Scheduling Your Instagram Posts

There are so many different ways to approach Instagram it’s a little overwhelming. As I’m struggling to find what works for my Instagram I’ve learned a lot about how others are doing it.

From content to hashtags, the timing of posts and scheduling posts, there is a lot to digest and test. (That could be a new slogan!)

Each one of these concepts could have a novel written about them. Albeit, a very boring novel, there’s a lot to them. But for now, let’s just start with scheduling.

I hear a lot of different things. Some Instagrammers post in the moment, others schedule for the week and some schedule for the month. 

For the longest time, I used the app Planoly to schedule my images with my chosen hashtags for the entire month. This took the stress off of making sure that I had enough content and images and could just post. With hashtags included (mind you, not very good ones) all I had to do was come up with the caption in the moment to keep things a little more authentic. 

This is a great way to do it if you are over your head with tasks and don’t have enough time to breath (right now would be a great time to take a deep breath). 

Do your hashtag research in advance, something everyone should do, and put them into the Planoly hashtag folders where they are just one click away when you need them. Then all you have to do is add a caption when the time is right. 

I mention that I used to do this. In all honesty, I found a way that works for me and doesn’t cost me a dime. 

Insert iPhone photos and notes. 

I created a special Instagram album in my Photos app on my iPhone and then copied and pasted all my hashtags based on image genre to a note in my Notes app. 

I’ve only been using this method a couple of days, but it’s already a bit easier. I also have a captions note that gives me ideas for caption topics, quotes to use, or fun stories to share when I’m feeling stuck and don’t know what to write. (This happens more than you think!)

What you have to remember with this method is a couple of things.

1. I don’t get reminders to tell me to post. I can set reminders in my Reminders app, which works great! I do also keep a good eye on the clock and know that 9 am and 3 pm are my happy places. 

2. You can’t automatically post, which if you subscribed to Planoly you could do if that works for your account. 

3. make sure to delete the image or move it out of that folder when you use it otherwise in a week you might accidentally share it again. 

There is nothing wrong with either method. If you want to schedule for the year, the month, the week or the moment, it’s whatever works best for you. Remember that it’s about your audience, try new methods and see how your followers react. If after a week, your engagement is down, then maybe this isn’t the right step for you and you need to go back to your old strategy.

It’s easy to want to do what’s best for us but when it comes to your business accounts on social media, it is 100% about your followers.

Make sure you are giving them what they want!

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