I thought you might be wondering how frequently to post on Instagram to better connect with your community and grow on the platform. 

Perhaps you have fallen into the trap of thinking that you need to post in your feed every single day without fail or else the Instagram algorithm will punish you. Am I right? But there is actually very little evidence to support this. In fact, taking off 1-2 days throughout the weeks is totally fine, as long as you are consistent. 

Here is the formula I recommend the following: 

• Post in your feed 4-5 times a week.
• Share on stories 5 days a week. 
• Respond to DMs within 48 hours if possible.
• Create Reels AT LEAST once a week. Reels are currently the best way to reach new people and have content that is highly engaged. So if you have time to create more or can sub in a Reel over an in-feed post, do it. 
• Share an IGTV or go Live once a month. 

That seems like a lot once it’s all written out in front of you but if you batch your work and recycle content, this can work for you without overwhelming you. Please keep in mind that this suggestion will change over time as Instagram releases new features. The key to your posting schedule is finding something that you can do consistently and that feels sustainable. You shouldn’t feel stressed or overwhelmed about posting on stories and waiting till the last minute to come up with that amazing caption won’t result in your best work anyway. So when you are deciding what posting schedule works best for you, pick something that you truly feel you can manage. 

Now that you know what you should be doing, let’s break down how you can get a full month’s worth of content planned in an afternoon. Are you ready?

Plan Your Content In Under 4-Hours

STEP 1: Set aside a no interruptions afternoon. This means turning off notifications, not checking email, and definitely not scrolling through Instagram (quick side note: I recommend not scrolling endlessly before you are going to create because chances are you will end up mimicking other content instead of creating your own).

STEP 2: Take the first 30-40 minutes to just brainstorm fun ideas that you want to share and create with your community. Anytime you create content it should always aim to do one of the following: inspire, educate, or entertain. Once you have all your ideas down, either on paper or on your computer, figure out if there are any that don’t make sense or you just hate and take them off the list. 

STEP 3: Pull up your Instagram Content Calendar, if you don’t have one you can download my free template here. Next, start copying and pasting your ideas into the calendar in a way that makes sense to you. If you have a new product or offering you are launching, put that in there and work content that can educate around that specific topic before and after the launch. This should just be a rough outline. This should only take 30 minutes. 

STEP 4: Now that you have a rough outline, start diving into the details, write out the captions, source images from what you have or from stock photo sites (always credit appropriately), or write out the photos/videos you will need to capture. This should take the bulk of your time but no more than 90 minutes. 

STEP 5: I bet you are saying to yourself, “Wait! I did all this but only thought of my in-feed posts. What about Reels, and Stories, and Lives, and IGTV?” Don’t worry, I’ve got you. Go through the in-feed posts and figure out if some of them could be turned into a Reel. If you are sharing tips, or travel content, or OOTD, you can turn that into video content and make it a Reel. If there is nothing that fits into a Reel, that’s okay. You only need one a week so think of 4 brand new ideas and add them in. 

STEP 6: Let’s take care of those Lives and IGTV videos right now. You only need one or two a month so center it around a topic that you touch on in your feed or on your website. This should be a topic that you can talk about for 5-10 minutes. Outline what you will say but don’t worry about a script. These longer-form videos should be informal and fun. 

All of this should take less than 4 hours and as you get into practice it will take less and less time.

I always recommend when you are adding in content to think about how you can build off of posts. For example, if you share an in-feed post about how you plan your day, you could also make a Reel about this same topic and actually show short clips from your day, or you can hop on a live and host a morning planning session for everyone. This way you are able to stretch out content and have it appeal to a variety of people in your community. This is especially true when it comes to stories! 

You may notice I don’t include a step 7 about stories because the truth is I want stories to be a little unplanned. They should give a peek behind the curtain and include an impromptu video. But if you truly need a plan to hold you accountable then have your stories for the day build off of whatever you are sharing in your feed or on your website. For people who really struggle with feeling comfortable on stories, I recommend creating graphics in Canva that you can share. 

Now that you have a plan, it’s time to execute. For me, this means importing everything I have outlined into Planoly which will either auto-post or remind me to post my content on the day I need to. This also means having clear deadlines for when I need to take photos or create new graphics which I schedule into my daily planner.

Once you’ve created a month’s worth of content with these recommendations, celebrate. You don’t have to be wondering what to post next and you’ve created a thoughtful collection of content to share.