SHare & save
Your to-do list is getting longer by the minute: There are cars to care for, families to spend time with, work to be done, food to be made, and maybe some friends and self-care squeezed in there when you remember to. Scheduling everything in your regular life is overwhelming enough.
Literally, the last thing on your mind is posting a well-thought-out post for the Instagram feed. In fact, your best ideas for captions and cool images to snag tend to come right before you fall asleep or while procrastinating doing the laundry — not the most convenient times to whip out the ‘gram and post.
You know that consistency is key, but spending more than 5 minutes on a post when it’s just not in you feels dreadful.
If you feel me, let’s try something new: Scheduling your social media posts in advance.
There are tons of scheduling softwares out there (lots for free), so I’m going to give you my best tips on scheduling your time and your content.
Make It Easy
Scheduling your posts ahead of time gives you way more control over your time and your mental energy. Read below on how I write my content and grab photos in batches, but first, here are some of my favorite scheduling tools for you to use:
Facebook (and Instagram’s) native scheduling platform. It’s not sexy, but it’s 100% free!
The powerhouse of Instagram scheduling. Upgrade from a free account to see your best times to post, collect user generated content, and evaluate your best hashtags to get found by sponsors and fans.
Want a well-rounded social media approach? Hootsuite’s got scheduling tools for all and a ton of great education to boot.
How to Content Batch
In a nutshell, batching is about spending a concentrated amount of time at once to spend less time daily on repetitive tasks, like Instagram posting.
Here’s what I suggest:
Spend 10 minutes at the beginning of the month braindumping all possible Instagram captions or story ideas. If you get stuck, keep pressing into topics deeper. What else can you wring out of behind-the-scenes shop content, or past racing stories, or your best recovery tips?
Then, write two weeks’ worth of content all at once. If you want to do a whole month, go for it!
Throughout the month, try to snap some images of your in-the-moment racing or home life, not to use right that second, but to use later. You’ll slowly be creating a stockpile of branded images to use when you schedule. Next time you get a free 10 minutes alone in the shop, take some up-close detail shots (don’t forget sponsor promos!) and some of you working on your car.
Put it all together (image + caption + scheduling tool) and you’re off to the races (pun intended).
But what about the algorithm?
You may have seen floating around that scheduling your posts gets you less engagement. According to Instagram, that’s not true! But we do know that social media works best when it’s social, so do your best to engage with your fans and potential sponsors daily on Instagram. Without the added pressure of writing and snapping and posting, I find the engagement to be so much more fun
Now it’s your turn! Get your precious time and mental energy back by getting your whole month of social media written, shot, and scheduled on a Sunday afternoon.
Do you have any scheduling tips or programs you love? I’m always trying to level up my social media productivity!
Need more social media tips to connect with your fans and get noticed by sponsors? You can start by joining the waitlist for my social media marketing e-course << here >> doors open up this Summer!
