Do you dream of being able to create your social media graphics without the overwhelm? Do you find that you have great intentions to create more posts, but run out of time or ideas, to actually sit down and create them? Does the overwhelm creep in and prevent you from actually posting at all?
Don’t worry, you are not alone. And, the good news is that when it comes to beating social media overwhelm there is really just one main thing you need to do . . .
Plan!
So now you might be thinking that’s all very well, but if I don’t know what to post, how am I going to plan? Hang on, is that the overwhelm I can feel creeping in again?! Let’s break things down so you can stop the procrastination and start taking control of your posting schedule.
Ideas for different types of posts
Depending on whether your business is product or service based, you can begin by thinking about the types of posts you want to create. Here are seven examples of different types of posts.
- Products/Service
- Behind the scenes
- Personal story
- Promotional
- Educational
- Quotes
- Special dates
Of course, you can change these up depending on your business, but try to keep to roughly 80% informational/educational/inspirational and 20% promotional.
How often will you post?
The answer to this is to post as often as it suits you. Don’t feel pressured to post several times a day if you don’t have time for that. Maybe three times a week works well for you, and that’s OK. The thing is to do what is right for you and be consistent. So, pick your post days and schedule them into a calendar so you know what you will post on each day.
Graphics and images
Decide which posts will be photos and which will be graphics. For example, behind the scenes could be an image of you in your studio, but a quote could be a graphic. Plan out how many you need of each per week.
Repurpose posts on different platforms
An easy way to create more posts is to repurpose them. By that I mean you could post a behind the scenes image on Instagram, but also use it in a Stories or Facebook post. This helps to reach different audiences and spread your reach. Decide which ones to repurpose and add them to your schedule.
Make time to batch
It’s a great idea to set aside some time to batch create your posts. This could be weekly, fortnightly or monthly. It is proven to be more efficient to work on one project at a time, rather than trying to do too many things at once. Decide when you will set aside time for this and put it in your diary. I recommend creating your posts in Canva. It is easy to use, especially if you are a non-designer, and they have a free version you can get started on. You can visit their website here.
If you are new to Canva you may also like my video where I give 5 reasons to create your social media graphics using Canva here.
Schedule posts
Once all your posts are created, you could use a scheduling tool to plan out when they will be posted. There are quite a few to choose from, so do some research and find one that works best for you. You could begin by looking at Tailwind because it is one of the few that you can set up to automatically post for you for Instagram. That way, once you have set everything up you can basically set and forget. It really can be quite liberating!
Free Post Plan Worksheets
Take action! I have created a downloadable freebie to help you get started. There’s a worksheet and a one page calendar you can reuse each month to create your schedule. Simply fill out the details, create your own plan and start creating social media graphics without the overwhelm!
Happy planning! And if you would like to be kept up to date about our latest blog posts and receive special offers and discount codes then join our email list – we call it the Maker Biz Design Club. It is FREE to join! We are here to help you improve your design skills to create your own beautiful graphics for your small business. You’ll also get access to our free resource library which includes design resources and social media graphics that you can post straight away, or add your own text to for your own messaging. Sign up below and I’ll see you on the inside!