How to Stay Consistent on Social Media without Feeling Overwhelmed: with The Biz Runners

As small business owners, we juggle so much. With our plates so full, content creation is one of the tasks that often gets moved to the bottom of the list. But when it comes to content marketing, consistency is key if we want to see results. In this episode, I’m sitting down with Kelli Tobin and Kristen Van Horn, co-founders of The Biz Runners, to chat about how to stay consistent on social media in a way that’s realistic for you. 

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What Does Content Consistency Mean and Why is it Important?

Kristen: “When it comes to content consistency, really what we think of is you showing up regularly for your audience. And that can mean a lot of different things for a lot of different people.”

Creating content consistently doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be on all the platforms, or that you have to be posting every single day. You just have to find the content strategy that’s right for you, and stick to it.

You want your audience to get used to hearing from you and seeing your face on a regular basis. This will help you build relationships.

Whether you are creating content for Instagram, or email marketing, consistency matters. Let your audience know when they can expect to hear from you, and then show up for them.

Look at Things from Your Audience’s Perspective

As business owners, we have so much going on that it can be easy to just let content creation and social media fall to the side. But when we look at it from our audience’s perspective, if they’re only hearing from us every now and then, it’s easy to forget who we are or just not be as engaged.

How to Stay Consistent on Social Media: Start by Defining What Consistency Looks Like for You

A major reason why creating content and showing up consistently can feel so hard is that we haven’t paused to define what’s realistic for us. As Kelli explains, we all have our own unique life circumstances – whether that’s being a mom, or juggling college classes or a full time job in addition to your business.

Kelli: “I think it’s something that as business owners, we don’t clearly define ahead of time…we haven’t clearly sat down and written that out for ourselves. What consistency look like FOR ME? Not what you see, or not what you think it should be. “

Creating a manageable plan for yourself will make it easier for you to stay on top of content creation. Maybe that’s posting on your Instagram feed 2-3 times per week, or maybe it’s posting everyday.

Reward Yourself and Adjust Your Plan as Needed

Once you’ve figured out what works for you, Kelli recommends rewarding yourself when you meet your goals. Also, keep in mind that what’s doable for you will change as you go through different seasons of life. Don’t be afraid to make adjustments to your strategy, and give yourself grace.

In the busy seasons of life, Kelli says to ask yourself, “Okay, what’s going on right now? And what CAN I do?”

Don’t Give Up: How to Stay Consistent on Social Media, Even if You Haven’t Posted in a While

Sometimes we set ourselves up to fail by taking on so much at once. It can be easy to get discouraged if you haven’t created content in a while. Don’t give up, though! As Kristen explains, growing your audience and business takes time. Keep showing up so that you can get to where you want to be and start seeing results.

Kristen: “Think of your business – your content, anything related to your business – in terms of a marathon, and not a sprint. There’s going to be times when you will be sprinting in your business. Like if you’re launching, or something like that. But business and growing a social media following and an audience in general, it is a long term thing. It takes time. It takes time to build that audience.”

Showing Up Consistently Allows Opportunities for Growth

As you build relationships with your audience by showing up and providing value, your business will grow. It can be easy to let comparison or “small numbers” get you down. Keep showing up anyways. Focus on serving your people well, because that’s what really makes an impact.

How to Stay Consistent on Social Media Through Content Batching, Scheduling and Repurposing

When making the commitment to show up and provide value consistently, it can be hard to balance life and business. 2020 especially has forced many of us to reevaluate our priorities. To make content creation less time-consuming, try content batching, scheduling, and repurposing.

Content Batching & Scheduling

Content batching involves blocking off a significant amount of time on a regular basis to get your content done, instead of trying to squeeze a little bit in each day. Start small. For example, Kelli writes three pieces of content every Sunday, then schedules them.

Creating and scheduling content ahead of time will free up your attention to focus on other things.

You can batch photos, too. Having a photo bank that you can pull from will make content creation easier.

Content Repurposing

If you have an old piece of content that performed well, don’t be afraid to reuse it! It might require some updates, but old content can be so useful, as long as it still serves your audience. This way, you aren’t having to come up with fresh content all the time.

Kelli says that you can do this manually, by going back and looking through your old posts, or you can implement a system for how/when you will reuse content.

To create a system, Kristen recommends starting with your main piece of content, and repurposing from that. For example, here are some ways that you can repurpose one blog post:

• Break a blog post into several different posts for Instagram
• Create a variation to be used as an email to your list
• Use the blog post as a topic starter for a video in your Facebook group or IGTV

You can freshen up content to reuse on the same platform (ex: Instagram posts) by using a new photo or changing up the wording a little.

Chances are, only a small fraction of your audience will see your content when you post it the first time. So don’t be afraid to reuse and recycle!

Reusing Content Makes Your Message Clearer

Kelli: “When we keep it simple, when we have the same message over and over again – with just some minor tweaks in language – people are going to start to recognize you associate you with that.”

Authenticity, Vulnerability, and Considering Current Events in Your Content Creation

Whether it’s something that’s going on in your personal life or in the world, there will be times when previously scheduled content doesn’t fit the current situation.

Even when you are batching, scheduling, and repurposing content, be aware of what’s going to be posted when. There might be times when you decide that something shouldn’t be posted.

Kristen: “Give yourself some grace. there are going to be days and times where like, it just doesn’t feel right. Or you just don’t have something to say, or you just think it’s going to land wrong because you’re just mentally not in it. That’s okay…it is okay to go like, this is not the right time to talk about this. I need to wait on this.”

It’s important to be vulnerable and authentic in your content. People connect with real people. However, it’s up to you what gets posted when. It’s okay to wait or change things up.

Remember that this is just a season, do what you can right now. You might have time for more or less in another season. Whatever the case, be honest about what’s best for you right now.

Connect with The Biz Runners!

You can hang out with Kelli and Kristen on Instagram @thebizrunners. Find out more about how they help small business owners simplify social media and business over on their website.

Neat Things the Biz Runners Have for You:

• Freebie: 33 Social Media Content Ideas
• Check out their Content Made Easy membership, which delivers monthly content resources and exclusive trainings to help you stay consistent.

It’s Time to Take Action!

You now know how to stay consistent on social media, without having to do #allthethings! Ready to create a content plan that feels right for you? Here are some steps to get you started:

1. Decide what platforms (ex: Blog and Instagram) you want to commit to showing up on (start small, you can always add more as your business grows!)
2. Define what consistency means for you. Will you post on Instagram 3 times per week and blog weekly? Figure out what’s doable for you in this season.
3. Get to know your audience. Send out surveys, do Instagram polls, email a friend who fits your ideal client, etc. Based on your findings, start a list of content ideas for the platforms you will show up on.
4. It’s time to create! Batch, schedule, and repurpose content to help you meet your goals.

More Resources for You

• How to Schedule Instagram Posts for Free Using Planoly
• How to Create a Trello Social Media Calendar
• Getting Off the Content Creation Hamster Wheel
• Tips for Developing Your Brand Messaging with Ally Willis