As many people around the internet will be happy to tell you, one of the most important aspects to developing any artist, brand, or business's social accounts is to keep them ACTIVE. Like everyday active! You might be saying: uh, what the heck do I have to post every single day?!?! Well, that's where a content strategy comes in to play. If you don't have a strategy and and idea of what types of content to post, you might end up having a hard time keeping up. There are a lot of different ways this strategy can work, but I'll lay out a simple one that I think can help get you started.
1 - Decide WHERE you are going to post. What platforms are important to you? Or that you like being on? What can you create consistently for? And even more important... which platforms is your AUDIENCE on? You can't be everywhere at once giving every platform your full attention. One, for sure. Two? definitely. Three? you're starting to push it...
2 - Create content "themes", "buckets", or "pillars." This means that there's an overall big picture concept to a "type" of content. A show, for example, or perhaps a location, or even just something has simple as practicing content, or promo photos, or live gig videos...
3 - After you've outlined all of the pillars of the content strategy (not that you're locked in, and can't post other stuff - it's YOUR social media and YOUR brand after all) - create a plan for what days you'll post which type of content. It's a LOT easier to know that each Tuesday you're going to post your latest gig video, than trying to rack your brain every week trying to come up with random content to post!
4 - Make your content plan. After knowing the WHERE you are going to post, WHAT types of things you'll be posting, then decide WHEN you want to post them. Again, this is your personal strategy and you can always add/subtract/multiply as needed. You aren't locked in. There are lots of analytics tools across the different platforms that can give you more specific days and times to post based on your following and when they are most active (check insta and youtube analytics for this info)
5 - Create in BATCHES - I like to get myself into a content creation mode once every so often. I can't be in that mode ALL of the time. I have to cycle in and out of it to really maintain any sort of sanity! So batching. All that means is to create content all at once, in a single sitting, rather than one at a time. So instead of creating one practice video, make four. That way, during the month, you've got the content you need to keep up with posting without having to sit down and create each and every time! So take your themes/pillars, brainstorm ideas for content, and make a bunch at once, so it's all ready to go.
6 - Post natively to each platform. You know you can tell when people just cross post from Insta to FB or from FB to twitter. It never looks quite right... the messaging is a bit off. You can take advantage of your content even MORE if you take the extra time to create the right context on the right platform. Make sure you've got the hashtags you want on IG, the people/brands tagged on Facebook, and the right handles on Twitter. And you KNOW they all have different sizing requirements... so if you've got the time and resources, make content that's even specifically tailored towards EACH platform!
7 - Rinse and Repeat. Like we said at the beginning, it is about showing up consistently over time. One semi-viral post does not build a career. Consistent, valuable content, delivered to an audience that's ready and willing to hear from you, is what builds the career.
Not sure where to start? This has been my general content strategy most recently, and I fill in the gaps with other items that either come up, or perhaps are off the cuff on a given day!
Monday - #MusicMarketingMonday - videos and/or IG Carousels. More recently I've been writing a lot more, so this has become an outlet for some of those writing projects.
Tuesday - Educational Videos - My focus has been on making sure there is at least ONE video per week that shares an educational concept with my audience. The educational side of my career is an important one in my overall growth.
Wednesday - #WednesdayWatch - this has been my primary YouTube posting day for the last 3/4 years. Why? Consistency! I've rotated this between all different types of content, whether it's performance or educationally based, etc.
Thursday - Throwback Thursday - once we have a library of content, it's OK to revisit! Maybe you want to share a different clip than you first posted, or a different filter, or angle. EVERYONE DID NOT SEE IT the first time, promise! That's how the algorithms work 😉 .
Friday - Friday used to be reserved for my Music Marketing Show #CreateConnectRepeat - I've taken a break from it recently to find a new way to present that information, but I would post clips from that show on Fridays. More recently I've used Fridays to start a LIVESTREAMING strategy! So every week on Friday we revisit questions from videos from my "AskNick" show - or even post the whole episode.
Saturday/Sunday - the weekend has been a little bit more of a grab bag for me. Sometimes that's even when I'll take a break from posting. But here is where I might include clips from my podcast, more clips from the AskNick show, throwback clips, doubling up on Educational posts, or even posting the sheet music from a song or exercise.
My goal is always to post at least once per day. In recent weeks I've been really on top of my batching strategy, and have been able to keep up content at a much faster pace. So, after you get into the rhythm of it - I'm SURE that you will be able to do the same!
If you need help, the team at Outside in Music and myself are always happy to help artists and creators with developing their own pillar content ideas and strategy! Can't wait to work with you. info@outsideinmusic.com