Last year, I was so busy traveling! When I took a hard look at what didn’t work well in my business in 2015, I quickly realized that a good portion of my downtime this winter needed to be dedicated to coming up with better systems to stay organized, so that my business growth wasn’t hindered by the time it was taking to simply keep my head above water!

Do you know that feeling? When you have all these big goals and dreams for your business, but you spend so much time just maintaining your business and the everyday tasks, that there never seems to be time or mental energy to focus on anything bigger? That was definitely how I felt come December of last year, and so I committed to researching out different systems that could help automate certain tasks, to free up more time and brain space to pursue significant business growth- all while still giving me a personal life outside of the office.

So far here on the blog I have shared about two of those systems I tried out and I am currently loving. You can read about how I am using TRELLO here, and how I am using Honeybook here. But today I want to share with you about my latest system that I am brand new to, and already obsessed with…Planoly! (formerly called Planogram)

Planoly is my new game changer tool!! When I started to see “Instagram” as a top referral source for new inquiries coming in through my website, I knew it was time to really start paying attention & be more intentional with my posting. I am cautious to not take on any more monthly plans and business expenses if I can help it, but managing two, and sometimes three Instagram accounts can be really distracting throughout the day! 

Planoly is a scheduling tool, and visual planner for your Instagram feed. When you use Instagram to represent a brand, you know how incredibly useful this can be! Although the new Instagram update to manage more than one account while you are logged in has been IMMENSELY helpful, it still means stopping throughout my day to post consistently on each account. I found this Rising Tide Society Blog Post extremely helpful in deciding which Instagram manager was right for me.

Here’s a look my dashboard before I began scheduling out Fount’s Instagram posts for the week. 

What I love about Planoly more than the other options I tried first, is the Visual Planner next to the calendar. The layout makes planning your Instagram Grid (the first 9 squares you see on an account’s profile) SO easy! Have you ever posted an image, only to see that it didn’t fit your other images esthetic as well as you hoped, only to delete it after? (No? Just the detail obsessed like myself?)

I also love how easy it is to work with team members. My intern handles so much of Fount’s Instagram posting and scheduling, mostly because until now it was so much extra work for me! But now, I have easily added her as a team member, assigned which accounts she has access to, and now we can both plan Instagram for Fount much like an editorial calendar.

Another benefit of Planoly over another system I tried, is that there is an app available. This is super helpful for “real time” posting, so I can make sure it’s not interfering with a scheduled post. I definitely want to be able to post on each account “live”, because it’s my favorite social media platform. I have been using it from home so far, but I so look forward to trying Planoly this week as I start my season of traveling! This weekend I will be traveling to Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey for in-home newborn portrait sessions, and in seasons past I would either feel stressed about managing my Instagram on the road, or fall behind and not post for days at a time. But since Instagram has been such a crucial marketing strategy, and my maternity and newborn clients are finding me through my posts there, I feel so much better knowing I can schedule QUALITY, intentional posts ahead of time, and save time and distraction during the week.

Missing out? 
Follow me on Instagram @tiffanylfarley
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