Content Creation Within Your Busy Schedule
Introduction
In our fast-paced world, producing engaging content is vital for maintaining a robust online presence. But with life's demands and a busy schedule, finding the time to create, edit and post content can be challenging. Especially when you don't have a social media team doing it for you. This blog post will guide you through efficient strategies and practical tips for creating high-quality content even when time is in short supply. By using these techniques, you'll find ways to overcome time constraints, increase productivity, and consistently deliver valuable content to your audience. Whether you're a busy professional, entrepreneur, or freelancer, these strategies will help you utilise your limited time and build a strong online presence. So, let's explore how to create content without sacrificing other commitments.
Batch Create Content
One of the significant hurdles of a busy schedule is finding dedicated time for content creation. However, adopting effective strategies can help streamline the process and optimise your available time. A great method is to batch create content - setting aside dedicated blocks of time to create multiple pieces of content in one go. It promotes productivity and efficiency. Here are some practical tips to help you successfully batch create content:
Allocate Dedicated Time
The first step in batch creating is to allocate dedicated time slots for content creation. This could be a couple of hours on a specific day each week, or even a full day, depending on your schedule. Consider this time as sacred, allowing no interruptions. For instance, if you're a blogger, you might dedicate every Saturday morning to write multiple blog posts. This uninterrupted time will let you fully concentrate on generating ideas, writing, designing, or recording without distractions. By having an allocated content creation time, you don't have to worry about creating during your other working hours in the week.
Plan and Outline
Before you dive into your batch creation session, take time to prepare a content outline or storyboard. This could mean sketching out the main points or key ideas for each blog post, video, or social media post. For example, if you're creating a series of Instagram posts, you might outline the main theme, key messages, and visual style for each post. This pre-planning stage will keep you organised and focused during your creation session.
Gather Resources
Preparation is vital for a successful batch creation session. Make sure that you have all the necessary resources, props, or equipment ready before you begin. If you're filming a video, this might involve setting up your camera and lighting equipment, preparing props, or scripting your dialogue. If you're writing, it could mean gathering relevant research materials or creating a comfortable writing environment for when you sit down for your allocated time.
Templates and Presets
Using templates or presets can significantly speed up your content creation process while maintaining a cohesive visual identity across your content. For example, if you're creating graphics for social media, you might use a template in Canva or Adobe Spark that aligns with your brand style. This will save you the creative energy of designing something from scratch. Similarly, if you're editing videos, using preset filters in your editing software can give your videos a consistent look and feel.
By embracing batch creation, you can make significant progress in less time, work efficiently, maintain consistency, and leverage your existing content. It's a strategy that could transform your content creation process, making it more manageable, even with a busy schedule.
Schedule Content
While crafting exceptional content is crucial, it's only the initial phase. To guarantee maximum visibility and engagement, you'll need to employ a strategic scheduling approach. A well-executed scheduling plan ensures your audience is reached at the right time, maintaining your consistent online presence. Here are some effective steps to schedule your content:
Utilise Social Media Scheduling Tools
In the world of social media, it's not enough to create great content; you need to share it at the right time, when your audience is most likely to be online. That's where social media scheduling tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, or Sprout Social come in handy. These tools offer a user-friendly interface where you can plan and automate your social media posts across various platforms. For example, if you have prepared a series of tweets for your Twitter audience, you can input them into Buffer, set a specific time and date for each tweet, and Buffer will handle the rest. This way, even if you're busy or away from your device at the time allocated, your posts will still go live and reach your audience. Most of these tools offer free versions or budget-friendly options, so you won't need to stretch your wallet.
Know Your Audience's Online Behaviour
One of the keys to strategic content scheduling is understanding when your audience is online. Use the analytics features provided by your social media platforms to identify when your followers are most active.
For example, Facebook's Page Insights tool provides data on when your fans are online, helping you schedule your posts for peak visibility. Similarly, Instagram Insights offers data on your followers' most active times. By tailoring your posting schedule to these peak times, you're likely to see higher engagement rates.
Experiment with Scheduling Frequencies
Balancing consistency and audience interest is crucial for an effective social media strategy. Consider experimenting with how often you post to see which different scheduling frequencies drive the most engagement.
For example, you could start by posting once a day on Instagram and monitor the response. If you notice a drop in engagement, try adjusting to every other day. Conversely, if engagement increases, you might want to consider posting more frequently. It's all about finding what works best for your unique audience.
Consider Content Management Systems
Content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal can also be valuable tools for scheduling content across multiple platforms. Many of these systems offer scheduling features, allowing you to draft content and set it to publish at a future date. For example, if you write a weekly blog, you can prepare several weeks' worth of posts and schedule them to go live every Monday morning, freeing up your time for other tasks. Many CMS tools are free or have affordable options, making them accessible even for those with limited budgets.
Implementing a strategic content schedule can significantly enhance your online presence. By utilising social media scheduling tools, understanding your audience's behaviour, experimenting with scheduling frequencies, and leveraging CMS, you can effectively plan your content release, maximising the value of your time and effort.
Remember, it's not just about being visible; it's about being visible when your audience is most receptive.
Repurpose Content
Repurposing content allows you to extend its life and reach different segments of your audience without investing a significant amount of additional time to creation. For instance, you could convert a blog post into a podcast episode or create a series of Instagram posts from key points in a YouTube video. This not only saves time but also allows you to cater to your audience's diverse content consumption preferences.
You can also reshape old content that performed well. By reshaping it, changing the platform or format of the content, you minimise your time input, and maximise content that resonates with your audience.
Outsource Content Creation
Content creation can be a daunting task, particularly if you've already got a packed schedule. A viable solution is to delegate certain tasks to external freelancers or agencies. By assigning responsibilities to professionals, you can ensure a steady stream of high-quality content without taxing your time and resources excessively. Here's how to proficiently outsource content creation:
Identify Delegatable Tasks
Begin by evaluating your content creation needs and pinpoint tasks that are suitable for outsourcing. These could range from graphic design, video editing, and copywriting to more specialised skills. For instance, if you have a knack for writing but find that creating graphics is too time-consuming for you, consider hiring a freelance graphic designer. Or if video editing isn't your strong suit, outsource this to a professional editor. Remember, the idea is to free up your time for tasks where you add the most value.
Communicate Expectations and Guidelines
To ensure your brand's voice and style remains consistent, it's essential to communicate your expectations and guidelines clearly to the freelancers or agencies. This might include specifics around tone of voice, stylistic preferences, or any other unique aspects of your brand identity. For instance, if you're hiring a copywriter to produce blog posts, provide them with a comprehensive brief detailing the topic, preferred tone, target audience, key points to cover, and any SEO keywords to include.
Thorough Research and Vetting
Before bringing external content creators on board, it's crucial to conduct a thorough review of their past work. Websites like Upwork, Fiverr, or Freelancer make this process easy by providing freelancers' portfolios and client reviews. If you're on a tight budget, consider hiring a freelancer who's just starting out - they're often more affordable and eager to build their reputation. However, ensure that they understand your requirements and can deliver to the quality you need.
Establish Effective Communication and Collaboration
Once you've outsourced your content creation, establishing a system for efficient communication and collaboration is key. This might involve setting up regular check-ins, using project management tools like Trello or Asana, or creating shared folders on Google Drive for easy access to documents and resources. By fostering open communication, you'll be able to provide feedback, clarify queries promptly, and keep everyone aligned.
By outsourcing your content creation, you're able to tap into the expertise of professionals who specialise in specific areas. This not only saves you valuable time but ensures that your content is of high-quality. Through clear communication, thorough research, and collaboration, you can build a reliable network of external content creators, supporting your content needs and maintaining a consistent online presence.
Seek Out Guest Contributors
Enlisting guest contributors can be an effective strategy to generate content whilst balancing a busy schedule. Guest contributors not only provide fresh perspectives but also help reduce the content creation workload. Here's a practical guide on how to effectively engage guest contributors:
Reach Out to Industry Experts and Influencers
Start by identifying experts, influencers, or thought leaders within your industry who align with your brand's ethos and have valuable knowledge to share.
For instance, if you run a fitness blog, reach out to personal trainers, nutritionists, or accomplished athletes. Craft personalised emails or messages expressing your interest in featuring their content.
Highlight the value they can provide to your audience and the exposure or value they will get by contributing their content to your platform and your audience.
Establish Mutually Beneficial Partnerships
When engaging guest contributors, ensure the partnership benefits both parties. This can be achieved by offering exposure to a new audience for the guest contributor, while your platform benefits from their unique insights and expertise. This could also include a trade exchange, where you provide them with some value that they're looking for. Mutually beneficial partnerships will create goodwill and mean that you're more likely to be able to work with or collaborate with your guest contributor multiple times.
For example, a fashion influencer contributing to your lifestyle blog would get exposure to your audience, while your blog benefits from the influencer's unique fashion tips.
Define Guidelines and Topics
To maintain consistency and relevance across your content, provide potential contributors with clear guidelines and topics for their contributions. For instance, if you're soliciting guest blog posts, you might provide a general theme (such as 'sustainable living'), preferred word count, and any required formatting standards. This helps align the guest contributor's output with your audience's interests while allowing them to showcase their expertise.
Recognise and Promote Guest Contributors
Recognise guest contributors appropriately to encourage ongoing collaborations. This can include featuring a short bio, linking to their website or social media profiles, or even promoting their services or products. Consider promoting their contributions on your own channels, such as social media posts or newsletters. This recognition not only builds a stronger relationship with the guest contributor but also adds credibility to your content.
By enlisting guest contributors, you can bring fresh perspectives to your content whilst reducing your workload. Building partnerships with industry experts and influencers not only enhances your content quality but also expands your reach. By providing clear guidelines, giving appropriate recognition, and promoting guest contributions, you foster a collaborative environment that encourages ongoing guest contributions.
Reshare High-Quality Content
Resharing high-quality content is a smart way to maintain an engaging online presence without overstretching yourself. Leveraging your existing content not only saves time but also maximises the value you offer your audience. Here's how to effectively reshare content:
Identify High-Quality Content
Start by reviewing your previously published content. Look for posts or articles that have received high engagement, such as likes, comments, or shares, indicating that your audience found them valuable. Especially seek out 'evergreen content'—these are pieces that aren't time-sensitive and remain relevant and useful over time. For instance, a tutorial on using basic functions of a popular software, an inspirational post, or a how-to guide for a common task can be considered evergreen content.
Create a Content Library
Organise your evergreen content into a content library, which acts as a reservoir for valuable, reusable content. You might categorise it by topics, or format (like video, blog post, infographic), or audience engagement levels. Using a simple spreadsheet or a cloud-based document management system, you can have your content at your fingertips for resharing when needed.
Add New Insights and Updates
When resharing content, consider refreshing it with new insights, updates, or context to keep it relevant and engaging. For example, if you're resharing a blog post about online marketing trends from two years ago, you could add a new introduction discussing recent developments in the field. This reinforces your commitment to providing timely, valuable content to your audience.
Engage with Your Audience
As you reshare content, use it as an opportunity to interact with your audience. Encourage feedback, ask for their experiences, or pose a question related to the content to spark a discussion. For instance, if you're resharing a blog post about work-life balance, you could ask your followers about their own strategies for maintaining equilibrium. This builds a sense of community and deepens your relationship with your audience.
Resharing high-quality content is an effective, time-saving strategy that maximises the longevity and impact of your work. By identifying reusable content, maintaining a content library, refreshing older pieces with new insights, and using the opportunity to engage with your audience, you can maintain a dynamic online presence even amidst a busy schedule.
Source Content for Summaries
Curating and summarising content from various reliable sources is a powerful strategy to stay relevant in your industry and offer fresh insights to your audience. Here's a detailed step-by-step guide on how to source and summarise content:
Stay Informed
To source content worth summarising, keep a pulse on your industry's latest trends and insights. Follow industry-specific blogs, news websites, thought leaders, or authoritative publications. For example, if you operate in the digital marketing space, you might follow sites like Moz Blog, Marketing Land, or Social Media Examiner.
Consider subscribing to relevant newsletters, or use tools like Google Alerts to monitor specific keywords. RSS feed aggregators such as Feedly can also help you gather content from various sources in one place.
Utilise Content Curation Tools
Content curation tools can streamline the process of gathering and organising relevant content. Tools like Pocket or Flipboard allow you to save content from various online sources. Not only can you aggregate content in one place, but you can also annotate and categorise them for future reference.
For those on a tight budget, the free versions of these tools often provide sufficient functionality for small to medium-sized content curation needs.
Write Concise and Informative Summaries
When summarising sourced content, the aim is to convey the essence of the original piece in a succinct manner. Identify the main points, key arguments, or unique insights from the content. Craft your summary in a way that offers value in fewer words. For example, if you're summarising an article about SEO trends, highlight the main trends, why they're relevant, and any recommended actions for businesses.
Add Your Unique Perspective
To differentiate your content, add your personal commentary or analysis to the summaries. For instance, if you're summarising a piece on emerging technologies, you might add how you see these technologies impacting your industry or share a case where you've seen one of these technologies used effectively. This showcases your expertise and makes your summaries more engaging.
Attribute and Give Proper Credit
Always provide proper credit to the original creators when summarising their content. Include the source's name, author, and a link back to the original content. This is not only a matter of intellectual property respect but also allows your audience to dive deeper into the topic if they choose.
Sourcing content for summaries is an effective method for providing valuable insights to your audience while managing your busy schedule. By staying informed, utilising content curation tools, writing concise and informative summaries, adding your unique perspective, and attributing the original content, you become a trusted source of industry information.
Conclusion
Creating and managing high-quality content with a busy schedule can be a challenge, but it's not impossible. By scheduling content ahead, outsourcing certain tasks, engaging guest contributors, resharing high-quality content, and sourcing content for summaries, you can maintain a steady flow of impactful content. Each strategy requires careful execution and a deep understanding of your audience's needs. While the process may seem demanding initially, with time, these practices become part of your routine, ensuring your content strategy thrives irrespective of your schedule. Remember, quality over quantity is what earns the trust and engagement of your audience.
Kiara Stent is a creative and energetic Digital Media Developer at ThinkStory, with experience in web design, development, and marketing. She works across all projects and has a bubbly personality that makes her a pleasure to work with. Kiara's skills and dedication are evident in everything she does, making her an invaluable member of the team.
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