Content batching refers to creating lots of content in one bulk and scheduling it onto a social media planner. It eliminates the fear of falling behind or missing posting slots.
What is content batching? Is it important you do so? Will it benefit you or your work? We’re here to answer all these questions and hopefully get you on track to efficiency this year. All this terminology can be a little overwhelming, which is why we want to ensure our articles are simple and easy to understand.
What is content batching?
Content batching is preparing lots of content in one go. Everything from written content, to images and videos. You create it, edit it, and schedule it ahead of time. Then, when posting time comes around, your content is prepared. There’s no stress on your shoulders. Content batching involves planning everything in advance, even the post captions.
You can batch create for as far in advance as you’d like. Whether it be one week, two or even a few months. Whatever works best for you, your brand and your availability. Those who have a lot of platforms to post to but a very small team might try to batch for as far in advance as they possibly can so they have time to then catch up again.
An issue you could incur is your content no longer being relevant. If you schedule too far in advance, you’re not on top of trends. With TikTok, X (Twitter) and Instagram, trends are ever-changing, so you might be best batching two weeks in advance at a time. Unless, you are willing to reshuffle every week or so. In which case, you can batch for longer periods.
By this, we mean plan content for some time, but, go back in and add the odd post including the latest trends. You can batch posts that will always be relevant because they relate back to your brand or company. Then, when a new trend comes about, add in a post relating to that topic. This won’t take too much time out of your schedule, either.
A guide to content batching
- Decide what topics are most relevant to you and your brand. Think about your brand identity and message. These topics will be featured most often on your social media accounts, so ensure you select around 5 to give yourself some variety.
- Find trends as often as you can. Don’t go for the first trends you see. Ensure they can relate back to your brand somehow, otherwise they’re irrelevant. Find topics within your niche and use it as inspiration for unique content.
- Create a list of content ideas. The more you add to this, the better. You’ll need to add to this list often to ensure your content is always fresh and different. However, this list will act as incredible inspiration when you’re unsure on what to batch create.
- Record, or create, your content. Whether it’s making videos, audio, photo or graphics posts, you’ll need to create all your content ahead of time. Edit your creations and ensure they contain all relevant information. You can’t batch create without the content.
- Schedule your posts. Now is the time to add your content to a schedule planner. There are many out there to choose from, so find one that works best for you, as all user faces are different and each offers different tools. Add your captions/text/hashtags and schedule!
