We’re a few months into 2021, and now is the time when our beginning-of-the-year goals really start to take a backburner. But if one of your goals was to improve your social media presence, it’s so important to keep posting consistently — even if you feel like you’re in a rut. Sure, you can indulge in a cheat day here and there, but you have to remain diligent about updating your accounts. Here’s why:
- Social media algorithms favor consistency.
- Posting consistently increases engagement.
- Regular posts help you stay top of mind with your clients.
- Creating a posting routine actually makes managing accounts easier for you.
And maybe you knew why posting consistently was important, but you are struggling with how to post consistently. Well, these four easy tips will help you post regularly — and stick to those all-important goals you set.
1. Determine how often you want to post on social media
It sounds so simple, but if you don’t know how many times a week you want to post, you can’t determine what’s consistent for you. So if you want to post five times a week, make a plan to post five times a week. Figure out which channel or channels you’re focused on and how often you want to post on each one. The best place to start when it comes to posting consistently is to determine what is consistent for you.
2. Decide what you are going to post
The best social media strategy is a well-planned one. It’s so important to plan out your content ahead of time. Sit down, do a good old brainstorm session, come up with a list of ideas for posts, then plan your content based on those topics. Once you know what you’re going to post for the week, or even for the next few weeks, you can go ahead and get that content created and get those posts ready.
3. Use a content calendar
Now that you know what you are going to post, you should organize your ideas using a content calendar. A content calendar is a must-have tool for social media. It gets all of your ideas organized and helps you post consistently. It doesn’t matter if you use a physical calendar, an Excel file, or a Google calendar (my personal favorite). Just find what works for you and stick with it! Here is a how-to guide, with step-by-step instructions on how to set up your own content calendar on Google Calendar.
4. Schedule your posts
Scheduling posts in advance is the best way to be consistent. Think back to tip number one. How often do you want to post? If it’s five times a week, then sit down once a week to schedule your posts for five days of the week. You can go back and look at your insights to see which days of the week are the best for your audience so that you can get the most engagement on your posts. Use the insights that are available to you from Facebook and Instagram to help you strategically schedule your posts. Scheduling your posts is the easiest way to be super consistent on social media.
Once you determine how often you’re going to post, plan out your content, use a content calendar to get organized and then schedule those posts, you’re going to be more consistent on social media. And if you’re going to do social media, you need to do it consistently!