[0:00] If you're trying to batch a month's
[0:01] worth of content and it's burning you
[0:02] out, stop. After running a marketing
[0:05] agency for the last 7 years where I have
[0:07] helped creators grow to over a million,
[0:09] I can tell you it's the wrong strategy
[0:11] and here's what actually works.
[0:16] Hey, I'm Michelle Gifford. I help you
[0:18] grow your personal brand online,
[0:20] especially with social media. And while
[0:22] I love the creative part of all the
[0:24] things, there is so much strategy that
[0:26] we need to learn and embrace in order to
[0:28] do this long-term. So, in this video I'm
[0:30] going to run through exactly how I plan
[0:32] my content, how I organize every video
[0:34] so nothing gets lost, how I batch, and
[0:37] how I track what's actually working.
[0:38] Because if you skip the last part,
[0:39] you're flying completely blind. Okay,
[0:41] you're going to want to save this one
[0:42] because this is my complete content
[0:44] planning system all in one place. First,
[0:46] let's talk about how much you should be
[0:48] planning in advance. I recommend having
[0:50] a general idea of what you're going to
[0:52] post for the month, but really only dial
[0:54] in to what you're going to be posting
[0:56] for the next 2 weeks. Because Instagram
[0:57] moves so quickly and just because the
[0:59] creative process is what it is, planning
[1:02] out for 30 days and then filming for 30
[1:04] days can feel super overwhelming and so
[1:06] no one ever does it and then it just
[1:07] doesn't work out. So, if we can commit
[1:09] to 2 weeks at a time, you're always
[1:11] ahead enough so, you know, if something
[1:12] comes up with your family or your kids
[1:14] or whatever, that you have some things
[1:16] in the bank, you kind of know what's
[1:18] coming, but you don't have to have a
[1:20] whole content day because most people
[1:22] just don't work like that. So, I call
[1:24] this my 12-post system. It's 2 weeks,
[1:27] six posts a week, and this is how I plan
[1:29] it for me and as well as my clients. The
[1:32] first step is to build a strategy. So, I
[1:34] will set aside an hour of my time.
[1:36] Right? You don't give yourself too long
[1:38] and also you do have to schedule it. I
[1:40] will ask four questions. What are my
[1:42] goals for this month? What am I actually
[1:44] trying to accomplish? Is it emails? Is
[1:46] it growth? Is it am I launching a
[1:48] product? What are the goals for this
[1:50] month? Because every decision after that
[1:52] is going to get filtered through that.
[1:54] The second thing I ask is what do my
[1:56] analytics say? So, our analytics are
[1:59] telling us something. They are letting
[2:01] us know what's working and what's not
[2:02] working. And so, when we look at our
[2:04] analytics, we can see like what are the
[2:06] things that are actually causing us to
[2:07] grow. What pieces of content get us new
[2:09] followers? So, if our goal is to get new
[2:11] followers, we can find those pieces of
[2:12] content and then double down on that
[2:14] content. Then, I'll look at like what
[2:16] did perform well last month? What is not
[2:18] performing well? Why do we think it
[2:20] didn't perform well? Is there something
[2:21] that we need to change? But, analytics
[2:23] gives us information help us us better
[2:26] content going forward. We can't be
[2:27] scared of it. Number three, what do I
[2:29] repeat? If something is working on
[2:31] Instagram, do it again. Lean in. Now,
[2:33] I'm not saying that you need to do like
[2:35] an exact replica, but if you're looking
[2:37] at your piece of content and you every
[2:39] time you do a green screen breaking down
[2:41] a difficult current event and that
[2:43] brings you a ton of followers, keep
[2:45] doing it till it's not working anymore.
[2:47] And if you have something that hasn't
[2:49] brought you a million followers yet, but
[2:51] you have something that your audience
[2:53] loves and you like creating it and
[2:55] something that is building your
[2:56] credibility and you think it has
[2:57] potential to take off and really go
[2:59] viral at some point or at least be that
[3:01] consistent nurturing piece, then keep
[3:03] doing it. So, for example, I have a get
[3:06] ready with me style video where I'm
[3:08] doing my hair and I'm breaking down what
[3:10] I am seeing in the social media industry
[3:12] and I'm breaking down as I'm talking.
[3:14] Now, those are not my most or highest
[3:16] viewed content right now, but the
[3:18] credibility that it adds to my channel
[3:21] is huge and I am getting a lot of
[3:23] positive responses from it. So, I'm
[3:25] going to repeat that. It's not that it's
[3:27] like going viral, but it is something
[3:29] that is doing exactly what I want it to
[3:31] do. And then, the fourth thing I ask is
[3:33] what am I testing out? So, we are going
[3:35] to repeat things that work, but we also
[3:37] need to always have room to test things
[3:39] out that we want to, either different
[3:41] formats or different types of content or
[3:43] different topics. And we have to leave
[3:45] room for that. And when we're analyzing
[3:47] that, I think about does this have
[3:49] potential still? Because you can post
[3:51] once and it not take off, but if you
[3:53] post and post and post something over
[3:55] and over again, then it suddenly takes
[3:56] off and it completely changes your
[3:59] Instagram. So, for example, I have a
[4:01] post that I post every Monday and it's
[4:03] my trends post where I do a roundup of
[4:06] all the trends that are happening on
[4:07] Instagram. Now, I did that for almost 3
[4:09] months before it really got traction. I
[4:11] was doing okay. I'd get some followers
[4:13] here and some likes and shares there,
[4:15] but about 3 months into that is when it
[4:17] really started taking off and I knew
[4:19] that it had great potential to bring in
[4:21] people because I could see the signs. I
[4:23] could see things building, but it took a
[4:25] few months for that. So, with Instagram,
[4:27] we got to allow for that. We have to
[4:28] think about all of these different
[4:29] things that are happening and where we
[4:31] want people to go. Once I've done that
[4:33] analysis, I will bring up my calendar
[4:35] and I will make every post decision
[4:37] around three things. One is the type of
[4:40] content, the topic, and the format. So,
[4:43] types is the container. How are we
[4:45] delivering this? So, it's like is it a
[4:47] reel? Is it a carousel? Is it a single
[4:49] image? Pretty simple. Topics come from
[4:51] your content pillars. So, as you're
[4:54] creating when I build a brand strategy
[4:55] for a client, one of the things we do is
[4:57] we build brand messaging like around
[4:59] what are we trying to accomplish here
[5:01] and how do we speak to our specific
[5:03] audience? And from there, we can pull
[5:06] out like the three to five places of
[5:08] value that we can add to our audience.
[5:10] Then we can pull out three to five
[5:12] topics that are valuable to our audience
[5:14] and that we want to talk about on our
[5:16] Instagram and really own. These are our
[5:18] pillars. These are the pillar types of
[5:20] content. So, mine for example are
[5:22] Instagram news and updates, Instagram
[5:24] strategy, quick posting tips, women
[5:27] empowerment, and marketing breakdowns.
[5:29] And then, from those pillars, I have sub
[5:31] pillars that I have a running list of
[5:33] different topics that I can talk about
[5:35] under each pillar. I recommend doing
[5:37] this. This is something that's super
[5:39] valuable to have and to think through
[5:40] once and then you can use that
[5:42] information as you go forward. Now, if
[5:44] you are like, "Ooh, how do I do this?"
[5:46] Then, you need my custom GPT, this
[5:49] Michelle AI, and I've trained it on all
[5:51] of my frameworks and teachings that I've
[5:53] been teaching and helping people grow
[5:54] with, and you get access to it, and
[5:56] it'll help you build out your brand
[5:58] messaging and your pillars and
[6:00] everything that you need to start
[6:01] posting. Then, we have format. Now,
[6:03] format is basically a Reels decision,
[6:05] and so you're trying So, that's like,
[6:07] how are you presenting the information?
[6:09] Is it a green screen, a talking head? Is
[6:11] it a quick tutorial or quick win? Is it
[6:13] storytelling? Is it B-roll? Is it a
[6:15] voiceover? Is it a POV style? A
[6:18] listicle? A before and after? Is it a
[6:20] this or that comparison? And those are
[6:23] the basic formats that you can choose
[6:24] from. So, if you have your pillar
[6:26] topics, right? And then a list of
[6:28] subtopics under each pillar, and then
[6:30] you have all of these different formats,
[6:32] then you can choose the format that fits
[6:34] best for you. When I'm trying to choose
[6:36] which format, like, is it a green
[6:37] screen? Is it a listicle? I think about,
[6:39] what do I like to create? What do people
[6:42] like to consume? And what makes the most
[6:44] sense with the piece of content that I'm
[6:46] trying to create. So, now I'm going to
[6:48] look at my calendar. The way that I do
[6:50] this is through Airtable. Airtable is a
[6:53] project management system, and I use
[6:55] this for me and my clients. My favorite
[6:57] thing about Airtable is that you can
[6:58] look at things in different views. You
[7:00] can have a view where you look at the
[7:02] calendar, and that's where I start
[7:04] planning this, and then you can have a
[7:05] task view where it's like, okay, what
[7:07] tasks do I have? And then you can look
[7:09] at projects and where is every project
[7:11] on the line to completion. So, now that
[7:14] I have the topics that I want to talk
[7:15] about and the type of content I'm going
[7:17] to create, I'm going to go into my
[7:18] calendar in Airtable, and I'm going to
[7:20] fill out the next 2 weeks. And I will
[7:22] just create a piece of content. I will
[7:24] create like a tab for each piece of
[7:25] content. I'll put the hook. I'll put
[7:27] like what I want to talk about in it,
[7:29] like, a brief description, and then I'll
[7:30] also write the script, if there's a
[7:33] script to write. And then I'll link to
[7:35] any inspiration reel that I have, so
[7:37] that what I want to do in this phase is
[7:39] do all of the heavy like creative work,
[7:42] so that when I'm ready, I can just go in
[7:45] and film, and I don't have to think
[7:47] about anything. I've already thought
[7:48] about the details here, and then when
[7:50] it's time to film stuff, I have
[7:52] everything laid out ready for me to
[7:53] film. So, I will put in as much
[7:55] information as I can in here, and again,
[7:58] this is where I would use some AI.
[7:59] Biggest piece of advice is to get
[8:01] Michelle AI because it can help you with
[8:03] your hooks and your captions, and you
[8:05] can voice message exactly what you want
[8:08] to say in the script, and then it'll
[8:10] polish up the script for you and write
[8:12] that out. So, it really saves a ton of
[8:13] time, and it's doing it with my process,
[8:16] so that it's also strategic. You can do
[8:18] this in a lot of different programs, but
[8:20] I really like airtable because when I'm
[8:22] working on a project, I can put it in
[8:24] the different phase of completion, so
[8:27] that I know what I have to do to film
[8:28] and where my each piece of content is in
[8:31] the process. So, we use this a ton with
[8:33] clients. We run an agency, so it'll be a
[8:35] little bit different for your personal
[8:36] use, but if you run an agency, this is a
[8:38] really great way to do it. But, if
[8:39] you're a solo creator, you can
[8:41] definitely simplify this process. The
[8:43] point here is that every card has a home
[8:46] at every stage of your preparation, and
[8:48] then nothing falls through the cracks,
[8:50] and you aren't left with like, "Oh,
[8:51] wait, what where is this piece of
[8:53] content? Like, what am I supposed to do
[8:55] here?" So, that process of planning and
[8:57] it out should take you 1 to 2 hours.
[9:00] Now, maybe the first time it takes you
[9:01] more, but as you do this more and more,
[9:03] it becomes easier and it becomes more
[9:05] streamlined. And also, because I'm going
[9:06] to teach you some things coming up, it's
[9:08] going to make it so much faster and
[9:10] better. Because we're going to talk
[9:11] about phone storage, we're talking about
[9:13] like researching when you're on
[9:14] Instagram about the type of content you
[9:15] want to create. Those things We're
[9:17] coming Stick with me, we're doing all of
[9:19] it. All right, let's talk about storage.
[9:20] I get these questions all the time,
[9:21] like, "How do you actually store your
[9:23] content?" Take a breath with me cuz
[9:25] you're not going to like this answer.
[9:26] You're going to have to do some work. If
[9:28] you don't have a storage system right
[9:29] now, then you just have to start a
[9:31] storage system. I'm going to break down
[9:33] how I do it and how I recommend doing
[9:35] it, and then I want you to customize it
[9:36] for yourself. One recommendation is that
[9:38] you have two phones. One phone is your
[9:40] personal phone and one phone is for your
[9:42] content creation and then it makes it a
[9:44] lot more simple because your content
[9:46] isn't mixed up with your family pictures
[9:49] cuz that can be really hard. If you do
[9:51] have a separate phone and you do just
[9:53] create content on the separate phone,
[9:55] then you can have like an assistant or
[9:57] whatever as part of your iCloud and they
[9:59] can help you keep it organized, right?
[10:01] Because they have access to it. But most
[10:03] people don't have two phones. I'm just
[10:04] saying that that's a good idea if you
[10:05] can. So, the key here is that you're
[10:07] going to need to create folders. So, in
[10:10] my pictures on my phone, I have a bunch
[10:12] of different folders and this folder
[10:14] system is what keeps things organized
[10:16] and it's where I can find everything
[10:17] really quickly. So, the first and like
[10:20] the most one of the most important
[10:21] folders you can have is a b-roll folder
[10:23] and this is where you just put all of
[10:25] your b-roll in it and then you have
[10:28] access whenever you want to just post
[10:30] something quick and easy, you have this
[10:32] b-roll that you can just go grab and the
[10:34] good thing about it is it becomes a bank
[10:36] and the more you put in it, the more you
[10:38] can use to create more content. Another
[10:40] one is I have a talking head video one.
[10:42] I put all of my content in there. So, so
[10:45] as you're thinking about how you want to
[10:46] organize it, I do it by format like
[10:48] b-roll or talking head. But another way
[10:50] to create your folders is by date or by
[10:53] pillar. So, like the topic that you're
[10:55] talking about. Most of my clients use
[10:57] iCloud and so they'll just share their
[10:59] iCloud folder with me and my team. But
[11:02] if you don't have that, you can do it in
[11:03] Dropbox or whatever storage platform you
[11:05] have, but you just have to be religious
[11:07] with how you organize your content. This
[11:09] isn't something that's going to just
[11:10] magically happen. And so, if you're in
[11:12] Dropbox, I do it by year and then month
[11:14] and then individual file, okay? So, and
[11:17] then for naming those individual files,
[11:19] whatever the pillar is and then a brief
[11:21] description of what the content's about.
[11:23] This makes it really searchable when you
[11:25] go to find like what you want to do. So,
[11:27] this is if you're using like Dropbox or
[11:29] something like that. Whatever folder
[11:30] system you want to use or wherever
[11:32] you're going to store things, I just
[11:34] want you to choose it and stick with it.
[11:35] And you have to be really consistent
[11:38] with when you're creating this content
[11:39] that you are constantly putting it where
[11:41] it needs to go. This isn't magically
[11:43] going to happen. I have seen AI with
[11:46] like video from video from your video
[11:48] camera, like it organize it and name it
[11:51] and all those things. I haven't been
[11:52] able to do that yet. So, I know that
[11:54] there's some AI coming, but what I want
[11:57] you to do is just start right here.
[11:58] Start where you are. Do not worry right
[12:00] now about going back and renaming and
[12:03] re-saving all of your content because
[12:05] you will not do that. I wouldn't do
[12:07] that. That makes me tired. Think about
[12:09] how am I going to do this? When am I
[12:10] going to do this? Is it after every time
[12:12] I video? Is it after every video?
[12:14] Whatever. And then just commit to doing
[12:16] it going forward. Just know this isn't
[12:18] extra. This isn't silly. This is
[12:20] actually part of the business process.
[12:22] If you talk to any creator who is a
[12:25] serious creator in making money as a
[12:26] serious creator or like making money as
[12:29] their business because they're a
[12:30] personal brand, you got to know that
[12:32] they're taking their content very
[12:33] seriously. Like this is not an
[12:35] afterthought. This is like, "Hey, we're
[12:37] doing it." And figuring out how to save
[12:38] that content is huge. Now, we're going
[12:41] to batch our content. This is
[12:43] non-negotiable. You have to put on your
[12:45] calendar that you're going to create out
[12:46] content and block out some time because
[12:48] this isn't something that you're going
[12:50] to be able to just like fit it and this
[12:52] is something that when you get in that
[12:53] creative space, you can do it after you
[12:55] wash and blow-dried your hair, you got
[12:57] your makeup on or whatever, right? Where
[12:58] you feel camera ready. And you can do it
[13:01] all at once. If you don't put this in
[13:03] your calendar, then it's not going to
[13:04] happen. And then you're going to be
[13:06] really frustrated when your content's
[13:08] not working. Well, you didn't make it a
[13:09] priority. So, make it a priority. So,
[13:11] when I think about batching, I recommend
[13:13] batching like my filming at one time and
[13:16] my editing and preparing for publishing
[13:18] at a different time because when I am
[13:20] creating and filming, it's a really
[13:22] different energy. It's a really
[13:23] different mind space that you're in. And
[13:25] then editing, well, that can be squeezed
[13:27] in at different times, right? You don't
[13:29] always look the way you want to when
[13:31] you're ready to film. And so, carving
[13:33] out that space to film and then making a
[13:35] space for you to edit and get it ready
[13:37] for publish, but do them at different
[13:39] times. So, film a bunch at once and then
[13:41] edit a bunch at once. And because you
[13:43] did all the planning in the steps
[13:45] before, you can just pull up your
[13:47] Airtable or spreadsheet or Trello board
[13:49] or however you do it, and you have all
[13:52] of your content ready to go and to film.
[13:54] And you don't have to waste most of your
[13:56] time. You don't have to waste a couple
[13:58] hours on Instagram scrolling because
[14:00] you've already done that, right? You've
[14:01] already done the research, it's ready to
[14:02] go. Now, I know I just said, "Okay,
[14:04] we've already scrolled through
[14:05] Instagram." This is a little trick I do
[14:07] to keep my content research productive.
[14:09] One of the biggest things because I know
[14:11] how this happens, right? You're like,
[14:13] "Okay, I'm going to block off 2 hours to
[14:15] film." And then you block off 2 hours,
[14:17] you spend the first hour looking and
[14:19] scrolling through Instagram. And then
[14:21] you find a couple things that you want
[14:22] to do, and then you don't really filter
[14:24] them through your goals or analytics or
[14:26] anything like that. And then you just
[14:28] hurry and film, and then you hurry and
[14:29] get them ready to post, and then you're
[14:31] like, "I don't know why it didn't work."
[14:32] And it's like, "Well, you didn't look at
[14:34] things through the lens of strategy."
[14:36] And we've got to do that. And so, when I
[14:39] am just scrolling through Instagram
[14:40] because I do it professionally, you
[14:42] know, scroll for things to see what's
[14:43] going on. I also do it personally. And
[14:46] so, as I'm scrolling, I have a saved
[14:48] folder system. So, when I see a piece of
[14:50] content that I like, that I want to
[14:52] create something like it. I'm not going
[14:54] to copy it, but it is an inspiration. I
[14:56] can use it to inspire a piece of
[14:57] content. I will save it in that folder.
[15:00] So, I have a B-roll one, I have an
[15:03] inspiration one, I have one that's about
[15:05] like Instagram strategy and so forth.
[15:06] Then when I'm scrolling, I can just put
[15:08] things in those different folders so
[15:10] that when I'm ready to like actually
[15:12] spell out the calendar and write the
[15:15] scripts and things like that, I have all
[15:16] of that content in one place. I can go
[15:18] look at it and be like, "Oh, this is the
[15:20] one I was thinking of. I'm going to do
[15:21] something like this, and then I can link
[15:23] it in the calendar so that when I go
[15:25] batch, I can look at that reel and say,
[15:27] "Oh, this is what I was thinking, and
[15:28] this is how I want to create it." So,
[15:30] then you're not just scrolling on
[15:31] Instagram, but you're actively looking
[15:33] for things that are going to fit you and
[15:35] your business. And this is the only time
[15:38] you should be scrolling for inspiration,
[15:40] not when you're filming, not when you're
[15:42] scheduling, not when you're writing a
[15:43] script. Now, let's talk about the last
[15:45] piece, and this might be one of the most
[15:47] important parts, but it is our
[15:49] scorecard. We keep a scorecard for me as
[15:51] well as for my clients. It comes from
[15:53] the book Traction, the EOS system. I'll
[15:55] leave a link to that book below, but you
[15:57] create a scorecard and you add your
[15:58] analytics every week at the same day and
[16:01] same time, and you are tracking the
[16:03] numbers of the things that matter most.
[16:06] We will do things for Instagram, we'll
[16:07] do like shares or saves or like most
[16:10] accounts reached, percentage of
[16:12] non-follower reached, our store our
[16:14] highest story views. And so, we keep
[16:16] track of all these so that we can see
[16:18] what is actually happening from a
[16:19] week-to-week basis. Because what I see
[16:22] all the time is people panic when they
[16:24] have a bad week. But if you're able to
[16:25] track data across week from week, then
[16:28] yeah, you're going to have low times,
[16:29] but you also can be like, "Oh, I can see
[16:31] why this is happening." And I get it all
[16:33] the time, you're scared of your numbers,
[16:35] you're scared of analytics because if a
[16:37] reel doesn't perform, then it means
[16:38] something about you, and that's just not
[16:40] true. We have to separate us from the
[16:43] outcome of the performance of a piece of
[16:45] content. If a piece of content doesn't
[16:47] do well, it doesn't mean that you're not
[16:49] good. It doesn't mean that you don't
[16:51] know how to run a business. It doesn't
[16:52] mean any of that, but it does give us
[16:54] information about that piece of content.
[16:56] So, maybe you tried a green screen video
[16:59] and you didn't have a great hook at the
[17:01] beginning. You didn't have compelling
[17:03] videos on the green screen, but we can
[17:05] then go and look at the numbers and say
[17:07] like, "Why is it showing up like this?
[17:08] How can we do better next time?" It's
[17:10] like, "Oh, we need a better hook." Okay,
[17:12] that doesn't make you a bad person, that
[17:14] just makes you a good strategist because
[17:16] you are thinking about, "Oh, I can see
[17:18] why that didn't perform well and now I'm
[17:19] going to do better going forward." So,
[17:21] you are a business. Numbers matter.
[17:23] Numbers tell us things. So, you've got
[17:25] to get over it. Start right now and go
[17:27] to your analytics and start looking
[17:29] around. What are the trends that you're
[17:30] seeing? What are the patterns? What can
[17:32] you learn right now so that you can
[17:33] start implementing that? Because you
[17:35] might see some things that are
[17:36] surprising. That maybe the reels that
[17:38] you thought were doing well, it's
[17:40] actually the carousels that are bringing
[17:42] in more followers. But, how would you
[17:43] know that unless you look at your
[17:45] analytics and unless you track them on a
[17:47] scorecard. So, having that scorecard and
[17:49] then having that once a week scorecard
[17:51] check-in where you put in your numbers
[17:52] and look at what's happened and where
[17:54] you're going just keeps you grounded and
[17:57] it keeps you grounded in your goals. So,
[17:59] that's a system, okay? You plan the
[18:00] month loosely and then you plan two
[18:02] weeks in detail, filter every post you
[18:04] type and format, build your filing
[18:06] system starting today, right now, film
[18:08] your content and batch edit your
[18:10] content, save inspiration during
[18:12] downtime, check your numbers every week.
[18:14] You want to put some brand in 2026, you
[18:16] have to actually create content. Systems
[18:19] that will let you do that without
[18:20] burning out. Okay, do you have other
[18:21] questions? Will you let me know below?
[18:23] You can get my Airtable template. You
[18:25] can get access to Michelle AI. And if
[18:27] you want me to rewrite your Instagram
[18:28] bio, well, those are all linked below.
[18:30] All right, my friend, we'll see you next
[18:31] time.