What is content batching?
Creating and managing content is a never-ending process. Sometimes it seems like you are stuck in the same cycle: having an idea, putting the idea on paper, creating the content (graphic, image, copy, etc.), posting it, getting feedback, then repeating the process over and over again.
You may think “Didn’t I just make a post? Do I already have to make a new one?” We know it is a time-consuming task and you may wonder sometimes, how do some people get so much content out? The “secret recipe” from many social media gurus is simple: content batching.
Content batching is what the name suggests, creating content in batches or bundles. Simply put, it is a strategy in which you create and schedule multiple content pieces at once, saving you time, effort, and sometimes money. With content batching, you can plan ahead and develop a calendar for weeks or even months to come.
When you content batch for your business, you don’t have to spend time thinking about what to post, choosing an image or video, and writing the copy for each individual post every single time. You do it for multiple posts in a single sitting.
The Benefits of Content Batching
There are lots of content batching benefits, so let's get to it!
4 reasons why you should consider content batching for your business:
It saves so much time. Instead of going after content ideas and creating them every time you need them, you can create them ahead of time. By anticipating the need for content, you can easily focus on the task at hand and create content faster. If you are a business owner or someone with multiple responsibilities, this may be extra useful to you since it will open more time to focus on other tasks.
It helps reduce stress. So many people, including content creators, don't have a plan when it comes to batching. They are always looking for ideas on the spot and end up super stressed out when they don't find something good to post. Not planning ahead will also affect your content. People notice when you are not organized or consistent about what you post.
It increases productivity. Think about it this way: whenever you take some time to focus on a specific task, you tend to get it done faster, right? Batching content is like any system and once you get used to that, it gets easier to produce more content faster.
It keeps you (or your team) on track. If you know you will be content batching every month on a set day, you know exactly when that content will be ready and how long you have that content for. When you don’t use content batching, you may overlook the need to create content or you may not reserve the required time to get it done.
The Step-by-Step of Content Batching
You may be thinking “easier said than done,”. However, if you follow this step-by-step content batching process you can produce multiple pieces of content every single week.
Step 1: Write down all content ideas you want to explore
Think about the social media platforms you are going to use and the type of content you want to post (stories, videos, templates, pictures, graphics, etc.). If you have content ideas beforehand, even better. Keep track of your ideas and review them when it is time to batch.
Step 2: Take extra notes on each idea & do your research
Make sure you have all the information needed to bring that content to life. Ask yourself everything you need beforehand and plan accordingly. Some questions that may come in handy are, Do I need to collaborate with someone to make this content? Will this be a series or a single post? Do I need any other tools besides the ones I currently have? Do I have the necessary information to make this content or do I need to learn more about it?
Step 3: Create a calendar or outline
Organize all of your ideas into a tangible calendar or planner. There are dozens of great apps available to help you with planning. We use Notion for all of our planning. Another great planning app is Planoly. Choose an app that suits your needs.
In step 3, you will also need to answer questions like: How often will I post? Is there any strategy on how often I will post pictures vs videos? If it’s a series, how often will I post, and on which days? Do I need to balance the number of posts on each social media platform?
The goal here is to take all of the content you thought about and start connecting the pieces. This is directly linked to your social media strategy. Some people may post 3 times a week whereas others may post every day (or multiple times a day). Deciding the frequency of your posts will change the way you plan and batch content so be aware of those subtle details when setting up your calendar.
Extra tip: Pay attention to the connection between ideas as well. Some content can build the basis for the following content if you can find connections between them.
Step 4: Create the content
The hands-on phase of your content batching is here! Create the graphics, blog posts, videos, or any other type of content you may need and add them to the calendar. This is where the ideas actually come to life. For some people, this step is the most time-consuming one, make sure to reserve enough time to get everything done.
Step 5: Schedule the content
Once you have everything figured out (your strategy, your calendar, the graphics, the copy, etc.), start scheduling it out. We use Facebook Studio to schedule all of our Facebook and Instagram posts but there are tools out there that let you cover more social media platforms than that.
Some of them are free, some of them have paid plans, some of them allow multiple team members to schedule content, others are made for one person to use. Do some research before committing to one.
Step 6: Do it all over again
Content batching is a cyclical process. After you have batched content for a specific time span, you will have to do it all over again.
Some people like to batch content for the whole month, while others like to batch it for a whole semester. There is no rule here, but be aware of your conditions. It is easier to plan ahead if you work in certain industries, but it may be harder for other industries. For example, if you work with social media, you will be dealing with constant updates and changes on the platforms, new trends, and more, so you cannot anticipate what will happen in 2 or 3 months. On the other hand, if you work in a more “traditional” industry or one that is affected by seasonality, planning 2 or 3 months in advance is not a bad idea.
That's it! We hope you found this article on batching content for your business helpful. You will be a content batching guru in no time if you make the time to batch and follow these steps.
Check out these blog posts for more tips:
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