The Problem
Social media is a huge part of your marketing strategy, but it can also be a time-consuming one. A single post that’s going to garner all of five seconds (if you’re lucky) of a potential client’s screen-time can actually take hours to create. From capturing stunning images to writing engaging captions (not to mention remembering to tag all of those other collaborators in your post), staying on a regular social media schedule isn’t exact a walk in the wedding-pro park.
The Solution:
Today, I’m so excited to share with you my top tips for speeding up your creative process. What I’ve learned after years of social-media trial and error is that is all comes down to two main things: 1: Learning new skills, and 2: Being willing to outsource what you know you can’t tackle on your own. You ready to dig in? Good! Let’s do this.
1. Learn New Skills
You're not a photographer...or are you? Practice your own styling skills and learn how to shoot images with just your iPhone. The great news is, with the modern-day smartphone (hello, portrait mode), really anyone can capture a great shot with a little time and patience. The key, especially with smart phone images, is lighting. Snap photos of different areas around your home or office at different times of day to see what works (and what doesn’t). Tap the expertise of your talented photographer friend for her pro tips, see if you can audit a photography course at a local university if you’re feeling extra ambitious or check out this webinar we did last year with Social Studio's Jessica Howell to up your iPhone photography skills!
2. Outsource What Takes You Too Long
Not exactly feeling my suggestion to become an overnight photographer? I completely understand—learning new skills isn’t always feasible when you’ve got weddings to plan and a business to run. Outsourcing, then, can be your very best friend. Know what areas take you far too long to complete, and think about outsourcing them to freelancers or other pros. If you just can’t seem to get into a groove with writing (I feel you), hire a copywriter or social media consultant to help you out. Their hourly charge may seem like an investment, but if you add up all of the hours you’ve spent pulling out your hair to write one single 500-word blog post (or even a three-sentence Instagram caption), then you’ll soon realize a good writer can be worth her weight in gold. Plus, a great freelancer will also be able to help you come up with a "recipe" (think: an “evergreen” article blueprint or formula) that you can use to speed things up in the future. Don't have the time to document your life all day, every day? This is where beautifully styled stock photography can really help you out! Consider looking into a membership somewhere or even just purchasing a bundle of images or two.
Create Backlog in a Library
I’ll let you in on a little secret: Aisle Planner’s planning tools aren’t just for, well, planning. I love using the Style Guides to drop in images and then leave comments with ideas for captions. I typically spend a few hours at the beginning of each month getting posts ready this way in AP’s Style Guides—that way, I have an entire easy-to-access library of prepped-and-ready social media posts on-hand that I can pull from and post on the fly!
Overall, speeding up your creative process takes a little bit of willingness to learn and some strategic outsourcing. Know what areas you have potential to grow in and teach yourself what you can in those arenas...and also know what areas are best left to other pros. Nail down these two things—and start building yourself a solid backlog—and you’ll have extra time on those hard-working hands of yours in no time!
About the Author
