If you create valuable content for a blog post, e-book, or social post, use that content everywhere. Here, I’ll show you how to batch content.
How to Batch Content 101
Content batching is a technique where you create a bunch of content during a set period of time. For example, instead of spending an hour a day planning, creating, and publishing one social media post, you might spend four hours a month batching an entire month’s worth of social media posts.
Try writing a month’s worth of content in one sitting. The efficiency and productivity gains will be immense. To be clear, I’m talking about creating all of your social posts, blog content, videos, or visuals at one time.
Here’s how to do it.
How to Batch Content: 8 Batching Tricks from a Batching Master
Yeah, I just called myself a batching master. Batching content and repurposing that content are things I do well. I like to own my strengths and my weaknesses. Reach out, and I will happily share a top 10 list of my weaknesses. For real.
Enough about my skill set. Let’s talk about building yours. Here are 8 behind-the-scenes batching and repurposing tricks:
- Keep your finger on the pulse of your industry or area of expertise. Follow other experts on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Join 2-3 Facebook groups to gain insight into trending topics. Add up to three relevant hashtag topics on your LinkedIn business page and keep track of (and respond to) trending posts from the hashtag feed.
- Spend 1 hour listing out the core content you want to produce for an entire quarter. Yeah, I just wrote “for an entire quarter” — you read me right. Figure out what you want to produce for the next quarter. The content you produce might include blog content (blogging once or twice weekly would be ideal) and possibly one or more high-value pieces of content, such as case studies, an e-book, and a white paper. If you blog weekly, you’ll need to plan to write roughly 12 blog posts.
- Set aside 2 hours to brainstorm your quarterly content in more depth. You’ll essentially update a monthly content calendar pinpointing timely, relevant topics that relate to the services your prospects need and the value you provide. That calendar will include the date each piece of content will launch, or go live.
- Set aside 8 hours per month to create new content for that month. If you want to blog weekly, you’ll write roughly four blogs in one day. Totally doable, I swear.
- Schedule a month’s worth of blogs. Ideally, you’ll be writing these blog posts in WordPress and using Yoast SEO to make those posts visible to the world. (Your site’s on WordPress, right? Right? Whew.)
- Use the content you’ve created as a baseline for updated website content, case studies, multiple blogs (if you created an e-book or white paper), or an e-book or white paper (if you wrote several blogs). All new content should form the basis for a slew of social media posts. Repurpose everything that you can. You earn no bonus points for recreating the wheel.
- Learn to love Canva and Unsplash. Spend 2 hours per month downloading images and creating memes, inspirational quotes, Pinterest posts, Instagram stories, and a million other things besides. You will get on a roll. Trust me.
- Load one month’s worth of content into a social media content scheduler. I like Agorapulse and SocialPilot. Other possibilities include Loomly, Hootsuite, and Later. Do not — I repeat, do not — post to three or more social platforms on a regular basis without using a content scheduler. It’s a major time saver.
Content Batching Is Just the Start
If you’re wondering how to batch content, start by setting aside some structured time each month. (You can task a member of your team to handle the content writing and batching as well.)
The key is to beg, borrow, and steal from your own content early and often.
One question I’m often asked: Won’t my clients and prospects notice I’m repurposing my content? The answer’s no. You’ll notice. No one else will. On the off, off chance that they do notice, consider it a win. Someone kept so close an eye on your new content you posted that they noticed your blog and white paper and social posts were all variations on a theme. Pop open some Veuve Clicquot and celebrate. I mean, how cool is that?
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