How to Make Content Consistency Easier

Most of us have been there.

We decide we want to take the plunge with content marketing, and start building awareness to our business and brand.

And so it begins!

Production of content starts, whether it’s smaller scale copy posts to more labour intensive videos, it’s not long before one thing becomes quickly apparent:

“This is going to chew up a lot of my time.”

I’ve been there myself.

My work has always involved taking the pressure of content creation off of client’s hands so they could maintain consistency. But when it came to creating content for my own business, I quickly saw the dilemma myself:

“This is going to chew up a lot of my time that’s otherwise spent saving my client’s time.”

While I could carry on the cycle and outsource this responsibility, I sought a different way to make this work.

So in this article I want to share some of the ways I’ve been able to create a content system that works for me in making consistency easier.

Let’s start simple. How much time are you willing to set aside a week for content creation? (and I’m not factoring engagement into this)

This really falls onto you. No one knows your calendar and responsibilities better than you. Perhaps you have a 30 minute window to do this each week, or maybe you’re lucky to have that extra half hour.

Be honest with yourself, and see if you can shift some things out a little to give you more breathing room. Because if you’re going to give the bare minimum to your content then you’re likely to get the bare minimum out of it. I’ll also touch on this a little more in the next point…

This is crucial. How long does it take you to write a piece of copy? How much time are you sinking producing a video? Note everything down.

If it takes you 10 minutes on average to write an effective copy-based post then factor that into your scheduled hour window. What I would also recommend is adding a 50% time buffer. The reason being is that on occasion you will face the odd roadblock in creating a piece of content, and so an extra five minutes accounts for that well-deserved breathing room.

So in this example, your copy-based posts would take 15 minutes of your time. This means you could have an output of four copy-based posts created each week, or you could add video into the mix, and try for one video post and two copy-based posts.

Everyone’s input will be different for these. Having intuitive templates ready to go can also help expedite the process, saving your time and maximizing your output.

Now you know your inputs and outputs, but what does what your network even want from you?

This may require a bit of testing, or more of a deep-dive into your customer avatar. As a video agency, video will always (and should always) be a part of our content mix, but your network may not need that as much (though more video is always great ;) )

Your network may enjoy more comprehensive articles breaking roadblocks in your industry, or they may be more attuned to carousels, visual posts that give a lot of information in a fresh and engaging way.

If you’re really unsure of what your customer avatar enjoys then you simply need to test.

Consistency isn’t all about quantity or volume of content, it’s also about consistency of messaging too.

If you post a series of unrelated topics each week without a clear bigger picture in mind then you’ll struggle to get traction on your posts.

Set a weekly theme or even a monthly theme (if you’re tying this into a product/service launch then this should be easier to conceptualize). This will help make the ideation and creation process easier as you’ve set parameters for your content.

For me, this week my theme has been centered around ‘systems’. I’ve tried to ensure my content relates to marketing/business systems in some shape or form, and this theme is still consistent with what we help people with.

This also makes it so much easier when you do put an offer out there, because people are aware and aligned already with what you do – you’re just giving them the invitation to act.

Now to send it.

Posting ad hoc can feel like such a time sink. But if you’re planning and creating your content in advance, then there’s no reason you can’t map out when and what you’re going to post.

If you’re posting to one platform, such as LinkedIn, consider using a scheduler to get your posts out ahead of you (worry-free). Some are free to use for basic features, yet may lack certain needs, but it’s still worth keeping in mind.

You may also want to keep posting consistencies. For example, at the moment I’m considering mapping out my Tuesdays and Thursdays going forward as dedicated video days. This means that each Tuesday and Thursday my network can expect a video from me, but it also sets the right expectations for myself.

There's a lot of different ways that you can be making consistent content work for you. But the bottom line is if you don't take the time to establish strong systems for your content to be delivered in an effective and ongoing manner, then your content will always feel like it's getting the best of you.

If you're struggling to get your content creation systems going in the right direction, then send me a message and I'll help diagnose what's stopping you.