As a creator-entrepreneur, you understand the importance of consistency on Instagram and this is a question I get asked ALL THE TIME. How do I stay consistent on Instagram?
Consistency is key to growing your following, building a community, and establishing yourself as a thought leader in your industry. But for busy people, maintaining consistency can be a challenge. Between running a business, creating content, and managing your personal life, finding the time and energy to post on Instagram can be difficult. However, with the right strategies and tools, you can beat inconsistency and take your Instagram game and your business to the next level.
Here are some tips that will help you remain consistent on Instagram!
1. Be very clear on your WHY so that you don’t lose track
When you know why you’re doing the things you do, and this goes beyond Instagram, this becomes a motivator that will get you to work every time you’re feeling like quitting.
Some questions you can start by asking yourself to really know your why are:
Why do I do this?
Why do I value this over that?
Why am I not happy when X happens?
Why am I stressed now?
The journey as a creator-preneur is not easy and it will be full of challenges. These challenges will make you want to quit or stop showing up. This is the last thing you want!
2. Set realistic goals to be consistent on Instagram
One of the biggest challenges of maintaining consistency on Instagram is setting unrealistic goals.
If you're a busy person, you simply cannot commit to posting every day or even every other day. Plus, if you're really committed to building a business on Instagram, posting every day might not be the best idea, especially when you're still in the solopreneur phase.
You simply can't grow a business sustainably and post every day.
Instead, set realistic goals that you know you can achieve. For example, commit to posting three times a week or every other day.
Consistency doesn't have to mean daily posting, but it does mean sticking to a schedule that works for you and the lifestyle you want to live.
3. Stick to content pillars & keep writing ideas for these
Content pillars are 3 to 5 themes you will consistently discuss, amplify, and create content for on social media. They help you get clarity on your niche and will make your planning so much easier!
Rather than scrambling to create last-minute posts, you can use your content pillars to strategically build your content calendar for the month ahead and stay consistent with your posting and messaging on Instagram.
With this in mind, make sure to write down all your new ideas for each pillar every time they come up. Keep a notepad with you or on your mobile phone, and every time you get a new idea write it down.
4. Plan & batch your content in advance (at least one week)
Planning is everything!
I plan my long-form content like blogs and Youtube once a month and my short-form content like Reels and carousels one week in advance. This helps me stay on track and never fall behind and stay consistent.
Long-form content is more "ever-green" which means it is content that will always be relevant, while short-form tends to be more based on what's trending on social media or recent questions your audience has.
You can use a content planner like Notion or even have a doc or spreadsheet to plan your content and stay consistent on Instagram.
Part of successful planning involves batch-creating your content. I know this might not work for everybody, but it works for me and most people I know.
When you create a lot of content at once, you’ll never run out of what to post. This will help you stay consistent.
The best way to batch content is to distribute it throughout the week.
Day 1 ➝ Write captions and scripts
Day 2 ➝ Film videos
Day 3 ➝ Create designs
Day 4 ➝ Schedule for the next week
5. Schedule your content in advance
Nowadays, there are tons of ways in which you can schedule your content. I love using Metricool, which is 100% free and allows me to schedule all my content to multiple social media platforms at once.
Scheduling is great because it eliminates that "task" from your work week, allowing you to stay consistent with your posting and also to focus on other aspects of your business.
Make sure that every time you schedule a post, you set a reminder when the post is coming out, so you can spend some time engaging with your audience as soon as it goes out.
Remember staying consistent with your engagement is also a key element of a successful Instagram brand.
6. Repurpose old content
This is seriously a time saver and I do this every month!
Look at your top-performing posts over the last 6 months to one year. Things to consider:
The ones that got the most number of saves
The most number of shares
The ones that gained you the most number of followers.
Take those posts and convert them into a new format. For example, you can take a single post with a very engaging caption and turn it into a reel or even a carousel.
Don’t worry about what people might think because let me assure you, no one remembers what you posted 3 or 4 months back.
You can (and should) also repurpose macro-content like this blog into micro-content. Click here to learn more about how I do it.
7. Use templates (visual & text)
Using templates is another great way of staying consistent on Instagram.
Templates are pre-designed graphics or layouts that you can customize with your own text, images, and branding.
By using templates, you can ensure that your posts are visually consistent and on-brand, even if you don't have the time or resources to create custom graphics for every post.
This not only saves you time but also helps to establish a recognizable visual identity for your brand on Instagram.
In addition to graphic templates, using caption templates is also a great way to stay consistent on Instagram.
Caption templates are pre-written caption formats that you can customize with your own content.
By using caption templates, you can ensure that your captions are consistent in tone, voice, and length. This is especially helpful if you struggle with writer's block or find the time to come up with unique captions for every post.
8. Take time off
Honestly, taking time off is one of the best ways to avoid burnout when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Instead of trying to post every day for a month, without a plan, a strategy, or a clear direction, it’s better for you to take maybe a week or two weeks off.
This way you can organize your ideas, and your time, plan and create your content and be ready to smash it when you come back.
This will allow you to also stay on top of your content creation one or two weeks in advance.
No more burnout or anxiety. Taking time off is one of the best ways to really get started!
9. Join the IG Content Club Membership
With the IG Content Club membership, you will be able to stay consistent week after week and finally beat the Instagram algorithm without having to post every day.
This is a membership for busy entrepreneurs who need an extra hand with their content & strategy.
With weekly content prompts, templates, & trending reports delivered every Monday straight to your inbox, you'll be able to batch-create all your content for the next week in just one go, and in under 1h.
Click here to join over 200 entrepreneurs growing their Instagram with the right content strategy!
Wrapping up
Being consistent looks different for everyone, but it's definitely not about posting every day.
It’s about doing it right, with a strategy in place, a framework, and ease of mind!
Apply all these previous steps, and you’ll see how much easier being consistent will become.
If you want to take create high-quality content, with consistency and grow your Instagram with ease, make sure to join the IG Content Club!
