How often should you post to social media?
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If you are using social media for your marketing, showing up consistently is key And you can’t do that without a plan, a strategy, and a few good tools.
Batch Scheduling Posts
First up is a scheduling tool called Later.com. It might seem a bit inauthentic to schedule posts ahead of time but for a business account it is key. You aren’t going to be able to come up with fresh content every day or three times a week or whatever your schedule is. Instead, you need to batch schedule posts. Sit down when you have some time and schedule a week’s worth of posts, or two weeks, or more!
And that doesn’t mean that these posts are set in stone. If you feel a particular inspiration one day, go ahead and post and bump that day’s post to another day.
One thing I love about Later is that it allows you to see a preview of what your Instagram feed will look like. If you are a business, this is important to give a consistent, on-brand appearance to customers. It also is a natural way to keep your content varied enough to be interesting to your audience.
Later has both a browser-based interface and an app so there’s flexibility in how you can use it. It also allows you to save frequent captions like hashtags, tag and filter content, create a link in bio, and more.
Sourcing Images
Instagram is a very image-forward social media platform; you need an image in order to post. But the other platforms also benefit from using images. Studies show that people are more likely to click on a post with an image than without.
So then where do you find images?
In some cases, you can/should take your own. But this requires a bit time investment and, without it, it can be difficult to maintain high quality content.
If you create an account, you can even create albums to save photos for the future. I have one for Dionne Design for images I could potentially use on my social media account, website, or blog. I have another simply called “I like it” for those images that I like for some reason but for which I can’t think of an immediate use. Then I keep folders for each client of images that I might want to use on their social accounts.
You can also find images on Pinterest or on Instagram. But a warning: If you use someone else’s photo, make sure you properly credit them! This means giving them credit in the caption (“Photo by @talentedphotographer.”) and tagging them in the image or Story.
Designing Graphics
For most of my social media graphics (and the graphics in this story) I use Illustrator but Canva is a great online alternative for non-designers. I even use it myself when I want to pull something together quickly or when I’m stuck for inspiration. Like Later, Canva also has an online and an app option, although I find the app a bit cumbersome.Canva has templates for every social media platform as well as Etsy shop banners, business cards, fliers, and more. The templates cover every possible design style (so make sure you choose ones what fit your brand). You can upload your own images or use the Pexels integration. I also recommend uploading some essentials such as your logo and any icons or design features that you regularly use. Then just drag and drop your images into the template, change the text, adjust the colors to suit your brand and you’re set to go!
Here’s an example of how easy it is to make a Canva template your own:
from this
to this
With a few simple– but powerful– tools, you can make your life easier and your social media content better!
6 Comments
Crystal
This was so helpful! I’ve been so sporadic in posting to the business site so I’m going to try out Later.com
Sarah Sullivan
Fantastic! Batch scheduling really is a game changer!
Mariana Garcia
Thank you Sarah! Very useful!
Sarah Sullivan
I’m so glad1
Katie Langevin
Thank you Sarah, this is such valuable information and such a game changer for me!!
Sarah Sullivan
Awesome! I’m so glad it’s helpful!