Are you wondering how to plan your Instagram posts in advance without spending hours on it?
For busy brands trying to leave their mark on Instagram, finding time to plan, prepare, schedule, and optimise your Instagram content can be tough.
Here are some tips based on my own experience (i.e. my content planning process for clients):
With this in mind, it’s important to create a visual moodboard to help you better plan Instagram content, that’s not just about images, but outlines what you want to share that will spark the conversations your audience is interested in.
It can be a mix of graphics, photographs, memes, pantone swatches, fonts - anything and everything stimulating that you aspire to for your brand visual palette.
The goal of your visual moodboard is to be able to use it as a reference for when you’re creating your content plan. So for every image, GIF, caption, video, and even meme post, you can check-in to see it aligns with your brand identity.
By taking the time to create a visual moodboard in advance, you can create cohesive, on-brand content that aligns with your business as a whole and continue growing a unique community of followers.
And if you really want to deliver a feed that wows, you need to start thinking in “grid” format and start planning your Instagram posts about 2 or 3 weeks in advance.
Plus, when you plan in advance you’re able to take a bird’s-eye view of your efforts. Have you posted too many product posts side-by-side? When was the last video you posted? Maybe you need to think about diversifying your content?
Check out Facebook Business Suite to connect your brand’s Instagram and Facebook - handy features include being able to schedule posts and save drafts.
Pro tip: plan in advance but also have some leeway for last minute changes. This is also why I suggest planning no more than 2 - 3 weeks advance; I feel that planning too far in advance can make us too ‘set’ and not open to new ideas or quick pivots.
One of the brands we work with is @athoughtfullworld - who provide affordable and accessible mental healthcare via their phone app, ThoughtFullChat. Because it is in the realm of mental healthcare - caption planning needs to be well thought out, fact checked where necessary, and extremely relatable. We also need to make sure the brand voice comes across as trustworthy, supportive and encouraging. Captioning is just as important as a captivating visual.
Your captions are one of the best ways to provide additional context, add a touch of personality, and even inspire your followers to take action.
What is happening in the world right now? What is the conversation? What are the conversations? What’s a sensitive topic right now? How are people out there feeling?
Plus, by giving yourself some editing time, you’re more likely to catch any typos or errors that might have slipped through the net in your first round of writing.
Festivities, holidays, celebrations, Boxing Day, World Marshmallow Day, International Polka Dot Day and so on.
Know key dates that are relevant to your industry and also relevant to your community. It’s not just a great way to plan content, but it will also help you plan some promotions, campaigns and collaborations.
Keep track of key dates in a calendar format or document that your entire marketing team can access so it makes planning more holistic and synergistic.
Now that society has reopened, we have less time to ponder and put things together. So I hope the tips above will help you manage this as we navigate our way back to the hustle and bustle of the real world.
Keep creating, and have fun!
-Nikola
