How to Batch and Re-purpose Your Content (Time Saving Hack)
Hello friends! This week I want to talk about content batching and repurposing. If you aren’t familiar with the process, it’s a killer content strategy that will save you a ton of time and keep you consistently posting on social media. But before I dive into what content batching and repurposing is and how to do it, I want to break down why exactly this strategy has been effective for me and my business.
Why Content Batching & Repurposing is Efficient
I launched my business in April of 2019 with nine blog posts. I already batched two months worth of content to carry me through June. At the time I was planning my content batching schedule, I knew I was going to be starting my new job mid-May so I factored this in. But time flew by and I found myself very busy at my new job. I needed to batch more content, but I kept coming home from work exhausted and just did not feel inspired to create. To simply put it – I got lazy. And I kept telling myself that I would get to it, but time ran out and then I found myself in a creative lull. I just got so overwhelmed by the fact that I was behind that I ended up not posting for over a month.
Lesson learned: Had I stuck to my content batching schedule I would have avoided running out of content during a creative lull, consistency issues, and the stress I caused myself.
If any of this is hitting home with you… keep reading because I’m going to break down the details of how exactly I batch my content for all of the platforms that I use. Content batching keeps me consistent and it will do the same for you too.
Before You Begin… Brainstorm
Before I even built my website, I sat down and wrote out every idea I could possibly think of that I could potentially write a blog post on. Once I had a solid list of ideas, I put them into Trello which is a project management tool that I use for brainstorming. This way, I can come back to old ideas if I need them, add in new ideas, and have a safe place to store them.
Batching Your Content
I can’t do the whole “write one blog post a week” thing. There are not enough hours in the week for me to sit down and write a weekly blog post, do a photo shoot, design social media graphics, work 9-5, have a social life, sleep, eat, and breathe. And to be completely honest with you guys, my creativity comes and goes in waves. When I’m on, I can sit and write eight blog posts without stopping. But when I’m off, it’s like crickets. So when I finally get into the creative flow I want to make sure that I’m doing all my blog posts at once so I stay in that flow. Batching content is a simple and efficient way for me to get all my blog posts done and scheduled out months in advance.
Next, we’ll talk about photo shoots. I do not have photos taken of me very often, but I do take product-based photography for a lot of my blog posts and social promos. Typically, I handle my blog photography on a monthly basis. I batch a month’s worth of blog photography in one photo shoot, which typically takes me a few hours to do. This way I’m able to get all of the imagery I need and re-size them into different social graphics to promote across my social platforms.
Repurposing Your Content
There are many ways to repurpose content, but the gist is that you take your main piece of content – which in my case is the blog post – and repackage it into other content for your other platforms.
So, let’s take Facebook and Instagram for example. Facebook and Instagram are super easy to sync. All you have to do is flip a switch and whatever you post on Instagram will be shared to your Facebook page. Since I have this set up, all I have to do is share a post to my Instagram feed and it will automatically post to my Facebook page. Once the post has published, I’ll share the new post to my Instagram Story and cover the photo with a “new post” sticker to create a “teaser” that links to my new post. I also like to make a separate graphic for my Instagram Story specifically promoting my new blog post and telling people to click the link in my bio to read it.
Another way I like to repurpose my content is by taking blurbs or quotes from my blog posts and turning them into Instagram captions. This is a great way of giving your audience a teaser and letting them know where they can find more of your content. I usually repurpose my content and schedule it out on social two weeks in advance. I’m still improving on making my captions more compelling. Does anyone have any suggestions or tips?
Final Thoughts
So, that’s how I batch and repurpose my content! I’ve found that riding my creative wave is much more efficient than me trying to fit something creative in “when I have the time.”
My favorite bosses Vanessa Lau and Sunny Lenarduzzi both have fantastic videos on content batching. Definitely check out their videos if you need ideas on how to apply this strategy to YouTube, podcast, or Facebook live stream content. 🙂