How to Create an Easy Instagram Series
Hello Fellow Acupuncturists!
With all the hats we wear, it is sometimes difficult to create an easy and consistent posting schedule for Instagram- especially since there are so few free acupuncture photos out there!
I'd like to share the system I've created to create great looking content for your feed, using my February Series '10 Tips for a Healthy Heart':
1) Write up a Calendar of Events for the Month
When you look at a month as a whole rather than a week, you can better plan your social media marketing for any upcoming events or specials you might have! For the second half of Feb, I knew that there would be Valentines Day on the 14th and my Community Acupuncture Event which I would want to advertise a week before and the day before. That left 10 days for Heart Tips.
Hint: Remember the 80/20 rule! You want to spend 80% of your time giving your audience good information and 20% advertising your brand
2) Decide the theme of each day you're going to post
Sketching out what you want to say for each day is so, so helpful! I jotted down a list of 10 ideas for a healthy heart and decided how I wanted to space them through the week so there wouldn't be two diet ideas next to each other.
3) Collect your pictures
Social Media is very visual. No matter how easy it is to use quotes or comments, pictures are going to look better. The nicer the photo, the nicer the post. Luckily, there are many royalty free photo sites that you can use! I like pexel. There aren't any acupuncture pictures, but there are plenty of other gorgeous images! Choose appropriate photos for each day.
Since I was doing a heart themed series, I just typed in 'Valentines' and chose 10 heart shaped photos I liked. It's easier to do them in batches.
Hint: Social Media uses square images, but most photos are rectangular. When choosing photos, look for pictures that could easily be cropped into a square and leave room for words.
4) Create your templates on Canva
Canva is awesome. I love their social media template because it works on Facebook and Instagram. I loaded up 10 templates and used one photo per post.
Hint: Name the templates by the date you'll post them. It makes it easier later on.
5) Choose a consistent text/ branding for every photo in the series
Your font doesn't have to be the same as your other business branding, but having one for the entire series keeps everything much more coherent and cuts down on the mental fatigue of deciding a different font for every post.
Hint: Keep the wording on the picture to a minimum & use a transparent box behind the words to help them stand out.\
7) Gather everything into Buffer (or other social media manager)
Buffer is a lifesaver. The free version lets you upload 10 posts at a time which is about 2 weeks worth of material (I give myself a break from social media on the weekends). You can choose the time and date you want to post everything and even set it up to upload to both your facebook page and your instagram.
This is where you can expand on your posts and dive into some more details. But, as with most things, less is more! Keep your explanations short and sweet. End with a call to action!
And there you go! You hopefully have at least two weeks worth of material to post to Social Media in under (usually) 2 hours.
Was this helpful? Did you like it? Do you have questions? Let me know in the comments!