Optimizing the Content Creation Process

1. Visual Identity

The first step to optimizing your content creation process is defining a visual identity. Commonly, successful brands develop a visual identity early, but some don’t. Take some time to examine the brand’s social media profiles. Does the brand already have a visual identity, or is it evident that you need to work on that? Visual identity is one of the most appealing aspects to new and potential clients, customers, and followers. Nobody wants to follow or work with a brand whose social media pages are unorganized and, overall, difficult to look at. Visual identity is crucial to a brand’s success - so it is important that you keep this in mind throughout your content creation process.

2. Image Curation

The next step in the content creation process is to start collecting images of the brand’s products. As a content creator, you don’t want to constantly worry about curating images for posts every time you come to make one. It is much easier to have a collection of images which you can choose from. This way of creating is not only less time-consuming but will also allow you more time to focus on the marketing side of things or in other words - how you will gain a following for the brand. Perhaps consider taking some time at least once a week or once every other week to curate images. Having a gallery of content to choose from ahead of time will put a lot less pressure on you as the creator. 

3. Bulk Creation

In addition to image curation, creating content in bulk can also help lessen the pressure of being a content creator. Spend time a few days a month to create and draft content that you’re planning to post in the upcoming weeks. This is an especially useful tip if you’re creating video content. Video creation, even short-form video, takes a lot of time and mental energy; however, even if you dedicate just a day or two every month to drafting content, it won’t take as much of your time because you’ve already done half of the work. 

4. Templates!

Being a content creator sometimes means that you have to dig deep into your creative skills to create visuals for social media. While some people are naturally gifted with design skills, it’s not for everyone. In this case, I recommend taking advantage of templates that are easy to access and customize for brands. Canva is a great place to start. With thousands of templates to choose from, it’s one of the easiest platforms to learn how to use as a beginner. Templates are a great way to save time as creating visuals from scratch often takes more time than you have to offer. 

5. Planning

Now that you have curated and drafted content, it's time to plan when you'll post. If needed, dedicate time every month to replan your posting schedule. Sometimes the times that you post don’t exactly line up with your follower’s schedules. Look into analyzing your posts, and plan according to the times that your followers are most active. This will make it more likely that your followers will see your posts and engage with your content. Recognize that it is okay to make mistakes and make a new plan as needed. Also, be sure that you are posting regularly on all of the social media platforms the brand is utilizing. Don’t focus too much on one platform, as this may cause the brand to lose followers on its other platforms. 

6. Recycling Content

Despite what some might say, it is perfectly fine to reuse images and templates - especially if a certain post receives higher engagement than others. There is no need to make every post from scratch every time you create. Likely, your followers aren’t going to see every post that you make and that’s what makes content recycling so great. It saves you time and might even boost your engagement numbers as a result of your consistent branding. Just make sure it’s not the same post... Change the layout, color, or text, and BOOM - a new post!

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