One of the hardest things for freelancers and business owners to keep up with is creating content on a regular basis. Sure, the occasional post to Instagram may seem like you're doing your part, but honestly, you need to post multiple times a day, onto different accounts, sharing different forms of media! if you're not well versed with various types of media on different platforms, building a content strategy can be overwhelming, to say the least. However, if you can repurpose and re-use content that you've already made, then you can start to increase your output and start making real progress. I've been content marketing manager and strategist for nearly 5 years now, and although I'm learning new things every day in the industry, I do have a few tricks that you can follow to maximize your content strategy with things you already have in place. If you're struggling to keep your head above water, here's what you need to know:
First off, the best way to improve your content strategy is to come up with a content schedule that you stick to no matter what.And I'm not talking about some crazy routine where you're pumping out content non-stop—I just mean simple posts that you can maintain over the long run that isn't too demanding.For instance, with my own content strategy for my freelance business and poetry business that I run (pspoets.com), I follow a weekly rule that involves the following steps:
Now keep in mind, this amount is pretty laid back for me since I create content every day for work. However, even if you can maintain half of this list, say, two social media posts every day, a blog post, and a podcast, you'll be further ahead than most! That said, where you can really make an impact doesn't fall on how much content you put out each day, but instead, the real difference comes from how you repurpose that content and spread it around to multiple areas. Let me explain.
So, let's assume that you're making progress with your content routine, but for whatever reason, you get a little backed up—not to worry! You can use your routine to start doubling-up on your content strategy output.By this, I mean that you can start killing two birds with one stone. Take my podcast for example: for each episode, I write a long caption that breaks down the talking points and includes links to any other brands or resources I mention throughout. Now, that lives primarily on the podcast site for listeners to read and learn from, but once the episode goes live, I always share a link to my personal Facebook page, Facebook Business page, and LinkedIn Business page, and I re-use that same caption to offer some preview text for new audience members and my existing followers to gain insight from.Why should I waste time writing out another caption on each platform when the same one does the trick?The same rules apply to my Acting Tip of the Week videos that I produce each week. If a certain week gets too busy and I'm running out of time to record a podcast, I rip the audio from the video and re-purpose it as a podcast episode! And once a new video goes live on YouTube or a new podcast episode goes out, I can create a graphic for each one that I can share on Instagram to cover my daily social media posts. Plus, I can use the same caption over again! In some cases, I've even transcribed my podcast or YouTube video audio into text format so that I can use it as a blog post on our websites or as an article on LinkedIn!The idea is to always seek opportunities to turn one piece of content into several, that way, you maximize your output without wasting your time or scrambling to stay afloat!
Even now, I'm turning my daily poem into a Tweet. I'm cutting my YouTube videos into smaller social ads on Instagram TV, and I'm creating a new Fiverr gig package for audio editing and equalization since I do it all from home anyway—I might as well make some extra money, too, right? With Fiverr, you can easily leverage your content strategy to attract new clients. All you need to do is sign up for an account and start promoting the skills that you're already honing in your spare time. Fiverr makes it easy to promote your services in a variety of categories. In addition, if you want to learn a new skill, you can check out Learn from Fiverr to improve your content creation, which ultimately leads to you becoming more successful as a freelancer.Remember, stay consistent and make your content work for you—not the other way around.
