Oh Instagram. Most of us have a love-hate relationship with Instagram but in all honesty I wonder if it’s because we overcomplicate it and put too much pressure on the ONE platform as an indicator of business success.

Over the past few years I’ve started to get into a groove of batching my Instagram content ahead of time so that I can spend more time actually ENGAGING on the app and bringin’ the social back to social – which is what it was originally meant for anyways!

Creating and scheduling out my base posts ahead of time gives me more time and more freedom knowing that I’m consistently marketing my business but freeing up time to get more creative with stories, reels and with commenting with others on the platform which in turn all helps me grow & stay top of mind!

In today’s video I’m breaking down my exact process of how I batch my content ahead of time in an efficient and productive way!

Here are the basics in blog form but be sure to watch the video so see behind my computer scene as I walk you through the process!

STEP 1: Look at Your Calendar

Although I batch write my content beforehand and not in real-time, I always make sure to take a look of the calendar and be aware of any important dates before I start creating content. For example, if I know my business’ birthday is on January 5th I’ll make sure to write a post up for that! This helps keep your content relevant throughout the year!

STEP 2: Use Asana to Organize

I use Asana to organize my Marketing Map board and I use the Calendar function to easily see where what pieces of content need to go! Watch the video to get a more in-depth view of how it all works together!

Here are a couple of screenshots showing you a BTS look of my board and how I organize all my content in Asana!

I love that it allows you to break each “card” down into a ton of subtasks so I can easily stay on track and not miss any part of the workflow!

STEP 3: Use Your Base/Hero Content

Ever since before the official start of my business I’ve been in the groove of blogging once per week. Some weeks it’s client blog posts, others its tips for clients, sometimes it’s personal, other times it’s for SEO purposes! When I go through my Quarterly routine, I brainstorm topics for each week so when I go to batch my Instagram content I already know what “hero” or “base” blog post is going out for each week. Usually, I try to batch write my blog posts before I start creating my Instagram content for each month. That makes one post on Instagram a week easily repurposed from the content that I’ve already written out for the blog post! I just tweak it a little to make it more readable on Instagram and voila – there’s 4 to 5 posts already created for every month!

STEP 4: Use a Copy Bank

This is what I use to fill in the rest of the spots! I usually aim to post 3-4 times a week and with 1 spot being taken up by the base/hero content I usually have 2-3 other spots left. For this I pull ideas from my copy bank! A Copy Bank is just a fancy way of saying having one place where you can dump ideas for Instagram posts! I refer back to my Copy Bank for ideas to get me started when I’m going to create from a blank slate. I try to the bank weekly with ideas and little nuggets of wisdom that came up throughout the week!

STEP 5: Use Planoly to Schedule Posts Out

I use Planoly to schedule out my Instagram posts on autopost! I also will sometimes add stories to a scheduled slot so I get a reminder to post about them! These are particularly helpful for launches and for showing off my latest clients’ images from their shoot! Planoly also allows you to geotag a location, tag other public accounts, include hashtags in the first comment and helps you crop your image so it’s the right size and will automatically post for you!! Half the time I’m even ASLEEP when my posts are going out and I don’t have to worry about manually going in and posting each time which is sooo nice! Planoly also includes analytics which helps me track what content is resonating with my audience and clues me in on what to create in the future!

That’s my 5 step process for batch planning out 1 month’s Instagram content in 1 sitting! Sometimes when I really get in the groove I’m able to plan out almost a whole quarter’s worth of Instagram posts!! I find that once you get into the rhythm of coming up with ideas and writing out captions it’s a lot easier than struggling to figure it out on the spot each time you go to post.

This is just what works for me but I hope this post was helpful and that you can come up with your own system to make Instagram more manageable and hopefully more fun in the process! Be sure to shoot me a DM on Instagram @manalisontakke if you have any questions about it at all!

READY TO START PUTTING SYSTEMS IN PLACE IN YOUR BUSINESS?

If you’re wondering what the inside of a successful & streamlined photography business looks like the Behind the Business Course is for you! It includes everything from email templates, client questionnaires, workflows for portraits & questionnaires, a breakdown of a profitable marketing strategy & how to streamline and organize each and every part of your business. More of a visual learner? Be sure to watch the totally-free masterclass!

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