5 WAYS TO BOOST YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE WHEN YOU ONLY HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO SPARE
This is a guest post written by Julia Day.
I never realised that running a blog would take up so much time.
In between keeping up with social media, taking photos and actually writing blog posts, it’s really easy to get overwhelmed. Add a full-time job into the mix and well, it becomes a total juggling act.
To lighten the load a little, there are a few things I do whenever I have five minutes of free time and they can help you too, whether you’re a blogger, business owner or just want to up your online presence.
SCHEDULE TWEETS
I won’t lie, I absolutely hate scheduling tweets - but it’s so important for your online presence. Especially when you have a busy life and can’t be on Twitter 24/7.
I use the Buffer app on my phone, which makes scheduling tweets super quick and easy, as not only is it simple to use, it saves all your previously sent tweets, so you can rework them without having to search for links and photos again. I’ve recently written a post on how to schedule tweets effectively, if you’d like to give it a read.
ADD TO YOUR INSTAGRAM STORY
If you aren’t familiar with Instagram stories yet, where have you been?
In short, they’re pictures or clips which you can upload to your profile if you don’t fancy adding them to your grid. This means that the photos you love but don’t quite fit into your theme can be shared.
The real genius is that they’re shown along the top of the home screen when you open the app, so although that pesky algorithm means that less people might see your posts, they can see your story as soon as they open Instagram. So, it’s smart to update your story regularly.
You can either take a photo or video from the app and share it immediately, or swipe up and upload any photo that’s been saved to your camera roll in the last 24 hours. So even if you aren’t doing anything noteworthy right this second, you can upload a photo from a time when you were.
SECRET TIP: if you want to use a photo from over 24 hours ago, just screenshot it and it will show up as a recent photo.
ENGAGE WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
Admit it: sometimes you go on Instagram, post your photo and leave like a ghost in the night. Or maybe you’re on top of scheduling your tweets, but never actually log in to see what’s happening on your feed.
By doing this, you’re missing out on the best part of social media: interacting with people!
Next time you scroll through Instagram, make a conscious effort to like and comment on photos. Not only will you be making someone else happy, but you might even get a few likes and comments on your own photos in return. Likewise, hop over to Twitter and don’t be shy to reply to any tweets that catch your eye - make a real effort to put the social in social media!
EDIT YOUR PHOTOS
I’ll let you in on a secret - I edit 99% of my blog and social media photos from my phone. I just find it so much easier than using Photoshop or Lightroom on my laptop. I’ll often edit my latest photos on my commute and have a play around with how they look.
The Photos app on my iPhone has some good basic editing options, but the app that’s really rocked my photography world is Color Story, which was created by the ladies behind A Beautiful Mess. It makes even the gloomiest photo look beautifully light and bright. Hashtag goals.
When I’m happy with my photos, I upload them to my Instagram drafts, so I’ve always got a new photo ready to share.
PLAN YOUR NEXT BLOG POSTS
Inspiration always strikes at the most inconvenient of times. Like when you’re walking to Tesco to buy some milk, or you’re literally just about to drift off to sleep. When it does, either grab a notebook or open the Notes app on your phone and jot it down. Now, what tends to happen is that you never come back to that idea again and it sits in your Notes app like a flower that never blooms. No more!
Next time you’ve got some spare time, scroll through those half-baked ideas and turn them into blog posts. Sure, some of them will be garbled rubbish that you can’t fashion into a coherent piece. But loads of them can be moulded into something really great, and you can ensure that you’ve got some amazing new content to share with your audience.
I hope these tips have given you some useful ideas of how to keep on top of your online game when you’re struggling for time!
What hacks do you use to keep up with your online presence when you're short on time?
I'm Julia, and I call myself a UK style blogger, but I love to write about anything and everything. I can usually be found scrolling through Instagram for outfit inspiration or browsing ASOS for, well, more outfit inspiration.