Content Creation: 5 Ways To Work Smarter Across Platforms

By Ivie Ndep

Businesses sometimes struggle with content creation because of a lack of sound content strategy – especially when they are active on several channels. It is important to be more efficient working on content so you can spend more time on your business. There are so many ways to make content creation a breeze and we will highlight 5 ways to work smarter across platforms.

DOCUMENT YOUR STRATEGY

Being on different platforms means you can talk to different audiences. A well-defined (and written down) strategy for all your platforms is useful for providing direction and making sure you are on track with your goals. The strategy should include items such as posting times for different channels, content themes, and content types. It puts all these in a central location and provides a reference.Pro tip: Master one platform at a time. You do not have to be everywhere at once. You can add more platforms as you grow your team.

PLAN YOUR CONTENT AND SCHEDULE AHEAD OF TIME

Plan your content in advance to stay ahead of the game – have a system in place. Use scheduling tools to plan your posts in advance. There are many different social media management software such as Hootsuite, Later, or Buffer, that will help you manage both publishing and engagement. These can save you from having to publish content to each profile individually, therefore increasing productivity and efficiency.

HARNESS THE POWER OF BATCHING

According to projectmanager.com, “batching is the act of grouping tasks together, so you do them all at once, instead of switching between tasks that take place in different programs or areas”.

Creating content for various social media platforms each day takes up time. Batching can be done by creating all social posts for the month, either image or copy, in one sitting but still sharing them over the month. Batching the content allows you to execute your social media strategy simply and clears your mind of having to think about that task every day for the next week or month. This can help you save time and maintain a consistent posting schedule. Below are tips on how to batch your social media content.

• Collect stock images and save them in a folder for future use

• When you are taking pictures, take a bunch - no one will know you took them in one day!

• Schedule a week’s or month’s content in one day.

REPURPOSE CONTENT

Savvy marketers know that one easy way to create content for social media is by repurposing user-generated content (UGC). UGC saves time, resources, and boosts your credibility because people connect well with content that has been created by people like them. UGC may include guest posts, images, videos, online reviews, or even testimonials which you can share as posts to all your platforms in different ways.You could also repurpose your own content. For example, you can turn your blog posts into bite-size tips or facts to share on Instagram or IGTV.

You could also choose a quote from the blog to share as a post on twitter. So many things can be made from a single blog post or article. Blog posts could also be enhanced by square visuals, which could become content on Instagram or Facebook.

CREATE IMAGES WITH CANVA

Canva allows you to create several images at once. It gives you the ability to create a brand kit that details your specific brand colors and fonts. You can quickly create media images, blog images, infographics, and flyers, and there are tons of pre-made creative templates that you can adapt in seconds with simple drag-and-drop tools. You can easily resize your designs for different platforms or mediums, save brand templates, and a lot more. Canva also allows you to share your work on Facebook and Twitter.

Pro Tip: Measure, measure, measure. How do you know if your strategy is working? Check your analytics to know what works. For example, if you are spending all your time on Instagram but getting more engagement and traffic on Facebook then maybe its time to alter your strategy.

Working across platforms does not have to be a hassle. Having a strategy, planning, and batching your content will save you time, stress, and make your business a whole lot more fun. If you still feel like you can’t seem to get ahead with your content planning, be sure to give us a call!