What is Batching Content?
Using “time blocking” or “chunking” to create content like busting out blog posts or all of your social media posts for the month (or most of them). This is the time you set aside to get hyper-focused on your content. You can spend a whole day or 1 hour. However, your time needs to be separated. Some people need to write one day and edit a few days later.
In my Social Media Planner, I help you develop a content generation strategy that creates all your content ideas for the month. You can incorporate this into your batch session, and this is a 1-hour task. Grab a copy now!k
What can you Batch Content
For blog posts break it down into all the tasks: research, outlining, writing, formatting & editing, image/graphic, and publishing.
For social media posting break it all down into those tasks: write copy, find or create images/graphics, schedule posts.
I like to batch post writing my blogs in 1 day of the month. I like it done and not have to worry about it for the rest of the month.
Outline all of your Facebook and Instagram Live topics – 3-5 bullet points for each LIVE. What I like to do to is use my blog posts as the topics of my Lives. I go into more detail and answer questions on the Lives – this helps to repurpose content and it’s a great way to tie in my themes and topics and have a consistent message.
Automate!
Buffer to help you post and schedule in Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Planoly for Instagram. Post, for, at and schedule your blog posts on your website.
Automate as much as you can so you can save even more time.
All the time you save is more time you can spend with your customers. They’ll appreciate more you time.
Calendar It.
Calendar your batching sessions on your calendar. If you don’t schedule it you will not do it. As Marie Forleo says if it’s not scheduled it’s not real.
I know this sounds like A LOT of work. And I won’t lie, it is. Content is work and takes time, it’s not necessarily hard it’s just time-consuming. But the more you batch post, the better your system will become. The easier it will be for you. Like most things, it has to become a habit. Once it’s is part of your regular routine and schedule, you’ll wonder why you didn’t batch sooner.
Creating content as I go during the month, week or day takes up way more of my time than batching sessions.
And honestly, if I don’t hold batch sessions, my content won’t get done. I find myself scrambling to get my blog posts done (stress), I find myself trying to scrounge up social media posts that end up being unfocused random crummy posts (that I find overwhelming). I deserve better for my time than that, and most of all my customers and you, my readers, definitely deserve MUCH better.
And doing it as you go sucks up way more of your time than setting batching sessions.
If you are struggling to get your content done each month, try batching. Set an hour and make a list of what you want to get done and do nothing but that.
You won’t get it all done at first, but you’ll get more efficient the more you do it. And I’ll bet ya that you will have more done that you have in the past and you will feel some relief from all the pressure to get content created.
The quality of my content has become so much better. But the best improvement I saw once I began to batch content is that I am better able to bring it all together for my clients. From tying in my social media content with my blog posts and my opt-ins to my discussions with clients. My business became more clear and efficient. And I was no longer feeling stressed and under pressure when it came to content.
It took time for me to get a good routine that I stuck to, it was more like a gradual build up than a sudden change.
To go along with your batching content, I have a FREE Social Media Planner for Local Businesses that will help you set your themes and topics for the entire month so you can sit down with that planner when you batch your content.
