As a long-time social media marketer and content marketer, I am mindful of the dangers of social media content burnout.
It isn’t easy to continually spark off new Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or TikTok content ideas, keep abreast of the latest changes in social media algorithms, or perpetually create insightful and meaningful posts, stories or articles.
At some point of time, you may encounter the proverbial content creators block.
What can you do to prevent yourself from hitting the wall (or somebody else!) and stopping your social content production?
In this article, you will learn 10 effective social media content strategies to minimize content creator’s burnout and keep your content pipeline flowing.
#1 Block Out Time for Rest
Sometimes it is perfectly OK to sleep on the job. Getting enough rest can help you to sustain your social media content efforts over a longer duration. It also prevents content burnout and creator fatigue from setting in.
Block out time from your calendar and keep it sacrosanct. Do this for at least half-a-day if you can (that’s what I practice anyway).
Next, consider the following ways to rest and recover from your content weariness:
- Unplug from all your digital devices — and this includes all social networks (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, etc….)
- Leave your smartphone somewhere in the house away from you
- Go for a long walk, preferably close to nature
- Avoid other forms of media — television, radio, or newspapers
- Read a book if you like, but keep it light and casual (eg fiction as opposed to business)
#2 Repurpose and Repackage Content
Now that you’re rested, consider how you can achieve more with less. A strategy here is to repurpose and repackage content.
Here’s what I personally do:
- Write a long and comprehensive article (like this one), and use that as a content pillar
- Spin off smaller bite-sized pieces of content from that article, and use them for your posts, stories, and reels/ TikTok videos
- Bundle together a few related pieces of content (like my pieces on marketing psychology here, here, here, and here) into a larger content format — in my case, it would be a workshop or a course
- Update an existing piece of content that works well, rather than keep creating new pieces
You can learn more about content repurposing in this article on creating a content marketing framework.
#3 Trawl Your Social Media Archives
Document your content creation systems and processes in the form of easily searched files. An archival system helps you to operate efficiently and effectively without having to crack your brains on what you should do next.
By tapping on what has been done in the past, you can short-cut your learning curve for the next campaign!
#4 Use Themes in Your Content Calendar
Themes are easy-t0-remember ways to sort out and organise your social media content calendar.
You can craft different content types for different days of the week (eg #motivationmonday, #trendingtuesday, #wefiewednesday, etc), or content focusing on different parts of the business. Here’s an example:
- Monday: Focus on brand storytelling, eg what we do, a-day-in-our-lives, product R&D
- Tuesday: Talk about a client, customer, case study, or scenario (if we were running this campaign, we would have….)
- Wednesday: Do a “How To” or a “101 Series”, eg “How to Avoid Social Media Content Burnout!”
- Thursday: Feature your product or service, and extoll its benefits for your customer
- Friday: Highlight something fun, entertaining and light-hearted — hey its #feelgoodfriday after all!
#5 Develop Content Templates
Contrary to popular belief, templates do not constrict your creativity. Used properly, they help you to reduce ambiguity and accelerate the content creation process.
You can either design your own social media content templates or tap on content tools to do so (more of that later).
Examples of templatized elements include infographic icons, frames, grids, and speech bubbles, as well as animation styles, photos, and video footages. You can also use copywriting templates (some include fill-in-the-blanks elements) to help trigger the ideation process.
#6 Tap on Content Ideation Tools
There are numerous content creation tools out there, from blog title generators to visual content creation tools. Here are some of my favourite ones:
- Canva: Yes, the most popular visual content tool out there right now
- VistaCreate: A pretty good alternative to Canva, with interesting templates
- Piktochart: This infographics-focused tool has many different templates that can be easily switched with your own content
- Invideo: My favourite video creation tool, with countless templates and styles
- Lumen5: Another pretty easy to use video creation tool
- Answer The Public: Wish to find out what people are searching for answers for on Google? Use this!
- Tweak Your Biz Title Generator: If ever I can give an award to a headline generator, this would be it!
- Content Row Headline Generator: Another pretty solid one-liner generator
Note that these tools help you to get a quick idea of the possibilities, and should not merely be your only means of creating content.
#7 Batch Process Content Creation
What do top content creators (especially YouTubers and TikTokkers) have in common? They make it a point to create their content in batches!
This is particularly important for video content, given the amount of set-up you may need (lights, mics, styling, backdrops, scripts, talents, props, etc).
Personally, I try to create fresh web content for Cooler Insights on either a Saturday or a Sunday. This is the only time when my schedule is less packed from client work and training work.
(Read more about establishing a content creation schedule here.)
#8 Deploy Artificial Intelligence and Marketing Automation Tools
For larger organisations that handle multiple branded social media accounts and pages, it may be useful to tap marketing automation tools.
These come in a wide range of form and function — from automated instant messages and chatbots to email sequencing software.
I understand that there are also A.I. content creation tools that can help you to generate content. You can try these out to see if they’ll help you to reduce your content stress.
We’re talking about ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Midjourney, DeepSeek, Qwen 2.5, and a whole lot more!
#9 Delegate and Outsource Content Creation
Last, but certainly not least, consider hiring somebody to help you with creating social media content.
There are three ways to do so:
- Employ Inhouse: Nothing beats having your own team members to create content. However, you need to consider if you’re able to provide them with a satisfying job and sufficient breadth and width in their job responsibilities to make it interesting.
- Outsource to Agency: A digital marketing agency focused on content creation (like Cooler Insights) can provide you with a professional team trained to write copy, design captivating visuals, and monitor your analytics.
- Outsource to a Freelancer: You can also tap on numerous freelance talent websites like Fiverr, Upwork, E-lance, and numerous others to find the right freelancer to help you with content creation.
#10 Reduce Your Content Frequency
Yes, you don’t have to do 4 to 5 TikTok videos a day. Or to post every single day on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Or to share am IG Story every morning, noon, and evening.
From my own personal experience (I used to block every single freaking day!), I find that less may sometimes be more.
Instead of crafting a post every day that is light-weight, reducing your content throughput to twice a week may help you create better content. It will also be less stressful and allow you to be more mindful and focused on what your content should achieve.
Conclusion
And there you have it — 10 practical ways to sustain your social media marketing journey and avoid the fallout from content burnout.
Are there other ways to prevent yourself from burning out too prematurely in your social media marketing journey? Share it with me in the comments below!
