Content marketing can seem overwhelming when it looks like daily social media posts and weekly—or even monthly—blog posts. When done on the fly, it will quickly get in the way of your regular day-to-day operations. It also gets to be uninspiring to find something to share every day when, to be completely honest, not every day is Insta-worthy!
By pre-scheduling your content in batches, you’ll get freedom back in your schedule as well as a big-picture look at strategy instead of making it up as you go. A few hours of your time at the start of each month will save you the headache of constantly churning content when your mental energy is better spent elsewhere.
Let’s explore some of the best options for pre-scheduling digital content, as well as some best practices to keep your marketing in tip-top shape.
We’ll start with the heavy-hitter: Facebook. Believe it or not, the best way to prepare posts in Facebook is in their native scheduler. The algorithms look more favorably on native content, so stick with the Facebook-based platform for the most reach and do your best to keep clients on their platform. If you’re wondering how to find this feature, any admin of a Page can navigate to the “Publishing Tools” tab in the top taskbar. From there, click on “Scheduled Posts” and get started!
Planoly
When it comes to our favorite image-driven platform, Planoly is a top choice for scheduling Instagram posts. One of the biggest perks of Planoly is the ability to schedule content for your feed and your Stories from the calendar tool. It’s also helpful to be able to see what your feed will look like in the future with scheduled posts (ideal for curating colors and aesthetic), which Planoly presents in a clean and efficient manner.
Tailwind
Couples may be browsing Instagram for inspiration, but Pinterest is where they are curating all of their ideas and visions for their big day. The truth is that Pinterest isn’t quite a social media platform, but a powerful discovery search engine. Pushing out content regularly on Pinterest is crucial, but not always as top-of-mind as its social counterparts. With Tailwind, you can schedule Pins to publish automatically for 30 days in advance. Tailwind also operates with Instagram, so if you like everything in one place, you can keep them on the same platform.
Before you implement any content scheduler, make sure you have a full grasp on your analytics first. You need to have an idea of your baseline numbers, so you can track how pre-scheduling impacts your data. You may see a decrease in engagement but an uptick in website visitors. The only way to know is to have your initial data for reference.
It’s also worth noting that pre-scheduling content is a safeguard for your online presence, but shouldn’t stand in the way of real-time, in-the-moment posts. You should continue sharing those behind-the-scenes shots and Live videos at events — that will continue displaying authenticity, while still ensuring your feed and Stories are regularly updated.
A healthy mix of spontaneous and scheduled content is the key to a smart, effective marketing strategy, so take some time to try out some new scheduling tools and start freeing your time for other projects.
Kinsey Roberts is a wedding venue educator, marketing strategist and co-owner of Vista View Events. She’s dedicated to helping women dominate their market and diversify their revenue streams through, She Creates Business, a podcast and online shop for wedding professionals. You can also catch her as a co-host on The Venue Podcast which helps venue owners navigate trials and tribulations within the event industry.