Social media for creative business: How to save time

I’ve found there are two types of businesses on social media. Those who post super sporadically and a lot at once, and those who post on a super strict schedule. 

I used to be the sporadic poster. It was mentally exhausting and not very beneficial to my business. There are definitely better, more productive ways to use social media.

Now, I schedule my social media out the month before in one day and can work on my business the rest of my month, rather than in my business.

I want to discuss why having a social media workflow works so well for a business, when and how to schedule out your social media, and specifically which programs to use.

Why schedule social media

“A plan is what, a schedule is when. It takes both a plan and a schedule to get things done.” – Peter Turla

First, let’s talk about something you already know.

Everyone’s on social media. It’s necessary for businesses to have one in order to stay front and center in the minds of potential clients. If used right, it’s super beneficial to your business. It’s like a daily reminder for them that you’re around.

No, I don’t think you should rely on social media ONLY. I think investing your time into building your email list is way more important in the long run.

You hear it all the time, “The email list is the only thing you OWN. You don’t own your followers on Facebook or Instagram.”

But, you still need social media in some capacity. I’ve heard over and over and I’m sure you have to, a potential client has to hear/see your message at least seven times before they take action and buy from you or book your service.

That’s where social media comes into play. That daily reminder that you are there and ready to serve them.

Yes daily. Don’t let them forget you.

Scheduling posts for social media

There are several different ways to schedule your posts. I personally use Later for Instagram because it allows you to schedule stories, whcih are important in your social media plan, but more on that on another day.

The great thing about Later is that it’ll post most of your regular posts for you. It’s the only app I have found that can do that.

I’m not someone who’s on Instagram or Facebook all the time and if you follow my personal profiles, you will know I rarely ever post, so something that posts FOR me is very important to me.

It doesn’t post stories though. It sends a reminder for you to post the story, but it’s a simple 3-4 click process.

Another good thing about this app is the fact that it tells you the optimal times to post, the times when your followers are most likely to be on the app to see it. We all know the algorithm is going to show the posts with the most interaction, so it’s important to post at the times your followers will be able to see/comment/like the post.

This brings me to another point. As much as you don’t want to, you have to interact on the post for a while in order to stay visible for potential clients. This part isn’t my favorite, but I do try to comment back for a few hours on each post.

Other options

I love Later. The price isn’t bad, I can plan for the entire month including stories, and it keeps what I have posted separate from images I haven’t posted. Really, that’s only important for the Instagram Top Nine at the end of the year, but I also don’t like to repost images more than once a year if I can avoid it.

Other options I have looked into, but they just don’t fit my needs at the moment are Buffer, CoSchedule, Sendible, Hootsuite, Meet Edgar, Planoly, and Tailwind. I know there are others, but these are a few I’ve looked into in the past.

Your needs may be different than mine, so check out all the options for sure. Then, make a decision, stick with it, and be consistent.

What about Facebook?

Facebook has its own scheduling tool. It’s a pain, but I spend the few extra minutes to copy and paste my posts from Instagram and change them up as needed. Facebook seems to prefer if you schedule directly from their site.

There are options such as CoSchedule, Sendible, and Hootsuite to schedule your posts out, but I’m not sure it’s worth the risk of Facebook not showing your content by using another app.

And Pinterest?

I mentioned Tailwind above. You’d think I’d use it for Instagram since I use it for Pinterest, but I don’t. It just doesn’t make sense for me yet. Maybe in the future though.

I love Tailwind for Pinterest because it can pin your content from your website on several different boards, which keeps your content posting all the time. Like most of the other apps, it will give you the optimum times for your audience so that you stay top of mind for your potential clients.

With Pinterest it’s not so important how many followers you have, but more important that posts are being seen.

Honestly, I don’t get a huge flow to my website from Pinterest, but I do get some traffic which makes it worth it to me since it doesn’t take a lot of time to pin the images.

Most of the previously mentioned companies will also schedule your pins as well.

Conclusion

“Don’t worry; skills are cheap, passion is priceless. If you’re passionate about your content and you know it and do it better than anyone else, even with few formal business skills you have the potential to create a million-dollar business.” -Gary Vee, Author of Crush It

If that quote doesn’t motivate you, I’m not sure what will.

As we discussed before, it takes a potential client SEVEN times hearing your message before they’ll take action and book you. Staying top of mind on social media is so important because of this.

Coming up with a social media scheduling plan and workflow will not only help you get more $#!& done the rest of the month because you have time to work ON your business, but it’ll also help keep your books full because your potential client is seeing you ALL. THE. TIME.

The extra bit of work at one time is worth the productivity you will achieve later. Promise.