Overcome Instagrammer's Block

How to overcome instagrammer's block, or a cure for I don’t know what to post on Instagram.

Scrolling through perfectly curated Instagram accounts, do you get a twinge of insta-envy? When I started using Instagram, I would stare at my feed having no clue what to post next. I felt completely overwhelmed - I was (and still am) not a professional photographer and I don’t have all day to spend on my Instagram account. I wanted to know how I could post and use Instagram effectively without using up all my time.

I have discovered two important secrets. These two things have solved my “I don’t know what to post” problem and have made my Instagram marketing much more at ease. Now I'm sharing them with you!

Secret #1: Start with the big picture

It’s easy to get caught up in the mindset of “what is the one photo I need to post right now”. Instead, take a step back and look at the bigger picture of your business and how Instagram fits in. Look for themes that run through your brand and brainstorm how you can relay those ideas to your Instagram account.

I’ll give you two questions to get started:

What is your or your brand’s personality?

Are you funny, a hopeless romantic or a focused athlete?

Brainstorm a few phrases that describe who you are and differentiate your business from other business like yours. This is what makes you unique and will not only help set you apart, but provide a guide on the what you should be posting.

After you have your phrases, think how you can portray that with images. Try to tell the story of your brand’s personality with these photos.

What are the magical moments your product or service provides?

Start with what magical moments your product or service has provided you. You should be selling something that you have personally used and would recommend - what results did you get?

Here’s an example from my business, which takes what I’ve learned as an entrepreneur and provides that information on my blog and my courses. Creating my own business has provided me the opportunity to work from anywhere and travel the world. The soul searching during the process of creating my businesses has given me a sense of confidence, accomplishment and appreciation. These are the intangible things that I want my products to provide for other people, so I try to post photos that relay those ideas.

If you haven’t already, you should start to get a sense of what your brand is all about and see themes emerging. Before you go on to secret #2, write down five or six themes or broad categories that define your brand.

Secret #2: Create a backlog

Did you know that most people don’t post in real time? The photos you’re seeing on Instagram could be days, weeks, or even years old. The best way to save time deciding what to post on Instagram is to have a plan beforehand.

Take the themes that you uncovered above and create folders of photos that relate to those themes. This may take more time in the beginning, but having things planned out will save you time in the long run. Try for 20 in each category to begin with - pull from old photos or shoot a batch of photos that you could post over time.  

Pro tip: I like to use Dropbox to organize my photos. They are easily access from your phone and won’t fill up your memory.