Looking for a way to schedule Instagram posts and even do it from your desktop?

GRUM: Instagram Scheduling Tool

It’s almost time for Christmas break, so you might be thinking of what you will do during the 2-3 weeks off. Well, if going MIA on social media is one of them, think again.

NEW SCHEDULING TOOL:

I have used a variety of Instagram tools for trying to schedule posts. Before now, the one tool I used most often was Hootsuite. I could at least plan my Instagram posts and then schedule them  . . .  to notify me when it was time to post. So it wasn’t truly “set it and forget it” because I had to be available when the notification would come to drop what I was doing and open Instagram and post the previously schedule post. Better than nothing, but I really wanted a TRUE scheduling tool.

Introducing GRUM. Click here to subscribe to GRUM for only $9.95/month (at the time of this article, you can try it for FREE for 3 days without even entering a credit card). To me, this is worth it because it truly allows me to schedule my Instagram and never think about it again. With the holidays coming up, this is a great tool!

An added BONUS is that you can also schedule your Instagram posts FROM YOUR DESKTOP COMPUTER!  Really? Yes, really.

*At this time, there is no affiliate program for GRUM but they are working on it. So for now, this is a non-compensated endorsement. To be candid, I have used it for about a month so I may retract my endorsement at a later date, but for now, I can’t see why. This is what I’ve been looking for.

I hope it helps you.

Randy

p.s. Be sure to take advantage of the Christmas Gift Package where you receive over $500 worth of marketing resources for less than $180. Be sure to check it out today. With Christmas break approaching, don’t let this deal slip through the cracks. Some of our most popular resources available for only $179.

 

Why You Should Be using Pinterest and Instagram to Market Your School

Why You Should Be using Pinterest and Instagram to Market Your School: Randy Vaughn - School Marketing Consultant

Visual content matters in a cluttered social media world.

Instagram and Pinterest are two exciting platforms that not enough schools are using to market themselves to prospective families. Both of these platforms are also perfectly suited to cultivate a strong loyal ambassadorship among current families, but their power to connect with prospective students and their parents is not being harnessed by schools.

In July 2016, I will be presenting this topic at the 2016 AISAP Annual Institute (Association of Independent School Admission Professionals) in Fort Worth, Texas. The title of the session is: “Why You Should Be using Pinterest and Instagram to Market Your School”. You can learn more about the MarCom sessions here.

In this session, you will learn why these two platforms are unique for reaching your target audience and creative and practical suggestions on the type of content that you should post in each platform. Even though you are already busy enough with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, you will also learn the tools that successful schools use to incorporate Pinterest and Instagram into your marketing system of recruiting, retention and referrals.

REGISTER FOR THE AISAP ANNUAL INSTITUTE NOW

Enrollment Marketing Roadmap

Instagram – Tools, Resources and Ideas to Help You Market Your School

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM@schoolmktg

InstagramOUR ARTICLES ABOUT INSTAGRAM

Click here for all of the posts mentioning Instagram

 

PINTEREST BOARD ABOUT INSTAGRAM

Follow this board on Pinterest about schools/colleges/businesses/nonprofits using Instagram

SCHEDULING:

Hootsuite – using Hootsuite to schedule posts to Instagram (I use this one)

Instapic (Donny is a Windows guy, so he likes this one)

Schedugram

Latergram.me

Connecting to DropBox

CROSS-PLATFORM SHARING:

IFTTT (if this, then that) RECIPE: https://ifttt.com/myrecipes/personal/36264431

REPOSTING:

Article: “Here’s the Right Way to Repost Instagram Photos

PODCAST EPISODES:

 

ADDITIONAL IDEAS:

Here’s a few articles about non-Instagram apps that help you create stunning Instagram images!:

Managing your Instagram account(s) outside of Instagram:

Hashtags:

Instagram – not just for marketing, for teachers, too!

More resources to make you an Instagram machine:

5 reasons Instagram is great for your school marketing

5 reasons Instagram is great for your school marketing

When I do one-on-one, personalized marketing coaching for private schools, one of the most common questions is:

“What social media platform is best for our school?”

It is a difficult question to answer. I believe that social media really should not be narrowed down to one single platform. Facebook, with all its enormity, is no doubt a formidable player in social media, and thus, should be a major platform in your school’s social strategy. Twitter is significant for reasons of connecting with your community and I completely believe in Pinterest for web traffic. So why Instagram? Here are 5 reasons Instagram is such a great tool in marketing your school:

  1. REACH – according to one research site, 50% of Instagram users are under the age of 30, 50% are females and a majority have mid-to-high incomes. That probably mirrors your target demographic, especially if you are looking to attracting moms of younger kids (which you should).
  2. VISUAL – whether it is just preference or due to the busyness of our culture, but we are a visually-oriented people. If you told a focus group that they had 5 minutes to go on the internet, my guess is that 99.999% of them would spend those precious seconds looking at pictures or watching videos rather than reading articles.
  3. ENGAGEMENT – while you wonder and worry about why people do not seem to comment on your Facebook posts, it is increasingly likely that your Instagram users are liking (and even commenting) on your photos/images/graphics and videos.
  4. UNIQUE LOOK – the Instagram culture rewards and expects fantastic photo presentation. While this may intimidate some, it affords you creative leeway to capture your school in unique ways and from unique angles. With all of the many tools, filters and special photo/video editing apps available, you should never have a reason to post a boring photo (and your fans will love you for your efforts!)
  5. CROSS-POSTING – with the right tools and correct setup, you can post to Instagram while also sharing those images on Facebook and Twitter. While I do not advocate this being your only strategy for content publishing on these two platforms, it does make it easy to augment your content on those channels without having to do much at all.

To learn more about strategic social media coaching, contact Donny or Randy.