I am not one of those “Look how busy I am, I am awesome” people. I don’t want to raise my kids thinking a busy calendar means you are successful. There is no point filling your life with events and task to prove to others that you are useful, helpful, busy or whatever other word you can think of. We should fill our lives with events and experiences that will help us grow and show love to those around us.
“What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.” Albert Pike
When I heard the quote above it was like a light bulb flashed on in my life. It also provided a filter for me to view my calendar through. Were the events on my calendar for selfish gain alone or also for those around me? When I chose to take my passion for photography and turn it into a business my goal was simple. Love others and create amazing photography experiences to help them preserve their family memories for generations to come. So I try to filter through this lens. Am I loving people? Am I helping them create and preserve their memories? If the answer is yes I move forward. If no, I take the time to reevaluate why I am doing it.
Another factor I take into consideration is how much time I am actually spending with people and how much time am I spending in front of my computer and other devices. If the whole point is to love on people then I need to be with people. Not wasting hours in front of my phone or computer trying to figure out the latest Instagram or Facebook Algorithm (which is important but not my ultimate goal). So today I want to share with you a planning app I use to make my social media life easier. It’s called Planoly.
Now there are a number of automated apps out there that will help you plan your social media content. I have simply chosen this one. First, I love Planoly because there is a free option. I’m not against paying for sites to help me be more productive but if there is a good free option I am in! The free option Planoly allows you to upload 30 images a month! Perfect right? One post per day! Also, I love how you can move the images around so you have a nice preview of what your Instagram grid will look like.
Another cool feature is creating Hashtag groups. Their Hashtag Manager allows you to create multiple hashtag groups so you can easily apply to captions without having to rewrite them time and time again! Another fantastic time saver! I have multiple hashtag groups sometimes for the same type of photos so I can change things up and not over use the same hashtag too often.
Once you’ve created your hashtag groups then you are ready to add your content, hashtags and schedule your post to be automatically posted to Instagram at the time of your choosing. I usually sit down once a week and play a full week of post. This takes me on average 30 min to an hour depending on how inspired I am to write the content. Then done! No more time wasted trying to figure out what photo to post or what to say each and every day. I can use that time to take more photos, meet more people and have more adventures.
Now there are MANY other features from Planoly. Too many for me to share and way more if you choose to use the paid option. So if you are looking for something to help organize your social media and be more effective with the time you spend working it; I’d highly recommend giving Planoly a try! They also have an amazing help center and blog with great content to help you navigate and more effectively use their services.