5 Simple Strategies to Ensure Your Instagram Success.

Are you struggling to stay consistent on Instagram? I know that many business owners are struggling right now and turning to social media to promote their services. Maybe you haven’t been using social media to promote your business or maybe you haven’t needed to rely on it the way you do now. Don’t worry. This post is for you.

My journey on Instagram began as a health and wellness coach side hustle. All the free Instagram tutorials I found said “post every day” and “don’t post the same thing.” Ok, easy enough. I started the week with a few cute selfies I already had in my camera roll, two workout videos, and a well-lit photo of a healthy meal from a restaurant. A week or two went by and I was totally overwhelmed. Not only was I confused about what to post, but I also had no idea when I was going to find the time each day to figure it all out: the photo, the filter, the content, the hashtags. This day-at-a-time tactic led to poor quality photos, rushed and uncreative captions, and (ultimately) very little engagement. 

Then, one day, it all clicked for me. I HATE to say it like that.. but it did. There came a point that I had finally watched enough free online tutorials (all I could afford) and followed enough consistent people that I started to see the successful trends. From this evidence I compiled, I created a system that allows me to create content effortlessly from week-to-week or month-to-month.. whichever style works best for you. In any case, it takes a few hours TOPS vs a few hours PER DAY. Here are my top 5 strategies to help you plan and succeed in creating content for social media.

1 - Start early!

Be honest: have you ever spent WAY too much time planning THE perfect Instagram post? I know I have! And guess what the engagement was.. *crickets*! This was me, every day: “Ugh, I need to do a post.” Like a broken record. I would be riding the subway to work, frantically scrolling through old photos saying, “Have I used this yet? Is that too similar to my post from yesterday? Oh, I can’t use the photo with snow on the ground because it’s July. What am I going to write about?” It was exhausting and really not getting me anywhere. I was gifted a paper planner, so old-school but I’m that kind of gal. On Sunday nights, I would sit on my couch and plan my week for social. On the top of each page, I wrote 3-5 words describing what I would post that day. Maybe it said, “photo at farmer’s market” or “recipe for breakfast cereal.” Maybe it was someone’s birthday so I would do a birthday shoutout. It started taking the initial guesswork out of the daily grind.

2 - Figure out what your page is about.

At this point you might be saying, "that’s great, Mal, but how did you know on Sunday what you wanted to post about on Thursday?” Well, this brings us to our second strategy which I like to call “figure out what the heck you want to talk about.” Look at your business or brand and pick 4-7 categories of things you could talk about each week. We’ll throw it back to my original fitness business. My categories each week were: Motivational Quotes, Tips, Workouts, Recipes, a photo of me at my job, Burger Night, and Sunday’s at the Farmer’s Market. Sunday night, when I sat down with my planner, I knew that I needed to cover these topics. By cycling through these 7 things once a week, it ensured that my page had a healthy balance of my health and wellness but it also showed my audience that I was a real person too. It allowed them to get to know, like, and trust me before I ever tried to sell them anything. So, pick a handful of things you like to talk about and create those categories for yourself. Got kids? I’m seriously jealous of people that can exploit their adorable children on social media. Photos of kids always crush it.

3 - Take large batches of photos all at once.

Guys, this is a PRO TIP! Sometimes I plan out my calendar and I think, “wow, I need a lot of photos of myself.” When that happens, you can bet your booty that ya girl is only doing her hair and makeup once. I wait until the sun is just right in my apartment, sometimes I wait for my boyfriend to leave the house (depending on my mood), I set up the tripod and America’s Next Top Model with that self-timer. Take a few pictures, change your shirt, take a few more, put your hair up, take a few more, add some lipstick.. literally, this will SAVE YOUR LIFE. 

4 - Plan, plan, plan.

Once I have my schedule, categories picked out, and a large group of photos taken, I sit down and plan the actual content for the posts, which is typically just the captions and hashtags (sometimes I need to create recipes for a blog or prep links for an affiliate post). Figure out when you are most creative and the least distracted. For me, it’s Saturday mornings. I sit down at my laptop in my comfy robe with a pot of coffee and type it all out. I also make sure that my hashtag lists are ready to go as well so I can just copy and paste them after posting. This planning sesh is also where I will edit some photos and fill in other holes (like scheduling time to cook and photograph a recipe or things of that nature).  

5 - Set a time to post and POST.

I know it sounds stupid, but sometimes you can talk yourself out of posting. If your Instagram account is set up as a Business or a Creator profile, you can access analytics that are your best friend! If you poke around in there, you will find Instagram provides you the daily time that your audience is most active. Choose the time that works best for your account and post at that time. No negotiating! Your photos, captions, and hashtags are ready to go. Write it down in your planner, schedule it into your calendar, set an alarm in your phone and SEND IT.

I hope these tips are helpful while you navigate planning your own content! If you’re looking to dive deeper into your Instagram education, check out my free guide: 05 Ways to Get Noticed on Instagram.