TRANSCRIPT:

Creating social media content does not have to be a daily struggle. So today, I'm going to teach you what I like to call the laundry method for getting things done faster.

So what if I told you when I do my laundry, I pick out the shirt I want to wear tomorrow, and I wash it, and then I dry it, and then I hang it up and put it away. And then I pick out the jeans that I want to wear tomorrow, and I wash them and I dry them, and then I put them away.

You would think I was nuts, but many of us are actually creating our social media content this way. Like, think about how many times you've made a post where you figure out what you're going to say. You write the text, you create the graphic, and you go post it, and then you wake up tomorrow and go, oh crap, I have to do that all over again.

So instead, I like to use what I call the laundry method.

The first thing we do is we come up with several post concepts all at once.

And then depending on who you are, you might want to do your text first. Or you might want to do your visuals first. People who are photographers or sell a product, they may decide to start with their visuals first. For example, I had a meeting recently with a woman who is a wedding planner and she has so many beautiful photographs, it's way easier for her to start with the photos first, but some of us are more comfortable writing first and then figuring out what the graphics are going to be.

Let's say you're starting with writing first. Then you'll write all of those posts all at once.

Then you'll create all the graphics at once. It's great to have templates that you can work with and that you can reuse again and again. Canva is a great place to use templates and customize them with your brand colors and fonts.

If you have to take photos or videos, it's great to make a plan of all the shots you have to get, and try to get all of the similar shots at the same time.

For example, when I used to teach baking classes during the pandemic, I baked all of this food and then I had one place in my house that I set up to shoot it, so I only had to set it up one time.

I shot all of these photos at once, and then I just changed the backdrop and shot the ice cream.

And then I took all of the photos and I processed them all at once. You might like to even edit all of your videos at once.

And then the other thing we want to do, as long as we are creating the visuals, is we want to try to create more than one post at once. Can you make one now and can you make one for later for example. My client Meryl, she took this photo...

I think it was way back in 2020, and she uses it in a bunch of different ways, and she's used it in a bunch of different posts.

She has a version of it that has a Christmas tree branch in it and lights. And she uses that, of course, during the holidays. And then she has other versions that she uses just to say, like, give yourself the gift of health, for example, or something like that. And nobody has ever really complained or noticed.

You can get away with using the same photo more than once, or you can crop it differently and treat it differently. Put text on top of it. There are so many different ways that you can use photos and videos more than once.

This is some video from a podcast I was on and the host was kind enough to send me the video. And then I took it and I put it through Opus Clip to process it. I also like to use Descript. There are lots of different tools that you can use to take a video and have it automatically break it into reels for you, or short video, and that's what I did here.

Once you've created a bunch of posts, then you can sit down and pre-scheduled all of them.

There are so many different scheduling tools that you can use.

You can schedule directly in. For example, if you're using Facebook or Instagram, you can schedule directly in there, or you can schedule using the meta business suite. Or I often use Metricool—it is one of my favorite tools to use for scheduling.

Each scheduling tool really has its advantages and disadvantages, so you just need to find the one that works for you and fits your budget.

So keep in mind you don't have to do all of these things in one day. If you get into the habit of doing a piece here and a piece there, you can get this stuff done with a bit less stress. You're not going to have to wake up every day saying, oh my gosh, what am I posting today?

By working like this, we are not doing so much task switching.

Task switching—say that three times fast—can actually reduce your productivity by up to 40%. And it can actually be really difficult to switch from task to task. It takes our brains a little while to catch up.

So working with the laundry method, you're actually so much more efficient when you get into the groove of doing a particular thing. You keep doing it and you know, you can do what is right for you at the right time of day. If you write better in the morning or you think more creatively in the morning, then do that part.

Then—

A lot of times I like to edit in the afternoon. I find it doesn't use a lot of brainpower for me, so I like to do my photo and video editing in the afternoon, and I'll do my planning and writing in the morning. So figure out what works for you and your brain.

If you'd like more help thinking about how to create posts really quickly, you can download my YIKES! I should post! Five Minute Posting Process Guide. I'll put the link for you down in the description.

I hope this is a useful tip for you. And if there is anything that you got out of it, or you have any questions, I'd love for you to leave me a comment.