I think by now we know that there’s a lot that goes into running a website and social media channels.

Even during this time, not much has changed on the operations side of things. Sure, business and partnerships have slowed down a bit, but I’m still doing a lot of the same things. I share this not only to give you a glimpse of what goes on in the background of Instagram, but also to share that it is a lot of damn work!!!

daily

Engage

A big part of my day to day is to engage with people I follow and those who are engaging with me. Now that we’re on our phones a lot more (read: WAY. TOO. MUCH.), it’s become a bit easier for me to engage throughout the day. It’s been fun to find new accounts to follow and also reconnect/get to know people I’ve been following for years.



Instagram



feels less stressful during this time, and I’m not sure why. I also think it’s really important to share other people’s content on Instagram. So many creators are being INSANELY creative during this time, and it’s always great



to support and share each other’s content



. Personally, when someone shares my content, it

makes my day.

So I definitely love sharing the love as well!

Plan Instagram Posts

I mentioned back in the day (ish) that



Planoly was one of my most-used apps



. And that’s still true today. I LOVE Planoly so much. I pay for the upgraded version so that I can use the unlimited posts. It’s really great to plan out my feed, automatically schedule posts (including hashtags, tags, location), and have one less thing to worry about when posting to Instagram!

Be Active on Stories

Over the last, I don’t know, 2 years maybe…I’ve learned that Instagram Stories are SO important. I used to only use them to promote blog posts and share some links, but now I’m super active on them just to share my every day life. I really love connecting with people who follow me via Stories. I think it makes me more “real” in the sense I like just talking and then having conversations with people who choose to engage with them. They’re fun, more in the moment, and help with overall Instagram engagement!

Emails

Gotta admit it, I sometimes neglect the hell out of my inbox. BUT normally, I’m pretty on top of my emails.

Emails usually consist of: Communication with my agency regarding collaborations, notifications about comments, brands/agencies reaching out for collaborations, industry news/updates. I try to wake up in the morning before I get to my 9-to-5 to catch up on anything urgent that may have happened yesterday or overnight. Then I’ll randomly check throughout the day in case my managers email me about collaborations.

weekly

Write Blog Posts

I schedule my editorial content out pretty far in advance, especially as ideas and thoughts come up in my head. I’ve definitely had to shift my content around once Covid-19 started. I typically write my posts for the week the prior Friday, Saturday, or Sunday of the week the post will go live. If I have more time for whatever reason, I try to plan out another 1-2 weeks of blog posts. Usually this means just writing, and then I’ll go back and add images/links later.

Shoot Content

Back when things were normal, I liked to shoot content weekly. Whether it’s with Allie or just on my iPhone, I like having content that I can easily shoot, edit, and have ready to go for my feed and stories. If I have sponsored content, I’ll usually book Allie for longer than normal because I like to shoot other content as well.

Review Collaborations/Ideas Spreadsheet

Below you’ll see that I review my editorial calendar monthly, but I also have two additional working tabs in that file that basically makes it my BIBLE. Along with my editorial calendar, I have my COLLABORATIONS tab and IDEAS tab:

• 
  Collaborations:
  
  When my managers confirm a collaboration, I immediately add it to my spreadsheet. I add the brand, my rate, my “take home” pay after my agency’s fee comes out, what the deliverables are (blog, Instagram, Instagram Stories, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), if product was received, if I submitted content for approval, if I posted content, and if I got paid out yet. I also write down any key dates in a “notes” section, and have everything color coded. This really helps keep me organized and on top of my collaborations.
• 
  Ideas:
  
  Sometimes I’ll randomly be thinking and just come up with a great idea for a post. I like having this tab as a running list of ideas. I also get so much inspiration from other creators, so I also have a column for where an idea for a post came up so I can give credit!

monthly

Make Payments

I have a lot of monthly payments I make when it comes to this business: Planoly, Adobe, Dropbox, are a few that come to mind. I also have a company that does SEO for my website, so I pay them monthly.

Review Expenses

In order to pay my quarterly taxes, I have to make sure I stay on top of my expenses. I like to review my expenses at the end of the month and I add them to a working spreadsheet. This allows me to easily review with my accountant to determine how much I have to pay quarterly.

Plan Next Month’s Editorial Calendar/Organize

As I mentioned before, I plan my editorial calendar out in advance. I like to do this monthly and shift as needed. I use a Google Sheet (since I can open my Google Drive anywhere, anytime) to plan my editorial calendar. It’s so helpful to have content mapped out for the month. I can obviously shift as needed throughout the week as things come up, deadlines shift, etc.

Phew. So as you can see, there are a lot of things I do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. I feel like I might even be forgetting some things…but these are the main things! I share this not to be like “oh I work SOOOO much”, but to shed light on just how much goes into running a website along with social media.