How To Save Time On Social Media Content Creation

If you feel like you’re stuck on the social media hamster wheel, you’re not alone…

Social media is an indispensable tool for business growth yet as small business owners and solopreneurs, it can sometimes feel like you’re spending more time on creating content for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, whatever social media platform you’re on, and less time on actually building your own business.

Simultaneously, as a small business owner, you can’t step away from this tool entirely. Social media is an integral part of a comprehensive marketing strategy and to take a break entirely would have major implications for business performance. 

That’s why you need to optimize your content creation strategy.

Learning to batch content and schedule posts in advance will help you save time so that instead of letting social media run your life, you can use it to efficiently move the needle forward in your business. By streamlining your social media content creation process, you can spend less time on content creation and more time doing what you love.

Here’s how you can save time on social media content creation.

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1. Set social media marketing goals that align with your business objectives

At the beginning of every quarter (or at least every half), take a moment to reflect on your business goals and then translate those into social media goals and specific social media pieces. This will allow you to strategically plan your content so that it’s actually making a difference in your business.

For example, if one of your business goals is to reach wider audiences, then a social media goal would be to attain a specific amount of reach each week. That then translates into creating content that is shareable and also optimizing hashtags to obtain that reach goal.

Having clear social media marketing goals will save you time when you’re in a pinch to create because you’ll know exactly what a content piece needs in order to make a difference in your business.

2. Make a content library for your assets

Storing your visual assets in an organized manner saves time when you’re planning out your editorial calendar. When you’re batching content for the next month, the last thing you want to do is to scrounge your phone or computer for photos or graphics that you can post. Store these assets in a shared dropbox or drive so that it’s easily accessible across multiple devices and open to different team members (if you have team members).

3. Plan your content in advance

Once you determine a posting rate for your social media strategy, create an editorial calendar that aligns with your social media goals. Batch write your captions and organize your grid ahead of time.

Having an editorial plan will not only save time on content creation, but it will also help you create better content. When you remove the added time pressure, you’re more likely to produce engaging and creative content that resonates more with your community.

Pro-tip: also plan your hashtags out in advance. 

If you’re looking for new hashtags to add to your hashtag strategy, check out this article on 200 hashtags for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Stuck on captions? Try these out.

4. Schedule your content beforehand

The next step in optimizing your content creation process is scheduling your content out beforehand. There are a plethora of apps to help you automate your posting schedule. Some of our favorites include Later, Buffer, and Hootsuite. Batch-scheduling your content saves you time and allows you to really focus on what you’re building in your business.

5. Repurpose your content

Stuck on what to create? Just repurpose something that you’ve posted before! If you’re creating content for multiple social media channels, it can be useful to take the information that you’ve already shared and reformat it for a different audience. This saves time and brain energy. Plus, with the way algorithms work, it’s likely that you’ll be reaching a different audience every time.

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Saving time on content creation allows you to spend more time on other components of your business. By streamlining this process with automation and batching, you can leverage social media as a tool to build your business instead of having it run your entire business (and life). Which of these tips was most helpful for you? What are some other ways that you save time when it comes to content creation? Share with us in the comments below!