How to Automate your Instagram for FREE | Keeping a Clean & Consistent Feed
Automate your Instagram:
How to Keep Your Feed Clean and Consistent for FREE
Want to keep your marketing and messaging consistent without the hassle and eye strain of spending all day on the social platform? Let’s break down how I keep my Instagram feed automated for free.
Note: you’ll have to bring the content, creativity, and authenticity to your posts.
As for sharing the love here’s how to make it less of a hassle:
Step 1. Check your current activity levels
1. Open Instagram
2. Head to your profile page
3. Tap the hamburger menu on the upper right-hand corner
4. Find and tap “Settings” on the very bottom
5. Choose “Your Activity” to view your current average daily use
6. If called to, set a daily reminder for yourself accordingly
If you have a goal in mind or are seeking to cut your daily usage down you may feel called to set your daily limit reminder at something that may feel like a bit of reach (i.e. only a few minutes) but a little bit down the line you may find yourself forgetting to even pick up your phone (yes, this is possible).
If you’re totally happy with your current Instagram usage and are not looking for some existential reboot as I am suggesting then precede to the following steps on how to simplify your feed maintenance.
Step 2. Apps for automation
There are two apps you can use to keep this process totally hassle and literally free.
The first app: Preview is a highly regarded mapping app that connects to your Instagram account and allows for unlimited uploads (this is why it’s awesome). Here you can stylize your feed and freely arrange posts with no monthly limit or upload thresholds. Yay!
Another favorite feature of mine is the hashtag groupings. Each Instagram post allows for 30 tags so why search and scramble when you can select a labeled list that activates all your pre-selected tags at the touch of a button.
The second app: Planoly is how we will automate. One of the few apps officially approved by Instagram, Planloy is the key to feed automation. The free account however maxes out uploads at 30 per month, which is why I suggest using Preview to map and Planoly to post. This way you can change and upload endlessly in Preview to establish your grid and then upload the final layout to Planoly with your your comments, tags, hashtags, and more for auto posting.
There are some limitations on Planoly as you cannot add videos or auto post carousels without paying. If this is a problem for you, you can still map and plan using Preview and set-up and save your post in Instagram. Then set a reminder on your phone for the time you’d like to post and do it manually.
There’s always a way to automate or remind.
Step 3. How to know when to post
This step is only applicable for Instagram business accounts.
1. Open Instagram
2. Tap your profile
3. Click the top bar labeled “x profile visits this week”
4. Click Audience
5. Scroll to bottom to view days of the week
6. Find desired day and tap the bar graph to reveal numbers
7. View which times of day have the most engagement and activity
8. Note the highest times of engagement and schedule posts accordingly
Using this engagement information allows your post to garner the most attention. I really notice a difference posting at the more highly engaged times then just randomly throughout the day.
Fun fact: I share my posts at angel number times (i.e 3:33, 6:06, 9:09) for just a little extra love and energy behind my messages.
Step 4. Time to play
These tools are intended to simplify your daily social grind and keep your marketing and messaging consistent. But with anything, a little play is necessary to understand the best ways these apps can work for you. It’ll take a little time to find your flow so, the more you use the apps the better they’ll serve you.
If you have a marketing hack that has saved you and your biz oodles of time we’d all love to know. Questions or tips? Leave it all in the comments down below.
Happy planning!
xx emma
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