This past summer, I started listening to the Goal Digger Podcast more. I knew I needed to dig deeper into Instagram marketing and the one Creative that I knew would teach me about the popular social media platform was Jenna Kutcher.

I hopped on the Goal Digger podcast wagon and downloaded any episode that seemed relevant to IG. Little by little I was learning more about the power of Stories, saying no to IG Pods, and …. Plann. The Instagram Scheduling tool that Jenna talks a lot about on her episodes.

Prior to listening to Episode 241, I used Planoly for my IG scheduling. When I have a tool I’m familiar with, it’s hard for me to want to learn something new. Nothing was broke in my IG workflow with Planoly. I was happy with the app, the calendar features, and the yearly price.

But I also knew I needed to up my marketing with Instagram. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Pros vs. Cons of Plann

Since signing up with Plann this past June, I’ve come to find features that I really like about this Instagram marketing tool, and features that need the glitches worked out. Just like all things in life, let’s go over the fun things that make me like Plann.

Pros

• Strategy – My favorite feature of Plann is the strategy feature. It’s the first Instagram marketing tool that I have used that gives me a road map of what I should post. This feature will come in handy during the winter months when I’m not shooting a wedding every weekend or have two engagement sessions a week! It also reminds me to share more than just my sessions and weddings. I have it set up to talk about the art clients can purchase with their art credit, behind the scenes, and client reviews!

• Posting Times – In Plann, I have a couple of different posting times that I can select from. I can choose to post content now, my best time to post, and even when my audience is most online. It’s helpful to see those times so I can plan accordingly. If I was still a night owl, I would most certainly post at 9 pm when my audience is most engaging online, but considering I’m asleep at 9 pm (hello 4 am alarms!), I tend to choose my best times to post.

• The Numbers – I’m such a numbers girl, so I tend to geek out when I can see some in-depth insights. Unlike Planoly, Plann gives me more information. I can see my insights from both Posts and Stories – but more importantly, I can see the engagement rate on those posts in Plann. I can look at posts from the last two years and see the post that we announced Charlotte’s birth had 22% ER. It was posted on a Friday evening and had over 300 likes. Four of my top five best performing posts are of Charlotte. Maybe I should incorporate her into my feed more! It seems that my followers like her more than they do me!

• Comments + Mentions – I like with Plann I can not only reply to comments inside the dashboard, but I can also see when other IG users mention me in their posts. I can see how many comments and likes that post receives, as well!

Cons

Let me start off by saying I know it’s nearly impossible to create a product that works for everyone and makes everyone happy. I knew when I decided to give Plann a try for my Instagram marketing tool, there would be things I didn’t like. However, that’s not going to keep me from trying it out.

• Auto-posting – Unlike Planoly, Plann does not have an auto-post feature when you schedule a post for a certain time. This was the biggest thing to get used to. As a busy wife, mother, and entrepreneur, I’m not glued to my phone 24/7. I have missed posts because life happens. I would love to see this feature happen sooner than later to make life running a business a tad bit easier!
• Calendar – Again, unlike Planoly, I can not see previous posts. It not a deal-breaker for me, but I also would like to see how much I posted the month or even the week before.

• Calendar continued: – When I’m in the calendar view, I can not “play with my grid.” This means that I can not see the posts that I have saved as drafts and drag and schedule them while looking at the calendar. For a type-A girl that strives on organization, I miss having this little feature that made working on my monthly content a tad bit less time-consuming.

• The App – Man this app could quite possibly be my biggest gripe about Plann. It’s glitchy, slow, and crashes way too much for an Instagram marketing tool. The reviews on the App Store mention the app crashing a lot. Aside from the constant crashing, I find it difficult to navigate. I’m never sure where I exactly need to go to find my scheduled content if I miss posting at the exact time. The app could definitely use an update.

Final Thoughts on Plann vs. Planoly

Even with some of the downfalls of Plann over Planoly, I’m hooked with Plann. Ultimately, the selling feature for me was the strategy grid! Having the help to plan out my posts, as minuscule as that feature may seem to some, is everything for me. I will to continue to use Plann, and will not renew my Planoly subscription for next year!

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