How I Automated Our Social Media Content (and Freed Up Hours Each Week)

May 21

Like many people juggling multiple hats at a mission-driven organization, my team found ourselves spending far too much time drafting social media posts. While storytelling and digital engagement are core parts of our work, the logistics of managing social content can quickly become a time sink – especially when your focus is supposed to be on product and strategy.

So I decided to do something about it.

Over the last month, I designed and implemented a lightweight system that automates 80–90% of our social content workflow. We’re now generating platform-specific social posts (and sometimes images!) directly from longform campaign content and scheduling them across channels automatically.

Here’s how I did it.

Step 1: Centralized Content Sources

I started by creating a structured Airtable base where we store all campaign and evergreen content: blog posts, quotes, toolkits, video summaries, and calls to action. Each record includes:

Source text
Type of post
Campaign theme or category
Suggested publish window

This gives us a central database of high-quality content ready to be repurposed.

Step 2: AI-Powered Copy Generation

I connected Airtable to the OpenAI API via a Python script and a Make.com (formerly Integromat) flow. For each entry, the AI generates:

A tweet
An Instagram caption
A LinkedIn post
Optional CTA or hashtag suggestions

The prompt is tailored to each platform’s tone and format. What used to take 30–60 minutes per post now takes seconds.

Step 3: Image Generation

When needed, I auto-generate quote cards or stat graphics using Bannerbear. The system pulls a quote or stat from Airtable, formats it with our brand style, and returns a ready-to-post image. These are automatically linked back to the corresponding post for easy scheduling.

Step 4: Scheduling + Performance Tracking

Generated posts flow into our Buffer queue via Zapier, categorized by campaign. I’ve also built in optional review fields if we want to approve or edit before publishing. At the end of each month, performance data is pulled back into Airtable to inform future content decisions.

The Impact

By automating repetitive tasks, we’ve:

Reduced manual post creation time by 80%
Freed up creative and strategic bandwidth
Built a scalable, low-maintenance system
Made it easier to test, learn, and iterate based on data

Most importantly, it means we now have more time to build campaigns, connect with supporters, and design tools that drive action.

Looking Ahead

Next, I’m planning to integrate more personalization and behavior-based segmentation into how we deliver social content —tying it back to supporter journeys and broader engagement funnels.

If you're a digital strategist drowning in post planning, I highly recommend exploring this kind of automation. It’s a perfect use case for AI: structured enough to systematize, creative enough to feel magical.

Want to see how it works or build something similar? Feel free to reach out.

Anna Sorokina