7 Apps to Use for Auto-Posting to Instagram

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Many social media experts say to gain traction on your social accounts you have to show a consistent presence. The problem is, posting in real time is a guaranteed way to become inconsistent. The two main reasons are you may not know what to post about and you have to actually remember to post! The great news is there are various apps in which you can plan your social content and schedule it to post in advance. The only prerequisite for auto posting to Instagram is that you have a business Instagram account, so if you don’t have one, consider switching over soon!  Today I will be sharing 7 apps that allow you to post to Instagram automatically- and not just a push reminder, an actual post to your feed!

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1.Preview

This is the app that I currently use to plan and schedule my Instagram content. The app includes many features such as Reels and Story planning, but my favorite feature is editing.  I love to simplify and streamline processes, so an all-in-one app that handles photo editing/adjusting, planning and posting is golden!

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Preview App

2. Planoly

This is also a feed planning and scheduling app with many features such as analytics and hashtag help.  This is a popular app among content creators because of its ease of use and various options in the app.

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Planoly App

3. Buffer

Buffer has been around for a while and it’s still one of my favorite tools for auto-posting content to social media.  You can link different social platforms to your Buffer account such as Twitter and Pinterest, so if you want to auto-post to these other platforms this is a great option of an app to use.  Buffer does not have a visual feed planner, however, you can view your scheduled content to know what’s coming up in your content calendar.

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Buffer

4. Tailwind

Tailwind is also an app that will post contents to various social platforms automatically.  There is a more robust calendar feature and their SmartSchedule feature is incredibly helpful by scheduling you IG posts based on the times that your audience is most active.  Since standard posting time tips don’t apply to every account, this feature is awesome because you will get personalized information!

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Tailwind App

5. Hootsuite

This app has also been around for a LONG time.  I remember when Twitter first started gaining traction, Hootsuite was there to make Twitter interaction more seamless.  Now that Instagram is a part of Hootsuite’s supported apps, you can also use this to auto-post.  Like Buffer, this is not a visual feed planner, but you can still plan and view your IG content with Hootsuite.

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Hootsuite


6. Later

I have not had the pleasure to use Later yet, however, I often hear great things about it.  The great feature with Later is that there are two views for your content- your feed planner and your calendar to see when things are scheduled to post.  This is the best of both worlds because you need to see your feed in different ways for different reasons.  Maybe one day you just want to know how much social content will be posted for the week, so you aren’t concerned with the visual feed at that moment. No need for a visual if that’t not the information you’re seeking. Or maybe one day you just want to see if your feed flows well visually.  There's no need for the calendar when you’re not looking for the content schedule.  Having both options in one app accommodates both situations and sounds like a time-saver to me!

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Later

7. Facebook Creator Studio

This Facebook feature is becoming more and more popular.  Why not just use the tools available from the company that owns the app, right?  With Facebook Creator studio, you can plan and schedule your Instagram content (Facebook as well), and view analytics.  I tend to trust/believe the stats provided by the company that owns the app being used because they are more vested in the data being accurate since it is their platform.  There is also an app for Creator Studio, so creating and scheduling your content is even that much more of a breeze.

Facebook Creator Studio

These are the most popular platforms being used to auto-post to Instagram.  There are only a select few that Facebook has provided this type of API access to, so if an app is allowed to auto-post, it’s a great sign in their security and various protocols to keep your data protected.

One last thing to note- when you post to Instagram automatically, it’s good to be aware of the times so you can be around to respond to comments!  Engagement is the key of social media, so it’s not cool to auto-post and never show up.  That totally defeats the purpose of social media.

Do you use any Instagram feed planners to auto-post?  If so, who do you use and if not...go ahead and jump on it! The sooner you do, the sooner you can start gaining back time in your day to work on growing your business and less time trying to remember what and when to post to Instagram in realtime.

4 Ways to Spring Clean Your Business Thoughts

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We are about one month away from summer but since it’s still spring I wanted to talk about some ways that you can spring clean your business thoughts. Often times we are our own worst enemy and talk ourselves out of doing things that will take us to the next level. This is totally normal but it should be addressed and recognized so that we can move past it and get outside of the comfort zone that we tend to find ourselves in. Today I will be talking about four things that you should change your mindset on that will help you get out of your head and get to the next level.

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1. Start putting yourself out there

The first thing to do is start pitching yourself to brands and people that you want to work with. As we all know, the number of followers that you have does not equal the number of sales that you make.  The main things are engagement and influence. Brands are starting to get hip to this and understand what the true value is which is not in the number of followers. My following is not huge, but I have worked with brands and have spoken at large conferences. It's all about what you know, how effective you are in communicating it, and how in touch you are with your audience. Don't be afraid to reach out and pitch a brand that you have always wanted to work with. You never know what may happen, but you will know what happens if you do nothing... nothing! 

Putting yourself out there also applies to reaching out to peers in your niche or in complimentary niches to collaborate. There are so many opportunities to collaborate with others, so instead of waiting around for those opportunities to come to you, go after them yourself!


2. Start getting on camera to create video content

Video content is king and this is even more evident with the features that social platforms continue to put out there (Reels and TikTok for example).  Also, YouTube is still a dominating force along with other social features such as IGTV, IG Live, Facebook Live, etc.  Long and short form content have their place in the world, so either way you go you will win.  If you’re a shy person when it comes to showing your face on camera, short form content is a great place to start (Stories, Reels, and/or TikTok).  And really, with attention spans being so low these days, the shorter content tends to perform better than longer clips.  Use this to your advantage!


3. Start focusing on your own evergreen content (platforms you own are still king!)

Social content is always going to be a necessary part of your marketing strategy, but don't put so much focus on social that you neglect the evergreen platforms that you control.  Evergreen content is content that will always be around such as your website, blog posts, email marketing messages and even Pinterest pins.  Here’s why:

  • Your website- it is totally controlled by you.  The user experience and direction in which you want to lead your readers is all controlled by you.  The content is searchable on a search engine, so your content can be found by anyone in the world.  On the other hand, with social media, there are algorithms that control when your content is seen and by whom.  Also, people do not tend to scroll too far down social feeds, so your old content that was posted is likely not getting much traction after it has run its course from its initial post date/time.  There is a new feature now in Instagram where you can add keywords to your posts for SEO purposes, but ultimately getting traffic to your site rather than generating it to someone else’s is also king.

  • Email marketing- you also control the content and when it goes out.  You can target certain members to receive content that they have already shown an interest in, and the content is sent to everyone at the same time. Of course you can’t control if or when they will open it, but you ca still control the user experience and direct them where you want them to go.

    You can also easily obtain backups of your data if you decide to move to a different email marketing platform, so regardless what happens to the platform you use, you can still have the contact info for your list and still communicate with them.  Good luck with this on social media...there is no way to take your following with you anywhere if you decide to leave that platform because your followers data does not belong to you.

  • Pinterest- yes, this is a social platform, and yes it is not a platform you own...however...Pinterest is used as a search engine these days and tends to generate more accurate search results than a standard search engine.  This is because there are industry words and phrases that may not be as common on a regular search engine.  For example, searching for living room vignette on Pinterest vs Google will give you two different results since vignette is mostly used as a photography term rather than a style term, but people searching for this on Pinterest are going to get what they’re looking for.


4. Start focusing on connecting with your audience, not growing a following

Whether you’re doing this in your social comments, through an email list, through a survey or a DM, make sure you are not just talking TO your audience, but talking WITH them.  As I mentioned, social media is a great marketing tool, but it’ also a great connection builder.  I met one of my best friends online from blogging and have met many wonderful people through Instagram IRL.  I have also had awesome opportunities come my way that were a result of Instagram.  I’m an introvert, but I do enjoy connecting with people on my social platforms.  The main thing is to just be yourself and try not to worry about what people might think of you (I love the cooky crazy side of people because that’s where their individuality shines through).  Connect with your audience by telling relatable stories and events.  Share behind the scenes content so people can see that you are a regular person just like them.  I love BTS content of large bloggers and influencers (even celebrities!) because I like to see their everyday and though our lives may not be exactly the same, there are many aspects that are similar where I have a better connection to them as a human.  Start sharing more of this content and making true connections with you audience.

These are a few ways to restructure your thinking for your business and start stepping outside of your comfort zone in this season.  Changing things up is a great way to get out of a rut and start seeing different results.