5 Ways To Create Social Media Content Quickly & Easily
Does creating social media content take you forever? Is it at the bottom of your to-do list every week because you find it so draining?
It's common for practitioners to find social media less than enjoyable. But it is also an important part of your marketing strategy.
So do you just have to grit your teeth and bear it? Not when I'm around!
Here are 5 tips for how you can create content for your social media channels without it feeling hard or taking an eternity.
5 Ways To Make Social Media Marketing Fast, Easy And Effective
Plan your social media in advance
You might have noticed that I'm a big fan of planning content in advance. It's no different when it comes to social media!
Planning means that you know at least roughly what is going up and when.
The easiest way to do this is to plan it alongside your other content, such as blogs or videos. That way, your social media can simply follow the themes of each week's content.
But if you're not currently creating any blogs or videos, don't worry. You can still brainstorm topics for your social media posts to follow each week.
Don't know how to get planning? Check out my previous article all about planning content right here.
Batch your social media content
Another topic that I love to talk about is batching. Batching might sound like a chore, but if you set it up right, it can be incredibly fun and creative!
Just like any other form of content, I love to batch my social media. That means I create batches of:
Social media images
Social media copy including tips, questions and stories
Promotional offers
When you batch, you save yourself oodles of time! It's much easier for your brain to create 6 weeks of social media content in 3 hours or less than it is to sit down and spend an hour crafting it from scratch each week.
So do yourself a favour and batch your social media. Which leads us straight into our next point.
Make the most of scheduling tools
Scheduling your content just makes sense, especially if you're already planning and batching it. By scheduling your social media in advance, you can feel free to focus on other parts of your business because the content rolls out for you!
I also find that scheduling my content in advance actually makes me feel more inspired to post spur-of-the-moment content. I don't feel pressured to come up with something awesome, so I end up thinking of plenty of things to share with you!
Scheduling used to be the domain of premium 3rd party platforms. But now, you can schedule content for both Instagram and Facebook without paying a cent.
Personally, I use:
The in-built scheduling system for Facebook (you'll find it under Publishing Tools)
Later for Instagram (I schedule the content via my laptop, then publish it via my phone)
The right choice for you depends on what you're scheduling content for and what your budget is. Both of the options I use are free, but I may upgrade in the near future to condense all of my content scheduling into one place.
Use templates tailored to your branding
Do you find yourself spending hours putting together a single image on Canva for your Instagram?
One of the biggest time-wasters when it comes to social media is creating images.
That's why I highly recommend having pre-made Canva templates that you can tailor for social media.
With a well-designed group of templates, all you need to do is:
Drop an image into the template
Add any written content (a tip or teaser sentence)
Download the image and share on social media
This tip has honestly been a lifesaver for me. I'm not a natural when it comes to things like graphic design. Don't get me wrong, I can spot an attractive or not-so-attractive image! But if you told me to design one, it would take me hours.
That's why it's awesome that there are people out there who can create the templates for you. My go-to is this option from Tech For Pracs.
You can get 20 Canva templates that are tailored to suit your branding and colours for a super-affordable price. For full details and to grab yourself a bundle, head to Shonelle's shop page right here.
Outsource your social media management
There is a good chance that you have plenty of things to do that are more important than posting on social media. So if you find it a waste of your valuable time, why not outsource it altogether?
Outsourcing your social media doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg! In fact, I have brand-new social media management packages that cost as little as $119AUD/week.
For more details of my social media packages, check the options out here.