Top 7 Tools I use to Plan Social Media
“I never thought I would ever be consistent until I just took action!”
This statement is from myself, because I have to admit in the past I was not consistent at all. Even having my stock photo library I still had no clue what to post. That’s until I got out of my head and I really started to implement all of the things that I was studying! Sometimes you have to be at the right mindset to actually start doing the things that you want to do.
For the month of October this has been the first month that I have been consistent in my business since I started blogging back in 2012. Shocking, I know, and its something that I hate to admit to but we’ve all been there, where our mindsets just isn’t where it needs to be to really implement real business decisions including social media scheduling.
So when I decided to really make an effort I had to figure out what resources would help me be consistent and save me more time for the week ahead without overwhelming myself! Now that I have my resources, that I’ll be using for now, on I want to share them with you!
As a small business owner, there is so much to get done in your day. You need to be able to make the most of your time because, girl, your time is precious!
*Side note if I find any other tools that I feel will help you and me, I’ll be updating this blog post so definitely pin this :)
**Anything with an asterisk is a referral link
Plann
*PLANN has been a godsend for myself this month and in the past as well! It has a phone app as well as desktop version. I use the desktop version for a better look at planning, creating, and scheduling. I only use the phone app when it is time to post to Instagram. Once I schedule everything based on the times that my audience is usually active, all I have to do is wait for the notification. I can then post it on the particular day it’s scheduled. I also make it a point to be active at least 15-20 minutes after posting. Here are some more features that I love from the Plann App!
I can go in and see my feed at a glance. Since I’m sticking with a graphic then photo theme, this keeps me in line with what I’m trying to achieve.
I can see which post performed well and then work to do more of what people like!
I can see when’s the best time to post and when my audience is most active.
I’m able to save hashtags too. I’m working with 3 different hashtags for different types of post and I can definitely see the difference!
There are other features that I want to leverage but they do cost so what I’m doing and what I suggest you to do is to play with it for about 1-3 months. This helps you to see if this is the best option for you and then invest in the other features!
Buffer
I use Buffer for my Facebook Page, Facebook Group, and Twitter. What I’ll do is I’ll check out what preformed well for last week and re-schedule them for the following week. Then in between I’ll add in quotes and new blog post and videos.
I used to love twitter but now I realize my ideal audience just isn’t on there, I mean of course they may be some but I don’t want to stress out about this platform. I schedule out tweets like quotes, blog post, videos, and retweets from others for variety. I’m already seeing a jump in followers and clicks to my page from there. Even scored almost 100 new subscribers sooo hmmm maybe I need to look into twitter more!
If you don’t already know I do have a facebook page. Using buffer I’m able to schedule out post such as quotes and questions to get people talking!
For my Facebook Group I love this app to schedule in daily prompts, the engagement inside has really gone up because of that! People are even engaging with one another which is my sole purpose for creating a group for my membership.
Tailwind
I use *Tailwinds for you guessed, Pinterest! I seen a post on Pinterest, ironically enough, about how to schedule pinterest post in 10 minutes a day. This really peaked my attention as I do not have the time to pin over 50 pins per day manually. I highly suggest taking a look at that post and taking action. Normally if I do what that article suggest I don’t have to schedule anything out until the next week. I’ll add in new blog post Pinterest post but other than that I get to look at Pinterest for educational and vision board purposes!
BTW I tried Tailwinds for 30 days before I jumped the gun to get the annual plan. By the end of those 30 days, it was showing great results so I knew I needed to invest! So that being said if you use my link here you’ll be able to get a month FREE!
She Bold Stock
Now I can’t just bypass my own membership, She Bold Stock! My styled stock membership is what I wished I had when I first started out 5 years ago! Now that I’m really sitting down and taking use of everything inside, it’s really making posting a breeze! Having over 3,000 stock photos to choose from I can search by type and color to get the best photo for my blog post graphic and social media post. I also use my graphics and social media templates as well. I simply took one of the existing templates and made it my own. All I have to do is change the branding and then I’m good to go!
Canva
Speaking of templates, I create all of my templates in Canva for the membership. It’s such an easy tool to use especially if you are a busy girl! I have my stock photos categories by the collection to make things easier to navigate. I have my logo on hand, plus my brand’s fonts and colors. I use the same templates for each blog posts, each social media posts, and I never have to come up with new ideas! I know what works and I keep it consistent!
Project StoryLine
I use Project Story Line by Alex Beadon for my Instagram Stories! This is a bonus for those that want to get on Instagram Stories more often! I’ll check out the prompt for the day and then do it, or I’ll check another prompt that will fit my day better .It really comes in handy when I simply just do not know what to post. However, I don’t just use her prompts I’ll also add in a few more stories that I’ve planned for the week. So I highly suggest getting on the wait list for this membership as It has helped me show up more for my audience!
Google Docs
I use Google Docs to actually plan out my Instagram Stories for the entire week. I sit down and I just look at each day and figure out what I have going on for the week as a whole and plan around it.I’ll use ideas that I pull from project story line and also ideas that I pull from myself. I’ll write a brief description of what I’ll do and print it out and keep it in my business binder to remind myself what I’m doing for the day.
Your next step:
I hope you find these tools helpful. Whether you are a product based or service based business I hope that you consider getting consistent in your business. It really comes down to having the right mindset to begin and then taking actionable steps to get you implementing! Invest in tools that will help you plan, do, and be consistent. Remember you are investing in yourself by investing in your business!
In Conclusion
Top 7 Tools for Planning social Media Include:
Plann for Instagram Posts
Buffer for Facebook and Twitter
Tailwind for Pinterest
She Bold Stock Membership for content creation
Canva for Graphics
Project Story Line for Instagram Stories
Google Docs for planning Instagram Stories
So there you go,if you take action today with these tools you are bound to stay consistent! So let me know in the comments what are your favorite tools? Have you added a new tool to your planning?