5 Ways to Consistently Post Social Media Content for the Small Business Owner or Personal Brand Entrepreneur

In the real world our businesses and personal brands are busy. Busy looking for the next opportunity, busy taking good care of the current clients we have, busy with all the admin tasks that are needed to keep the business moving forward. The most daunting task is to keep your social media current. You may be the one in charge of posting to the many social platforms, and sure, you'll get to it at some point, but not right now. Next thing you know it's three days later and that post you had all planned out in your head is lost and now outdated. The client feature you wanted to share is from over a week ago. You decide no one wants to hear about something so far in the past.

This is the type of scenario that many small business owners face. The daunting task of consistent social media content. This is also what keeps the small business, well, small. Having a steady stream of content out for the world to see is what builds your brand's awareness, it helps strengthen their trust in you, every engagement on a post is potentially closing a future deal. These opportunities don't exist if you don't create them. Here are 5 effective strategies to maintain a consistent presence on social media.

1. Create a Social Media Content Calendar

Do you have a plan, or do you just wing it? Social media posts shouldn't be left to chance, or to "free time" in your day. Take a moment and schedule a time to sit and plan your strategy. It can be as simple as "I plan one post every Wednesday at 10am". or "This week I will post 3 reels, 1 carousel, and 1 daily story on 4 platforms". When you know that you are aiming for specific things and times to post, it is easier to create a cohesive theme to your content and build brand.

The calendar also helps with when to post your content. There are many programs (paid and free) that you can use to schedule your post. This opens up your time and mental capacity to focus on more important tasks of running your business. In just a few hours you can plan your content for the week, create the content and copy, and schedule it to post automatically during the week. This automation is great and when you have the calendar to go by, it helps with our next strategy of batch creating your content.

2. Batch Content Creation

Batch creation is really the way to go. Some business owners post in the moment, when they think of it, and overall it presents a disjointed brand. Some posts may be a win in the business, or a new product offering, or that they will be out of the office next week. This is a direct result of not having a plan or a calendar. Batch creation of content will help bring harmony to your post in groups on social media. Yes that new product is important... so let's see how we can block a week's worth of content around the product.

First, create a static photo post teasing that something everyone is in need of and doesn't know will be announced on Tuesday. Schedule this post for Instagram, Facebook, and X. Second, create a video of the product and all the features. Schedule this post on Instagram and Facebook for Tuesday, as well as a link on X to your website announcement that day. Wednesday, schedule a video post of a client using the new product to solve their problem. Hint that the product is now available and to look back at recent posts to see the specific features. Thursday's scheduled post can be a photo of the product and some features in a carousel post on Instagram and Facebook. This will grab attention that the product is available and keep it front of mind to those who have seen previous post that week. Schedule a post on Friday thanking all the early adopters of your product and you hope others may find it as useful as they have. This will trigger some viewers to believe they are missing out on something and look back to see what the hype is about.

All of these posts can easily be made on the Friday before the launch and scheduled. This frees up your mind from worrying about the social media all weekend and you can enjoy your day. This may seem easy, and it actually is. How much effort and time do you think it would take to create the 5 posts listed above? Batching a week's worth of content keeps it in harmony and consistent in the feeds. You can't afford not to batch your social posting.

3. Repurpose Existing Content

Batching your content is great, but repurposing your content is even better. If you have a post or a series of things you have already shared, you can always go back and find a new way to use it. This could be splitting up a 90 second video into 4 or 5 10 second snip its for a story, or using a single slide of a carousel as a stand alone post. The content is already there, you just need to make it fresh and schedule it.

Other things that you could use are client testimonials. They are already written out and posted on your website. Take a short phrase or two and some graphics that match your brand and you have a quick post that will help build trust with your audience. Don't make it a week long bragging session, but if you need a filler day once every 2 weeks this is an easy go to.

4. Engage with Your Audience

The next strategy will actually take some time and work. Not too much that you can't handle it, but an effort needs to be made in order for your social media effort to pay off. Each day, if possible, check in on the accounts and see who has commented or shared your content. Reply sincerely to any questions posed, and genuinely thank those who took the time to interact with your social media posts. This engagement shows that you care about your following, that you are human and not just another automated response. With AI technology advancing so quickly it will be harder to tell if we are being interacted with a real person or some program. By engaging your audience when you can, and being as human as you can, your following will see that you are really there for them and they will want to come back. This engagement time could be compared to the time you may take each day to look at your finances. You sign in, see that everything is in order, answer a few interactions, and go on with your day. Keep your content calendar close by so you know when a new post dropped and you can expect new interactions.

5. Hire a Professional

Sometimes you just can't do it all yourself, or you don't want to. Outsourcing to a trusted professional can take the burden off your shoulders and make social media fun for you again. A professional team will understand your goals, learn about your target audience, and speak to the world in your brand's voice. A good social media content creation company will be big on communication, and want your feedback. They will also be able to provide reports of how healthy your social media interactions are. You will also be provided with the content creation calendar, and know when to sign on for engagement with your community.

If you aren't ready to give up total control, ask your content creation team to work with you, teach you the proper steps to take, and guide you though healthy practices. This will be beneficial for both of you as you get to see their processes, and they get to hear your concerns and feedback. The time spent together will either prove valuable and they will take the burden off you, or you will see that they don't quite fit your needs and you can keep looking. However, not having a strategy to consistently post on the various platforms will not help your brand stand out.

Conclusion

Hopefully, these 5 strategies will be a gentle nudge to those busy business owners and personal brand builders to forge some consistency into your social media planning. By taking one day a month, or one day a week and planning your content, you will have the necessary materials to post consistently. Batching the content creation to one or two sessions a month will free up hours for you to focus on more important tasks. Repurposing material you already have created will add to your brand's consistency with your audience and not take a toll on your creative process for posts. Engaging your audience regularly will remind them subconsciously to keep returning to your brand for a genuine personal interaction. And finally, asking for help or outsourcing with a professional will take the burden of the task off your busy schedule so that you can get to more important things like building your dreams.