How much history content should you be posting on Instagram?

Posting on Instagram is great to connect with fellow history lovers. But, how much history content should you post on Instagram?

How much to post and, for some, feeling like you’re not posting enough can be confusing and negative.

As a guide, most advice is to post once a day, to avoid looking spammy. The only exception is if you’re a micro-blogger purely posting on Instagram where you may wish to experiment with more than once a day.

Now, maybe this sounds perfectly manageable? Or, maybe life is hectic and you’ve just recoiled in horror?

In reality, your relationship with Instagram should be based on balancing three things:

What Instagram does for you and your blog
Where you need to spend your time, and
What Instagram rewards.

Is posting on Instagram going to get you the results you want?

To know if you’re getting results you need to know what results you actually want.

Is your account to promote your blog posts? Is it to build a community and become a go-to authority? Is it to sell? Is it to signpost people to a podcast?

Once you’ve decided, make sure you’ve joined your thinking up with the overall goals for your history blog. Does your plan for Instagram help you get towards your goals and history blogging dreams?

Is posting on Instagram time well spent?

But, here’s the thing.

Even, if building an Instagram following and community is a step towards your goals, you still need to ask yourself this big question.

Ready?

What else could you be doing with your time?

This isn’t to devalue Instagram or what it might do for you. But, being active on Insta means you’re not doing something else.

We all have 24 hours in the day and maybe for you, like many, growing a history blog is not a full-time job. So, if history blogging is a passion juggled amongst other commitments ask yourself what will take a hit if you’re posting and engaging on Instagram? And, crucially, is it worth it?

For me, left unchecked, I can while-away hours setting up images, writing captions, scrolling, chatting about random historical things and looking at glorious images of castles, tiaras and stained glass windows. That’s what we love about Insta, isn’t it!

But, to grow Smart History Blogging (and have content to share on Instagram) I need to research and write weekly blogs, develop guest posts, source images, run the SHB Facebook Group, History Blogs Directory and create products. I’m sure you have a list a bit like this with Instagram being just a piece of the puzzle.

Recently, to better support my relationship with Instagram, I have turned notifications off and invested in a scheduler so I can batch posts.

But, what if I’m just starting out?

It is perfectly OK to make growing a following a priority, especially if you’re just starting with your blog or Instagram. Like it or not, social proof exists!

The amount of followers, likes and comments on Instagram is very visual to potential readers and sponsors. In fact, you should schedule some time for the learning curve, explore the many features of the platform, caption writing techniques and choosing hashtags. You won’t determine a posting schedule or what works for you if you don’t post anything!

What does Instagram want you to do?

The final balance to consider is what do you want to do vs what does Instagram want you to do. Let’s face it, there’s no point investing time into Instagram if you’re not maximising the platform.

The ‘success’ metric of posting once a day comes from inside Instagram. But, like any other platform, they want that daily post to be high-quality, valuable content. This will never change.

But what is high-quality?

Instagram will ‘reward’ you for using all its features – reels, stories, stickers, music etc… by keeping you top of mind.
It doesn’t just want you to post. It wants you to engage. This should also be built into the time you allocate to Instagram. Don’t ‘post and ghost’ be ready if someone comments on your post. Create captions and images provoking interaction or a ‘Call to Action’ to use the jargon.
Being consistent. Try not to post in bursts then disappear. It’s better to post less often but consistently so build something realistic into your editorial calendar. And, as tempting as it is, don’t ever compromise on quality to hit a metric.
And don’t forget, Instagram (and people) also like a good bio, profile image and layout. It’s not just about the actual post but the overall look of your account too. Make your account attractive, appealing and easy to follow. The basics are important!

Finally, if you can, convert your Instagram account into a business account. Business accounts are given insights and data into post impressions, accounts reached and how many people visited your profile. It also shares the best days and times to post. This can guide future decisions about how best to use your time on Instagram.

I’m always looking for fabulous history accounts to follow on Instagram so let’s get connected. You’ll find me @elizabeth_smarthistoryblogging.com