Overwhelmed by posting on Instagram? READ THIS!

W’re all using it. Whether it’s just for fun, to connect with family & friends, or to promote our blogs, small businesses, large businesses — you name it, we are all using Instagram (not to mention Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest…). How do we keep up with posting on social media? ALL. THE. TIME?

Here are some tips to help you come up with your next set of posts, easily and effortlessly:

1. If you’re a business or a blogger, start mixing in your personal life.

I said it. We worry way too much about the aesthetic of our feeds. Yes, you want your page to be a place that people will want to frequent. But guess what? (SPOILER ALERT) You don’t need to spend tons of time making sure that every third post has a burnt orange color or that you post coffee, flat lay, happy faces, cute puppy in an unbreakable rotation. Guess what? The same people who worry about these things, are the same people who complain about the algorithm and beg you to come like their posts so you’ll see them more often. People who are genuinely on Instagram want to feel connected. They want to see the real you! They want to see what you’re doing behind the scenes whether that’s in business, blogging, family life, or your pumpkin latte at Starbucks. ;)

(Photo of me by @visionbalm.)

2. Plan posts in advance.

If you’re a business owner or blogger, chances are you try to be intentional with the message that you’re conveying. Do you want to draw attention and clicks to your latest blog post? Maybe you’re trying out a new special and you want to attract locals to come in for lunch. Whatever the case might be, think about what you want to share and then take photos to match your message. You can draft posts directly in Instagram and save them for later, or you can use a third-party scheduling tool. I prefer to use Planoly because I can upload multiple photos at once and organize them on my feed in advance, which ends up saving me tons of time in the long run. Plenty of weeks go by that I don't use planning tools at all, but when I do the time savings is definitely noticeable.

3. Keep your iPhone handy.

When you’re out and about, don’t forget to snap photos of what you’re up to! With a camera attached to our fingertips constantly, you have the ability to record your memories more than ever. Take shots of scenery, your friends, your kids, your food, your pets, etc. You can use all of this in your stories and even reserve a few for your feed to counterbalance your planned posts.

4. Download the Photoshop Express app for your phone — it’s free!

Remember those iPhone photos I told you to snap? Now you can edit them yourself easily from the comfort of your own phone. This is perfect for in-between professional photo sessions, or for all of you DIY business owners out there. If you aren’t already using this app, you’d be surprised at how much it can make a difference with your self-generated content. Great photos are eye catching and help attract your target audience.

5. Share local content.

If you see an awesome post or an amazing photo, don’t be afraid to share it! Just because it didn’t originate with you doesn’t mean that people won’t like it or that it isn’t valid. Just make sure you’re always visibly giving photo credit in your captions with a tag back to the originating account! I’m starting a FREE stock photography gallery. Want in? Drop your email address below and you’ll get notification as soon as the gallery goes live!

6. Recycle your own content.

I have to give a big thanks to my friend Valerie (@thymeandjoy) for this one! She mentioned that she’s noticed some large accounts doing this lately. I checked and sure enough, they were posting the exact same image throughout their feeds. Why not? Yes, we want to share new information, new photos, and new experiences. At the same time, life gets busy and social media shouldn't become this huge job that takes over our lives when our focus could be more beneficial elsewhere. If you're low on content or too busy to properly plan the content you have, there's nothing wrong with reposting a photo from 3 months, 6 months, or even a year ago. You can always partner it with a new caption if you want to freshen it up. Chances are your audience has evolved since the last time it was posted. While the content isn't new to you, it is new to someone scrolling by.

Think of your photo as the clothing for the message you want to share. We don't have a brand new outfit for every single day of the year, that would be ridiculous. So why force new photos every single day? Go ahead, wear that photo from 8 weeks ago again today — you might even get some compliments on how great it looks!

7. Hire a branding photographer to capture photos of you, your lifestyle, your product, your team, your business location, etc.

You’d be surprised on how much content can come from one branding session. Here are examples of posts you can create with photos that come from your session:

• Highlight new products

• Share moods and inspiration

• Introduce each member of your team (one post per team member)

• Fun facts or statistics relating to your business offering (use lifestyle photos or team photos with these)

• Behind the scenes

• Seasonal/holiday posts

• Highlight your business space

• Showcase your services

• Share your process

You could come away with 30-40 unique photos from just one branding session. Guess what — you just took care of an ENTIRE month of social media posting! Whoop, whoop! Schedule your photographer once a month and switch up the sessions every time to keep unique content flowing and reach more potential customers than ever.

8. Hire a social media consultant or a social media manager.

A social media consultant is someone who can coach you on best practices for strategically managing your social media accounts. They can help you with content planning, optimize hashtag usage to expand your reach, dig in to analytics, and give you how-to tips along the way. A social media manager is someone who offers hands on assistance with content planning, posting, audience management, and engagement. Your social media manager could be someone who doubles as a consultant, or they could be someone who acts as more of an assistant and uses your account based on your direction. If you're using social media to gain or maintain traction for your business, hiring a social media consultant can give you valuable time back to reinvest where it matters the most.

Bonus tip: You could hire a photographer who also specializes in social media consulting!(Yours truly!) I’d love to help you create beautiful images AND engaging content so you can have your time back to do what it is that YOU do best. I bet you didn’t imagine spending so much time on social media marketing when you dreamed of opening your own [insert business type here] business, did you? Whether you’re looking for photography or help with social media, I’d love to work with you on as much or as little as you need. Let’s connect! You can email me directly at la@chucktownart.com or visit my website, www.chucktownart.com.

Do you have tips to share? I'd love to know how you make managing your social media life easy & fun!