Growing a following on Instagram is HARD! And sadly, it feels like it just keeps getting harder and harder to understand the algorithm. However, one universal belief is that regular posting is a big influence to how well you do. Therefore, in this blog I will discuss how to plan your content in your bullet journal, and show you some fun ways to track your progress too.

Recommended Supplies:

• Archer and Olive Journal – The lovely and thick pages have no bleeding or ghosting, so you get a clean start for every spread! Also, it means you can decorate the spread without worrying about it.
• Fineliners –My favourites are the Unipin fineliners as they’re waterproof, affordable and have a strong nib.
• Pencil – To plan out your spread carefully and make sure it has everything you need.
• Decorative Touch (optional) – This could be anything from washi to watercolour, or of course, nothing! I usually like to add a personal touch to my spreads so they’re more fun to use and look at.

Keeping On Top Of Your Instagram

Even if you’re not too preoccupied about the growth aspect of Instagram, tracking your content can still be super helpful. It helps you to keep on top of what pictures you have to post, when you would like to post them, and even helps you plan what content you still want to create. These are some ideas of what I recommend tracking, but you can decide which of these would work best for you!

Queued Posts

Having a space to list your upcoming posts for the month is really helpful, as you can see at a glance what pictures you haven’t posted yet. It also allows you to see ahead and check you have enough posts. I like to use different symbols to indicate whether the picture has been created, edited and posted. This is the key I use:

• [ ] – (blank) spread not created
• [.] – (dot) Spread created
• [/] – (half cross) edited
• [X] – (cross) posted

(Created by me - @hayleyremdeart)

Main Post Plan

For a long time I only used the queue system above. However, I started to find that every time I went to post, it took extra time to figure out which post would fit best in my feed. For example, if I did a close up picture, I wouldn’t want to do another next to it. Therefore, I brought in a dated plan to space out my spreads across the month, and this way I only had to sit down once and figure out the order. I found this especially important when I was daily posting.

(Created by me - @hayleyremdeart)

Another tip is to write the plan in pencil, and then ink it in as you post them. That way if you get a collaboration, a spread isn’t ready or you simply want to change the order around, you can easily erase and reorder!

Stories/IGTV Plan

If you’re anything like me, you probably don’t really think too much about the other features on Instagram. I usually post stories irregularly, and rarely use IGTV at all. But it has been suggested that using all Instagram’s features can help you get better range and interactions. Whether this is true or not, who knows? But it does make sense that Instagram would be more likely to want to push accounts that utilise all their features. Furthermore, using these features helps you reach more people, and interact with your followers in different ways. This is why tracking these posts alongside the posts to your main feed could be extremely useful.

(Created by me - @hayleyremdeart)

To Do List

Whilst you probably have a general to do list, I find it helpful to have one dedicated to your Instagram. This way you can easily see what needs to be done when you have a chance to work on it. Here are some examples of what I would include in this section:

• Editing – Are all you posts ready to go?
• Discount Codes – Helps you remember to share them regularly in stories.
• Collaborations – Does a post need to be made on a specific day?
• Profile Updates – Is your bio and links up to date?

(Created by me - @hayleyremdeart)

Streamlining And Milestones

I love to make sure my feed is consistent. To help keep focus I like to make a note of what theme and/or colour scheme I have picked for the month on this spread.

Finally, I personally like to have a section for milestones. These could be big milestones (follower goals), but I specifically like to put the small milestones here (story shoutout etc.). I believe it is nice to keep a note of these small things as you can loose sight of why you started the account in the first place if you’re always striving towards ‘big’ goals.

(Created by me - @hayleyremdeart)

Inspiring Follower Trackers

I really debated about adding this, as I didn’t want to suggest Instgram is just about the numbers. However, one thing I LOVE to do in my journal is track, and I know a lot of other people do too. So please do not think you ‘have’ to be obsessed with numbers, but it’s also ok to feel good when you hit a milestone and want to document it!

This simple tracker by Susanne lets you input the date when you hit the milestone. You could also colour the box!

(Created by @plansbythildra on Instagram)

I'm in LOVE with this tracker by Liddy. How cute is that penguin? And I love that she used the Instagram colours to fill it!

(Created by @instaliddy on Instagram)

This giraffe one of Liddy's is also brilliant:

(Created by @instaliddy on Instagram)

Elizabeth's tracker of 'climbing' a mountain is very apt for how hard it feels to grow your account sometimes:

(Created by @elizabeth.kramer.art on Instagram)

Another simple tracker is this hexagon/honeycomb tracker by Tanya.

(Created by @journaliyst on Instagram)

These hanging stars were create by Ela to tracker her followers, and its so simple yet effective!

(Created by @elas_bullet_journey on Instagram)

Susanna is the QUEEN of trackers. We can't all be as talented as her, but at least we can admire her work! For this tracker she colours in a meerkat for each milestone.

(Created by @isabelhoops on Instagram)

Another lovely star tracker is this one from Emma. She's added some lovely patterns, but you could make this simpler if you're not as artistic!

(Created by @littleplannerbug on Instagram)

These hot air balloons by Andrea are a lovely way to mark milestones:

(Created by @ananeh.journals on Instagram)

This Monopoly instagram tracker from Shanise is really inventive, and makes follower tracking fun!

(Created by @blackandwhitebullet on Instagram)

And finally, this plant tracker by Mone is really lovely, as each milestone 'grows a plant' and you can create a little garden!

(Created by @machsschoen on Instagram)

Hopefully I’ve given you some help and inspiration on how to track your Instagram in your bullet journal. It's always important to remember that Instagram should be fun. I have made some of the best friends through posting my journal on Instagram, and that really is the best part. So make sure to reach out to people with similar interests, and don't get too caught up on the numbers! If I inspired you to track your Instagram in your bullet journal I would love to see your spreads, so tag me on Instagram (@hayleyremdeart) and use #hayleyremdeinspired to get the chance to get your creations featured in my stories!