A member asks

When chatting with celebrants recently I heard again and again that most celebrants aren’t really that interested in following the general Instagram “best practice” advice that you see on social media blogs/podcasts. Most people a) don’t want to invest the time and energy to go down the Pinterest-style heavily-curated aesthetically-pleasing path, and b) think it’s bullshit anyway. They don’t want to follow a posting schedule, they may not even post very regularly. I think most celebrants just want to post photos that they like, when they have them – but want to maximize the appeal/reach of those posts and spend the least amount of time on them. Can you share any practical little hacks to shave a few minutes and a few headaches off your posting/planning time.

There’s a reason Facebook and Instagram have personal and business accounts. There’s a place for you to post what you like, and a place for you to post content that has a positive on your business.

This is part one in a three part series, part one on why, part two on what and part three on when.

How much should we post?

Social media accounts with an intent on growth in followers and reach post at least three times a day. Less than 30% of your followers see your posts, and posting amazing content three times a day is a growth strategy. Personally I’m not that energetic, but once a day is my goal, plus a handful of stories documenting what I’m doing.

But when it comes to quantity, lets go back to our categories:

  • Posts branding me
  • Helpful/value-adding posts
  • Posts about others

Here’s a simple strategy for how much of each: 3-2-1.

3 posts adding value to your couples, posts that help them, entertain them, add value to their lives, a completely generous act

2 posts about others, about how they help, how they’re awesome, and what you love about them

1 post about you, a selfish indulgence to showcase what you are, who you are, why you matter.

When should we post on social media?

This final point matters equally as much as it doesn’t In the age of non-chronological timelines on Facebook and Instagram (that means that you don’t see the posts as they are posted), we’re now subject to algorithms (maths) deciding what you see. So timing matters less than frequency and engagement on the posts.

So think less about timing and scheduling posts and instead worry about creating content that will be commented on, content that people will find value on, content people will like.

The secret word I just mentioned is about engagement: when is your following active? For the wedding industry that’s generally between 6am and midnight, when they’re commuting, at work, at home, watching TV. There’s nothing easy in regards to timing, just post good stuff.