7 reasons scheduling is the only way to organise social media
When I sit down and plan a fortnights worth of Facebook and Instagram posts, I find I am more productive and creative than when I try to post daily for three separate accounts. When those creative juices are flowing, it’s so much quicker to pump out a bunch of posts that are cohesive and won’t appear too repetitive.
Working out a system is half the struggle. Facebook is handy in that it offers you insights regarding when your followers are online, when they are liking, what they are clicking on and what posts are viewed. This allows you to accurately schedule your posts right down to the minute.
Content creation is half the struggle. It takes a lot of time and it gets hard to work within brand guide parameters as time goes on. Scheduling ahead of time means you have the time to come back and adjust content if you find something better, or if you change your mind all together.
Here are our 7 reasons why scheduling is the only way to go:
1. It’s time efficient.
We try to plan 2 weeks in advance, so if big things pop up we’re ready to weather the storm. Scheduling doesn’t mean your posts are final, drafts are a clever way to organise your thoughts and then finalise them when you are happy with your content.
2. Research time is minimised
If you’re writing posts, chances are you try to frame them around big current events, whether sports, holidays or rituals, having a calendar of events is a useful tool to ensure you never miss an NRL game or Mother’s Day again! The more you research, the more organised you will be and resources like this can be used year after year!
3. It is the most effective way to build strong insights regarding your brand
Without knowing when your followers are online, it is difficult to target the time when you should post. Developing patterns and documenting reach is a simple way to test out yourself when the best time to post is. After you know this, you’ll see the rate of interaction increase as you gain more followers.
4. A change in direction isn’t as obvious
If you are suddenly inspired by something new, scheduling means there are already a bunch of posts ready to go and that you can subtly introduce this new theme/direction/concept into your posts.
5. It takes the stress out of putting your creative hat on every day
Considering how busy we are and how easy it can be to forget to post, scheduling means something relevant will always appear and takes away the stress of setting daily reminders or if you’re like me; post-it notes on the laptop screen.
6. It means your team can help collaborate
Every fortnight, our entire team sits down and edits the posts I plan. This not only helps to pick up grammatical issues, but lets the input of the team be heard and integrated. Sometimes this is really helpful, especially when your ideas are becoming a bit repetitive!
7. It makes seeing your post in your feed super exciting
When you are living and breathing social media, seeing these posts appear in your feed is the gift you didn’t know you wanted. When you maybe haven’t looked at it for a while, scheduled posts mean you often see the live post like any other follower would.
