How do I Get Started With the PAGER method?
Changing the way that you create, schedule, and automate your social media content can be tricky - it may seem like a lot of work to set up a new system, until you realize the time that you get back every day that you don’t have to think about posting.
Here you’ll find a list of what you need to get started incorporating the PAGER Model for your social media marketing: what stuff you need to have handy, recommended apps, and free downloads that will make setting up this system faster and easier.
If you would describe your recent social media strategy as “catch as catch can” the idea of setting up a system like the PAGER model can seem daunting. I get it. But I found that by having a system to stock pile content and automate it, I was able to reclaim hours each week.
Like many planning systems - meal planning, business planning, working out at the gym - there are a few elements to have in place ahead of time so that when it’s time to create and automate your social media content, you’ll be ready to go.
So let’s dive in to what you’re going to need to make setting up your PAGER system a breeze.
Choose Two Social Media Platforms to Focus On
Me and fellow Union County, NJ business owner, Gary Vaynerchuk. Nice guy. Unsustainable social media ideas for solopreneurs, though.
This is a controversial view that I have, but I’m sticking to it. Unless you have a social media marketing team, focus on building your audience on only two platforms. It’s simply not sustainable to be able to make meaningful content on more than two platforms. I know, I know, Gary Vee says that you should be everywhere. And I tried that. Really, I did. (There’s me with GaryVee at Wine Library) But you know what? If you are a lean operation you just can’t keep up with Gary Vee. When he was a one man show he was only on Twitter and YouTube. He can be everywhere now because he has a team. If you don’t have a team, you need to pick two platforms to focus on to build your brand. It’s just more manageable.
I also recommend not being on platforms that are owned by the same company. So, for instance, not being on Facebook and Instagram since they’re both owned by Meta. The idea behind this is that if you inexplicably (or explicably) get kicked off a platform you have diversified your audience a bit. Unfortunately, these platforms are run by faceless and nameless people. If you do get kicked off a platform your recourse is very limited. You can’t just walk up to the desk and ask to get your account reinstated. The customer (I’m using this term loosely since we’re not customers of these social media platforms, we’re users) service on social media platforms is egregious at best. And if you get shut down, it can take weeks and months to get back up and running. You don’t want to risk it that the parent company kicks you off both of your platforms.
One other quick note: I also recommend growing your audience on email as well. So two platforms not owned by the same company. Plus email.
2. Understand Your Branding
When you are posting on social media, it’s important that your content has a consistent look and feel. So that when your audience is scrolling they can see your stuff and know where it came from. This is good, solid branding.
If you haven’t done so yet, create a Brand Identity Playbook which includes the colors palette you use, fonts, logos, and have a clear understanding of your brand voice.
Note: if you need this done on quickly, Downstage Media can take care of you with our Done-for-You Services.
3. Create A Place to Store Content
With the PAGER method, you’re going to be making your social media content in batches. Before uploading it to the platform, though, you have to store it somewhere. Having somewhere else besides the platform itself to store the content is helpful because:
you want to have a backup
you may need the content to be approved before it gets scheduled
you want to have a place to revisit and rework posts that do well
I like to use a Trello Board for this that I call the Content Stockpile. In the Content Stockpile, I keep lists of each category of content for the PAGER method. And - thanks to Trello’s bulletin board-type format - I’m able to see the images and the captions at the same time in what Trello calls “cards.” These cards can then be labelled according to social media platform, whether or not they’ve been uploaded, and if there are deadlines for when content has to be approved.
Downstage Media’s Content Stockpile in action.
4. Find Your Favorite Content Scheduler
With the PAGER method, once you make batches of your content, then you have to upload them to your preferred social media scheduler. There are many of the them out there, from Later to Lately, Buffer to Hootsuite. You’ll want to find what works the best for you and your budget. That said, here’s what will make for a better scheduler if you’re using the PAGER method.
Make sure that your social media scheduler:
allows you to schedule the kind of content you’ll be posting: Stories, Reels, TikToks, etc.
can store content for you in a library
can categorize content
can randomize the content that gets put out
that not only schedules the posts (meaning, you designate the date and time and platform. Example: Post this on Monday at 11am on Instagram) but automates them (meaning, you say, “take anything from this whole batch and post it on Mondays at 11a on Instagram)
has a randomizer to it where it can grab any piece of content that has been uploaded and randomly post it
My favorite scheduler that does all of this is MeetEdgar. Bonus, it’s one of the only SaaS products I’ve come across that was started by a mom. And that’s important to me. I don’t get paid from them. I just like them. After I started using their platform, I actually built the PAGER method around it.
Next Steps
Now that you have your platforms chosen, your branding assets handy, your Content Stockpile, and you’re familiar with your scheduler, you are all set up to start creating posts to incorporate into your PAGER method. Yes! This will make your work flow much easier when it comes time to buckle down and get moving on your content.
To dive in deeper, you can pick up a copy of my book Simple Social Media or join me at the next Simple Social Media webinar.
