress level) if you keep at it.
- Brainstorm ALL the Ideas On your assigned content-creation day, your first move should be to brainstorm topics. Write down as many post ideas as you can and type them out in a Google doc or spreadsheet. (Personally, I like a spreadsheet best.)
This is also when you should take a look at your calendar and keep in mind any upcoming launches, announcements, or notable events like holidays that you can build your content around.
Creating a content calendar will help, too. Whether you use an online template or a physical calendar, your posts should be laid out so you can get a clear view of the whole month and what you plan to publish.
- Save Photos + Graphics
Don’t forget about your photos and graphics! In fact, creating your graphics while you’re writing your posts is a great way to make sure all of your content works together.
When creating your visuals, remember to break it up by sharing a mix of lifestyle photos, branding shots, and graphics. From there, upload photos or design graphics in Canva and save them all in one designated folder, so they’re easy to find when it’s time to post.
- Get to Writing
Actually sitting down and writing the captions is undoubtedly the hardest part of creating social media content.
To make this process easier, just write whatever comes to mind — don’t overthink it. Once you have your ideas written down, you can always go back and edit to make your posts social media ready.
This step could take an hour or two, depending on how quickly you write, but once it’s done you’ll be able to breathe a sigh of relief and move on to other things.
- Automate Your Posts
With your text and imagery ready, all that’s left to do is schedule your posts — a process that can be easily automated with the right tools in place.
There are tons of social media scheduling platforms out there and each one comes with its own benefits. Depending on your needs, some great options include Creator Studio, Hootsuite, Lator, or Planoly.
I tend to work in Hootsuite because it makes it easy to post to all of my platforms in one spot, but Creator Studio is free, so that’s something to consider.
- Don’t Overdo It Once you have your system down, don’t overcomplicate things by committing to too many weekly posts. Stick to 3–4 posts per week, so you’ll still have room for stories, as well as live and real-time content.
Bottom line: Creating your social media content doesn’t have to be something you dread. Just spend a little time at the beginning of each week, get as much done as you can, and then move on.
Some weeks you’ll come up with lots of content and some weeks you might be able to only muster out a few ideas at a time. Don’t beat yourself up when that happens. Just continue to put in the work and it will get easier over time.
And if you’re stuck on what to post, remember that Brand Social Marketing is here to help. Send us an email or head over to the link in my bio and grab the FREE downloadable tip sheet with content ideas to get you started.
