Social media is meant to be fun and engaging, not stressful and overwhelming. This feeling tends to arise when people think social media needs to be done in real-time. 

We’ll let you in on a secret: besides real-time stories, the majority of influencers plan and schedule their content ahead of time, and use images they’ve already taken. This means you can truly enjoy your business events or holidays without worrying about posting on your social media accounts.

While you’re out exploring, or spending time with family and friends, just focus on taking pictures and videos. They’ll come in handy when you begin to plan your content for future months.

A simple and effective social media strategy consists of three parts: brainstorming, writing and scheduling. This strategy emphasizes both simplicity and quality. 

Brainstorming:

We suggest you do this monthly or bi-monthly. Think about all the upcoming events or trends in your business. What would your clients like to hear about? What’s going on in the community? If you want to post twice a week, come up with 8 topics. Find relevant links or businesses that you could highlight in the content later on.

Writing:

Now that you have your ideas, it’s time to write the content. Grab a coffee, take a seat at your desk, and spend a few hours writing all of the posts you have brainstormed. Include links, shout-outs and tags to expand your reach. This part can be done in sections. After you write it, we recommend you get someone to read over it. This will ensure the content flows and is free of spelling mistakes. 

Scheduling:

This is the most efficient way to be consistent on social media. Once you have the content and the graphic to compliment it, you are ready to schedule it. There are numerous free platforms and apps that allow you to schedule your content months in advance. 

• Facebook Business Scheduler (Schedules Facebook and Instagram)
• Promo
• Buffer
• Hootsuite
• Later.com

Regardless of the platform you choose to use, scheduling your content ahead of time means you don't have to worry about the content on your pages. Just remember, some topics may arise that you haven't planned for, but make an exception and address them if they are relevant to your business and brand.

Coming up with fewer posts, that are both meaningful and educational, is far more beneficial than creating a bunch of fluff posts.

Social media is meant to promote your brand, so use it as you see fit. There are no official social media rules, just remember to be consistent and creative.