HAPPY MONDAY….
FROM MY COUCH.

Shout-out to that love-hate relationship we all have with dear Monday. Pretty sure I’m not the only who doesn’t always enjoy switching over from weekend mode to work mode. 

Hopefully by now, you’ve learned that it’s a really really good idea to let yourself have that weekend mental break from time to time, especially if you’re a fellow creative or entrepreneur. If not…. that’s a whole notha topic to discuss about letting yourself rest and giving yourself grace when it all doesn’t get done in that oh so restrictive timeline you’ve probably put on yourself. But part of Monday means diving back into the world of social media alongside of sending out emails, blogging, and everything else you’re doing to reach your dream clients! So I would love to share with you 3 ways I organize my social media so I’m not struggling to figure out what to post last minute or even what to post. This ensures I’m providing consistent, high quality content without losing my sanity AND staying on brand. 

1. WRITE DOWN YOUR BRAND STRATEGY

Most of us have an idea of what our brand is about and who our ideal clients are but it doesn’t always cement itself in a consistent manner in how to share ourselves Without this step, I promise you when it comes to writing quality blog posts / social media captions, you’re going to be staring at that blink cursor wondering what to say or how to say it.

Let’s use Instagram as an example. I recommend you chose 3-5 topics or categories of what content / message you want to focus on. Personally, I post content about each segment of my work (Boudoir, Lifestyle, Weddings) plus posts about me and the work I do with local, small businesses. Always, always include photos of yourself, especially of your face. It’s so important not to hide behind your work but let your clients see you. After all, you are the one they are going to be excited to receive content from and purchase your services or products.

Once you have your categories, decide how you want to market them. For instance with Boudoir, I strive to provide a message of empowerment to women of body positivity and self-love. This allows you to have a clear direction for each category. 

2. PLANN YOUR POSTS

Not a typo up there! What if there was an app that allowed you to schedule your instagram posts, layout your feed before you have to post, group together hashtags, and gather analytics. Ranging from a free account to as little as $9 a month, PLANN is one of the best decisions I made regarding getting my social media and the accounts I manage under control and on brand. It allows me to lay out my feed (I usually do this on a Sunday, planning out the week since I post 6x) so I can make sure its in order and the colors are on brand. I can then schedule the date + time for each post and write out the caption. It sends me a reminder to post, I simply click on the post, select post to IG, and it will open up in Instagram with the caption copied. Post the caption, switch back to Plann to copy your hashtags and then post them right into your post or comment below. Plus it will recommend the best times to post per day based on your account’s engagement. 

My recommendation is set aside one afternoon to plan out your week’s posts. Take an hour or so to focus on selecting content for your feed and writing up captions. Thankfully, you’ll only need to do your hashtags once and get them grouped for your different categories. Then you’ll just update them as needed. You can have up to 30 hashtags in one group, make sure you include specific tags, location tags, and your brand tags. Get into the routine of planning ahead and let Plann do the daily work. 

3. stop scolling & start scheduling

Who else spends their first waking moments checking notifications and falls asleep after scrolling idly? Guilty as charged! It’s such an addictive habit to break so please believe me when I say I am not perfect at this but I do know this is such an important thing to implement into your routine. Instead of taking 5 to 10 minutes of mindless scrolling here and there, set aside time to engage on instagram and facebook and pin content. If you’re tired of that distracted, unproductive or overwhelmed feeling you get during the day then I highly recommend you implement this step! I recommend checking your phone after you get up, shower, read or workout (whatever your morning routine is!) or only checking the most necessary notifications. Avoid the scroll! When you need a break from work, mentally check out from that task and spend the next 10-20 minutes on social media, engaging, pinning or checking up on personal things. Then. Set. The. Phone. Down. And refocus on the next task. Letting yourself have that time to work your social media will keep you from being distracting by the other things you feel you should be done. I don’t know how else to explain it but keeping each thing separate removes any guilt and lets you have more focus in your life.