So you are a small business and you know it’s time to up your Instagram game! Are you tired of just posting on the fly from your iphone and then realizing your feed looks like a puzzle with the pieces all mixed up. You want to be able to plan out what you are going to post. Also you need to make sure your photos are cohesive and in line with your branding. Am I sounding like the voice in your head?!?!?
Meet Planoly!
The answer for me was Planoly! It is an app for your phone and they have a desktop site which for me is like beautiful angels signing from heaven!!! I hate typing out captions on my phone, heck I hate typing anything more than a text message on my phone keypad. I wanted to be able to use a real keyboard!!! Plus you can now AUTOPOST to Instagram with Planoly and it is all approved by Instagram!!!! This is something new that I’m just getting to play with and let me tell you it is so nice not to be tied to my phone to remember when to post. Especially late evening posts when I tend to forget. *Updated 2/19/18
No more emailing or dropboxing photos to your phone!
I’ve been there too, wanting to share a photo I took with my DSLR but needing to get it to my phone so I could open it in the Instagram app to share. Now I just open the desktop site of Planoly and add it right in. Photo on my phone? No problem I can open the app and add it from there.
Free plans available!
I love a good free trial and Planoly goes above that with a Free Forever plan that allows you to upload 30 photos a month. This is great to get started and feel it out before putting down any cash. If you decide you want to post more photos per month you’ll have to go up a plan or if you are like me and you want to see your analytics you’ll need to go up a plan. The plan I am on is the Solo plan which is less than $100 per year. That let’s me track my analytics over the course of a year to see what is getting the most interaction. This can help you figure out the best times to post and what content your followers like best! *Just updating that a year later and I’m back on the free plan. I just decided I didn’t need the analytics as much as I thought I did.
Let’s talk Hashtags
I’m only going to briefly touch on this because I do not think I have it figured out yet by any means. We all know hashtags help you reach a larger audience but figuring out which ones can be overwhelming. The one tip I do feel comfortable sharing is to check the hashtags you are about to use to make sure they aren’t weird, lol!! You can easily do that under the Discover tab in Planoly, just check to see who else has used that hashtag and if that is the audience you want to target. You can also look at your favorite users to see what hashtags they use to give you ideas for your own work. Oh and if you are trying to create a personal hashtag definitely check it first to ensure it’s not in use and again it’s not weird :).
Interaction is King
One thing I’ve learned in the Instagram world is to really connect with your followers you need to reply to their comments. If they’ve taken the time to comment you should take the time to reply and thank them. Plus the more interaction Instagram sees the more they will show your post. It’s the whole dreaded algorithm thing. Once again I hate typing on a tiny keyboard so I love that I can log into Planoly from my desktop and reply to comments easily. It’s even better if you can do it shortly after you’ve got a comment. Keep your post riding the wave as long as possible!
Planoly for Photographers
So if you are ready to give Planoly a shot I’ve got a link you can use to check it out! https://www.planoly.com/referral/melissaarlena
Looking for more tips for your photography business? Check out what I’ve shared in the past – Tips for Photographers
Melissa Arlena is an award winning lifestyle newborn photographer in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia who has earned her Master Photographer Certification from NAPCP in maternity, newborn and family photography. Her natural and simple work has been featured in magazines and online blogs worldwide. She has been named Best Maternity and Newborn Photographer in Richmond and Charlottesville, VA in 2023.
