Do you feel like you don't have enough time to create content for social media? You're not alone! Many business owners struggle with this - in fact, our research into Torbay businesses has shown that 3 in 4 business owners struggle to find the time to create the social media they need to grow their business.
But there are ways to save time and still produce high-quality content. In this blog post, we will discuss some tips that will help you save time when creating social media content. We'll also recommend helpful apps that will make the process easier and faster.
Questions to answer to inform your social media strategy
Are you targeting business to business (B2B) or business to consumer (B2C)?
What is the age demographic of your ideal consumer?
What social media apps do they use?
Social media platforms to consider
The social media platform you choose for your digital marketing will be determined by the answers to the questions above. If you're targeting B to B, LinkedIn would be a good choice. If you're targeting younger people, TikTok or YouTube might be better options. And if you're targeting older adults, Facebook would probably be your best bet. However, if you're targeting millennials, Instagram is a great option.
Consider your target audience
When creating content, it's important to keep your audience in mind. What type of content will they be interested in? What kind of content will resonate with them? Try to think about what would interest and engage them. If you're not sure, ask! You can always survey your audience or ask for feedback.
Improve brand awareness
Another thing to keep in mind is the overall look and feel of your social media accounts. Are they consistent with your brand? Do they reflect your company's values? Make sure that the content you're creating is in line with the image you want to portray. If it doesn't feel right, don't post it - it's better to post less frequently with media that supports your brand messaging than posting daily with content that undermines your brand.
Social media content strategy is key
Creating a social media content strategy is important for saving time and ensuring that your content is on brand and engaging. By taking the time to plan out your content, you can save yourself a lot of time and energy overall.
Now that you've considered your audience and the overall look of your social media accounts, it's time to start creating content! Here are some tips to help you save time:
Schedule your posts in advance. This will help you stay organized and on track.
Repurpose old content. If you have blog posts or articles that are relevant to your business, share them on social media. You can also repurpose old photos and videos.
Use apps to help you. As we mentioned before, there are some great apps that can help you save time when creating social media content.
Capturing media for editing
In terms of capturing the media, it helps to have a high-quality phone. We use an iPhone 11 Pro Max with insane processing and storage features. Use all the features of the camera make sure that you set your video to 4K and use portrait mode, photo mode, time lapse, slow motion to set your media apart from the crowd. Check out our 10-second hack to get started filming in 4K on any newer iPhone.
Top choices for social media content creation apps
One trick to save time is to make capturing and editing media easy, and so it's worth the money to invest in some inexpensive apps that will save you time we love using Dropbox on our phone, Splice Premium and Canva Pro.
Captions and images made easy
Create authentic captions using the voice-to-text recorder on your phone to create meaningful captions without all the fiddly typing. Dropbox is perfect companion to store reusable captions and boilerplate messages, such as your location, opening hours, or your brand strapline.
Canva Pro is perfect for creating a range of image sizes, graphics and for uploading photos and videos to customise them.
Splice Premium is great for royalty free music, sound effects, transitions and special effects like "Ken Burns" to make photos look more like videos - that special effect can bring an expensive look to what you're creating by adding motion.
TOP TIP: Generally, there are three post sizes, and if you have Canva Pro you can resize easily. To save time, start with a square and get larger with each resize.
Post size matters to your social media presence
Square 1080px by 1080px, 1:1 ratio
Squares will go on to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and your Google Business Profile. Read the blog on why your Google Business Profile is your best value social media channel here.
Jumbo 1080px by 1350px, 3:4 ratio
Jumbos can go on Instagram posts, Facebook posts, Twitter posts, and Google business profile. We call these supersized posts Jumbos or Screenfillers because they take up so much real estate on a mobile screen.
Portrait 1080px by 1920px, 9:16 ratio
Portrait images and video can go on Instagram reels, Instagram Stories. Facebook reels, Facebook stories, YouTube shorts and TikTok - this ratio is the future of mobile and is a must for anyone looking to make social media content quickly and with the greatest impact. You just need to remember to keep that phone upright!
Widescreen 1920px x 1080px, 16:9 ratio
This ratio is perfect for YouTube and your website. You need to have amazing video and motion graphics on your website. There is a business case to film in landscape, but is it is increasingly becoming diminished in favour of the mobile friendly portrait view.
Music choices are important
On Instagram and TikTok, just about anything goes when it comes to your music, but on Facebook and YouTube, your social media content will be "copyrighted" if you use tracks that you don't have permission. What can happen is the track will lose its volume in the middle and it will look like an amateurish error. On YouTube, your video can be demonetised for using copyrighted material.
TOP TIP: Splice has an incredible library of all different types of music, sound effects, logo "stings", epic music, cinematic, pop music, Christmas music, Lo-fi Ibiza beats - you name it. We love using Splice for posting to Facebook because you just don't have to worry about it being copyrighted (And you can also post that video to YouTube as a short or widescreen).
The rise of short form video content for platform coverage and growth
Just about everybody uses YouTube and the Shorts format video is red hot right now. Reels on Instagram, Reels on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube shorts, is being prioritised at the very top of every content feed. We recommend filming short authentic videos in a portrait mode in a 9:16 ratio. If you overlay graphics and post to Instagram and Facebook Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts, you will be covering most demographics. This video format is going to increase your visibility and is a great for a growth strategy.
Instagram Reels have changed the game
Reels is the short-form video feature within Instagram. Reels invites social media content creators to put their own spin on the world’s stories, trends and interests — whether they’re funny, creative, or informative.
They can be up to 90 seconds long and set to music with visual effects like green screen, AR filters, text and music. Reels can be shared with your followers on Feed and explore, and anyone can discover them through hashtags and audio tracks.
You can also share Reels with people who don’t follow you, making it a powerful tool for both building an audience from scratch or growing the one you already have.
TikTok is here to stay
TikTok is the fastest growing social media platform in the world. It's built for making and sharing short videos with others on the app. The app allows users to create videos of themselves singing, dancing, lip-syncing or just acting silly.
While TikTok has been around since 2016, it only started to gain mainstream traction in early 2019. In just a few short months, the app has exploded in popularity and is now one of the most downloaded social media apps.
While TikTok is mostly used by teenagers and young adults, the platform has something for everyone. Whether you’re into fashion, beauty, DIY, food, or just want to watch funny videos, there’s a TikTok for that.
If you need to target consumers, TikTok is a powerful platform to advertise your ecommerce business to millennials, Gen Z and younger.
Facebook Reels is Facebook's answer to Instagram Reels and TikTok
Facebook Reels is a new short-form video feature that allows users to create and share short portrait orientation videos. The videos can be filmed directly in the app or imported from your camera roll. Although they don't have the editing capability of Instagram Reels, they are being picked up and prioritised by the algorithm which will give you a boost. Repurpose your Instagram Reels content here for free.
YouTube Shorts is YouTube's answer to Instagram Reels and TikTok
YouTube Shorts is a new short-form video feature that allows users to create and share short portrait orientation videos on your YouTube channel. The videos now appear at the top of every feed and are prioritised by the algorithm here as well.
Post consistently to increase engagement
If you're trying to increase engagement with your own followers, post consistently. Engagement is about creating a community of people that are real raving fans of your brand. First, you need to know who your audience is, and what your followers want. This can be done through social media listening or using social media analytics tools.
Social media platforms use algorithms
You also need to be aware of the social media algorithm, which determines what content is shown in a social media users feed. The algorithm looks at things like recency, frequency, and engagement when determining what content to show.
By posting consistently, you can ensure that your content is being shown to more people, and that your followers are seeing the content they want. This is particularly true for Instagram, Facebook and TikTok stories.
This means that if you want to increase engagement, you need to be creating social media posts consistently, and responding to comments and messages. You also need to be creating high-quality content that is relevant to your audience.
Use social media scheduling tools
There are a number of social media scheduling tools available that can help you plan your time effectively. Use a social media management platform with a built-in content calendar like Hootsuite, Buffer, Later, MavSocial, Adobe Express and Sprout Social are all great options. Facebook has started encouraging content calendars on their Meta Creator Studio.
These tools allow you to schedule your content in advance, so that you can be sure that your content is being posted regularly. They also allow you to track your engagement, so that you can see what's working and what's not.
How to use Facebook's (Meta’s) Creator Studio step-by-step
Creator Studio allows you to schedule reels, stories, and importantly post video in 4K without compression. It also has some great features for insights, so you can track your social media performance.
You can access Creator Studio by clicking on the three lines in the top left-hand corner of your Facebook page and selecting "Creator Studio" from the drop-down menu.
To use Creator Studio, you need to be connected to a Facebook Page. If you're not already connected, you'll be prompted to do so when you first try to access the app.
Once you're connected, you can start creating and scheduling content. To create a new post, click on the "Create" button in the top right-hand corner of the screen. From here, you can select the type of content you want to create.
If you're creating a video, you can upload it directly from your computer, or record it using the Facebook app. You can also add captions and select a thumbnail for your video.
Once you've created your content, you can schedule it to be published later. To do this, click on the "Schedule" button in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
Here, you can select the date and time that you want your content to be published. You can also choose whether you want your content to be published immediately or saved as a draft.
If you're ready to publish your content, click on the "Publish" button.
LinkedIn is essential for selling business-to-business (B to B)
If you are selling business-to-business (B to B), then LinkedIn is a social media platform that you need to be on. LinkedIn is a professional networking site, and it is essential for building relationships with other businesses.
You can use LinkedIn to find potential customers, partners, and suppliers. You can also use it to build relationships with influencers in your industry.
To get the most out of LinkedIn, you need to have a complete profile, and you need to be active on the site. You should also join relevant groups and participate in discussions.
By being active on LinkedIn, you will be able to build relationships with other businesses, and you will be able to increase your visibility.
A solid social media strategy will help your business growth
We hope this saves you save time when it comes to posting your social media content. It drives home the fact that social media doesn't have to be something that's an absolute chore - it can be something that's fun and will help your business grow.
Mindset matters, too
Saving time when creating your social media can help you stay positive throughout the content creation process. By following these tips, you will be able to save time when creating social media content. By knowing your target audience, being consistent, and using the right social media platforms for your business, you will be able to create content that will engage your target audience.
Need a bit of help?
If you need any help with social media, you are not alone. Let us know if you need a hand with templates or more of a structured approach. We want the Torbay business community to succeed and we're we are here to help you. So please call us or drop us a DM - we're on every social media channel; or email us on hello@treattorbay.co.uk
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