Instagram Productivity Hacks That Actually Work For Me – InstantFollowerz

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I want to succeed Instagram but struggling to see success and meet your business goals? For most business owners, the secret ingredient isn’t strategy—it is time management. You probably know that posting consistently and frequently is key, but this is now coupled with the need to create more complex content, like Reels.

How does anyone have time to run a business and plan, shoot and edit a fun video every day? We long for the days when a simple, unique photo could give us the engagement we’ve been looking for!

But I have good news, tired creator. I’m asking you to spend The sea time isn’t really the answer (and let’s hear a big sigh of relief at that!). The goal for me as I navigate the changes in online business, digital marketing and SOCIAL MEDIA is to get crafty and figure out how to make an impact without wasting time.

Time is our most valuable resource, and without it we don’t have much space to enjoy what our work has to offer us! The “fruits of your labor” are pretty meaningless when you don’t have time to eat.

Over the past few years of navigating the Instagram and video content game, I’ve found a workflow that not only delivers results consistently, but also helps me manage my time well. If you’re looking for a way to improve (or get into) working with the Instagram algorithm without the headache, keep reading.

Save time by knowing your publishing vision

Trying to make last minute decisions is really not my forte. When I sit down at my computer or open a SOCIAL MEDIA channel, it’s not the best time to figure out my publishing plan. Aside from a schedule or to-do list, I need to have a library of inspiration that I can pull from when planning my content.

Start a habit savings posts and videos you see on Instagram that grab your attention. Take a time when you’re not under pressure to make any quick decisions and just scroll through the app for a few minutes, saving whatever inspires you.

If your main feed isn’t giving you the inspiration you’re looking for, don’t be afraid to scroll through the search page or ask Meta AI to show you fresh posts from creators just starting out. As a helpful aid, if you have a team member, you can give them special access to your account so they can also save posts.

The goal here is not to copy and paste other creators’ ideas, but to understand what works and then make it completely your own. For example, I saw a post about the things that bring joy to someone’s life that have nothing to do with their job.

I felt like it allowed me to get to know them outside of their work in a 10-second video that inspired me to share some behind-the-scenes footage from my own life.

When you tap the ‘flag’ icon that saves the post for you, you can drop it in the ua collection. I’ve separated and named my collections into categories that help me know why I saved them in the first place, especially since I’ll be coming back to them later when I’m creating content.

It also means I don’t have to search or struggle to find them in the mix of a pile of recipes or home decor ideas.

Turn your inspiration into a plan

You’ve got new ideas floating around in your head, but now it’s time to pull them out of your saved Instagram collections and into your publication plan.

Explore what you’ve saved and organize it outside of the app, wherever you want to schedule content. My team’s favorite place to batch process our Instagram posts is on a shared board on Notion.

Batchworking your plan is key here because you don’t have to worry about the final product yet and you can go through creating a general plan for monthly posts in a very short amount of time. The focus is on the concept, not the finished product.

In my process, I want to lock down what I want to create so that when it comes time to capture that content, I have a quick checklist of everything I need and don’t waste time thinking about or capturing content I won’t end up using.

I go through each of the ideas entered into the publishing calendar in Notion and give myself all the information I need to create well. Each post gets its own planning space where I save the audio from the Instagram post and the URL/link of the post.

I drop a ‘hook’ (ie a text/concept angle that makes the follower want to read, watch and learn more.) I also quickly jot down context for the post title that is unique to me and my brand.

When you have your plan, hooks, context, and connections in place, you’re more likely to continue creating content that may be outside of your comfort zone. This is part of the plan to help you get over the “I don’t know” hump what set!”

Trust your plan, because you WILL you know what to post, and now is the time to do it to create.

Batch-Create Your B-Roll

Your plan is in motion, your ideas are flowing, and now you’re ready to hit the record button and capture your content. This might seem like the most time-consuming part of your process, but I’ve actually found it to be the easiest, leanest process if done right!

Instead of overthinking your shot, flip the script and remember that your hook and your caption will be what gets you going.

I like to take some time to shoot ‘b-roll’ footage of my life. This is where I get most of my content and create videos that I can use for weeks to come. I’ll record short clips on my iPhone doing things like getting ready in the morning, exercising or stretching, gardening, meditating, or cutting pizza for lunch.

You don’t have to be a cinematographer to win over your online audience – they’re not there for your camera work!

Think what yours unique b-roll could be. Record your daily life, whether you’re working at your desk, packing your work bag, planning your calendar, walking your dog or watering the plants on your kitchen window. Think about the time you want to invest in this part and don’t spend too much of it.

I often pick one or two days a week when I know I’ll be pulling out my phone a little more to take this shot. Besides, I don’t have to think about whether my life is ‘content-worthy’ or not.

The main advantage here is that once I spend a day capturing small flashes (think 10 20 second clips), I upload them to the b-roll video folder on my Google Drive and always end up with clips that I can reuse for other jobs in the future for months.

This type of workflow is one that pays off even more as you go, because when you have a library of content to draw from, you can spend a lot less time creating in the future.

If you want to see how I use B-roll video in my posts, here are a few posts you can check out:

Post 1 | Post 2 | Post 3 | Post 4 | Post 5

Plan your drafts for publication day

After your b-roll folder looks stock, it’s time to batch produce yours video editing. If you’re not a professional video editor like me, don’t overthink this part because you have everything you need for a successful post!

I like to create my Instagram reels right in the Instagram app and keep them safe by saving them as a sketch. We put the caption in the post space on our Notion board and choose a cover photo (also from a folder full of my photos that I fill as often as I can!).

When it’s time to publish, I check our publishing schedule and start preparing. I grab everything I need from Notion, like my caption and cover photo, and then make sure my Reel is properly formatted with the right audio.

You can optimize your post by adding location, hashtags and categories. You give your content a chance to reach people outside of your community of followers!

If you’ve followed these steps so far, you’re ready to hit ‘publish’ on your post. Pull your Reel out of Sketch, insert that beautiful caption, optimize it and share it with the world. Your video is ready, your hook is perfect, and you’re ready for next month’s post.

Trust your plan so your posts can do the rest

A well-crafted plan isn’t about cutting corners and making your job easier, it’s about getting your job and your results are more advanced than any last minute creation could do for you.

Creating from a mindset that doesn’t rush, doesn’t try be decisive when you are overwhelmedmeans you’ll create more posts to help your message reach your audience.

Appearing on Instagram in a new way doesn’t have to take all your time, energy and creative ideas. Start by filling yourself with inspiration, giving yourself space to plan, incorporate your ideas and connect the dots for a month (or more) and create a process from which you can learn.

My ultimate vision is to optimize my process as I go. I want to look at what’s working and what’s not, so I can take what’s not worth my time off my to-do list right away.

I believe that productivity, especially with a SOCIAL MEDIA presence, can be defined as learning and improving as you go. We have to allow our methods to evolve as applications and marketing techniques and the digital world evolve, but that doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice our time or peace of mind.

Trust your plan and don’t be afraid to boldly hit that ‘publish’ button and see what happens next.