Maybe some people can take a great photo of themselves and write a killer caption every single day. Maybe some people can design graphics moments before posting, and still post consistently on all platforms. Maybe some people can just hit record on their iPhone and create a hilarious TikTok without any planning. We … haven’t met people like that, and we certainly don’t do that. We run too many accounts to let our content creation happen on the fly. And if you have any responsibility in your life other than posting on social media, you probably don’t have time to create your content on the fly either! To combat posting mediocre, quickly made content, we use a method called batching. We sit down and create content for weeks - sometimes a full month - at a time. Here’s the basics of how to use this method for your content!
So What is Batching?
Essentially, batching is creating everything in one sitting. You let in no distractions, and you don’t include other tasks in your time blocked out for batching. While it may sound daunting to sit down and write captions for 14 Instagram posts in a row, you’ll actually be more efficient by keeping your brain in an “Instagram captions” headspace for an hour and a half, as opposed to bringing your workflow to a grinding halt every day to write your Instagram caption. Did you know that every time you switch between tasks during your work day, you lose up to 80% of your productivity by having to refocus on the new task? By batching your content and staying focused on one task, you gain back so much productivity.
How Do You Batch Content? Brainstorm First.
First of all, set aside some time to brainstorm and get all your content ideas out of your head and on to paper. Try to make this brainstorming time the day before your content creation day. But sometimes brainstorming can leave you with a blank page, which is extremely frustrating. If you find this happening to you often, try creating a dedicated note on your phone that you drop content ideas in whenever they hit you. Then when you show up to your brainstorming time, you’ll already have a head start. The note on the phone method works much better for me.
Map Out Your Ideas on a Calendar
After you have lots of ideas for content, grab a blank calendar template online, and start filling in a different content idea from your brainstorming list on each day. Don’t feel pressured to go for quantity over quality when it comes to your posting! If you know you can only produce 3 quality posts a week, stick with that. Crappy content will not convert.
P.S. Canva has tons of customizable calendar templates. Another reason we love Canva.
Focus on One Type of Content at a Time
Now separate out your types of content into lists, ex. Instagram posts, Reels, TikToks, blog posts, tweets, etc. While you might think that you should just sit down and work through your calendar of content, you should focus on one type of content at a time. If you start switching back and forth between filming Reels and writing captions, you’re going to majorly cut back on your productivity. Research shows that you should start with your hardest tasks first to increase your productivity, so start with the type of content you’re dreading first.
If you’re dreading taking a bunch of photos of yourself, start with that task first. And here’s how to lessen the dread for any content creation - plan out all the details before you begin. Write down what outfit you want to wear, decide on the location, scroll Pinterest for posing ideas, and write down a list of shots you want to get from your shoot. After you put in the prep, the actual content creation will be way easier. The same is true for filming video content, writing blog posts, etc. Do your research first, and the rest will be a breeze.
Work Smarter Not Harder - Repurpose Content
This is probably the biggest secret of batching content:
Repurpose your content for different platforms.
Your blog post can be turned into multiple Instagram captions. Your Reels are already TikToks. When you’re taking photos, make sure your Live photos setting is turned on so they can all be turned into short video clips for your Instagram Stories. Outtakes from filming Reels can be turned into fun BTS content. Read a paragraph of your blog aloud for a Reel. If you have a blog (tbh you definitely should, and here's why), we suggest starting with writing your blogs first and then repurposing those into different forms of content.
Use a Social Media Scheduler
If you want all your hard work of batching to truly pay off, we suggest using a scheduler for all your social media posts. Later, Planoly, and Hootsuite are all great options that have free versions (although paying the upcharge for full features will make your life much easier). If you have to stop every day to post the content you created, you’ll still be interrupting your workflow. A scheduler can let you view and store all of your content for the month, and then it will take care of the final steps of publishing for you.
We left a lot out of this post - like making sure all your content fits within your brand pillars, adding in marketing elements if you’re trying to sell a product through your content, making sure your post are saveable/shareable, etc. Those steps are all an important part of our batching process, but they’re definitely more advanced. If you need some help with these advanced steps, we’re here. Did you know that Media A La Carte does one - on - one consultations to help you create a social media strategy for your personal brand or business? Set one up here.
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