Are there times when you are absolutely swamped, and don’t have the mental bandwidth to create new social media content? I can relate.

In fact, right now is one of those times for me.

I’m caregiver for a parent with dementia, and the last few months have been BANANAS.

(Tip – if you’re in the same situation, try to find a geriatric care or eldercare manager in your area, or one who is willing to work with you via Zoom. You pay them to help you navigate caregiving and be your advocate. Their knowledge and support can be invaluable. Go to the Aging Life Care Association “Find an Expert” page on their website.)

There have been plenty of times when I needed to kinda heave something up on Tourism Currents social media channels, so I don’t “go dark” for too long.

That got me thinking that plenty of other folks might want to know how to handle a similar “I don’t have time right now!” moment.

I keep a Google Doc with a lot of the ideas below, and the date I last shared each of them; I should probably name the doc “Break Glass in Case of Exhaustion” or something.

Here are some simple post ideas:

1) Remind people to sign up for your emails

Make it enticing, with a nice standard graphic and a few lines about WHY they should sign up (“Be the first to know about . . .”) and how often you publish.

Consider offering a free download to go with signups, like a suggested packing list or a few unique itineraries.

Related – How to start an email newsletter for tourism marketing

People are getting pickier and pickier about adding to the deluge coming into their Inbox, and rightly so. Do a little convincing in your social post, and have the link go directly to a dedicated signup page. Don’t dump people onto your homepage and expect them to go find the signup box.

Have a way to keep track of when you do a post like this, so you don’t do them too often and end up with the algorithm burying you. Every month or two should work, and don’t do it at the exact same time across all social channels.

2) Review your Google Analytics (GA4) for most popular pages and blog posts. Share and re-share the top ones.

In GA4, look under Reports –> Engagement –> Pages and Screens.

Run the Report timeframe out to at least one year back, but two is better.

Pick the top 10 – 15 links, and similar to my advice above, keep tabs on when you re-share each one, so you spread things out and keep it balanced.

(Tip – now that you know what’s popular, regularly check and update those pages and blog posts, and write more like them when you have more time.) 

3) Ask people to follow you on your other social channels

Again, give people a direct link in your social post, with a nice graphic and some information about WHY they should follow you on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagam, etc., what you post about there, and how often.

4) Share a post from one of your tourism, Main Street, or EDC partners

Yes, this can invite drama and jealousy if you feature one partner too often, and engagement on shared posts may not be the greatest, but if a partner has good content, share it!

On Instagram, adding partner IG posts to your Story is an easy win for everyone.

5) Try a simple text post

Everything doesn’t have to be a video or a graphic.

Facebook makes it easiest by giving you the option to put short text posts on a colorful background; LinkedIn used to have something similar called template posts, but sadly they’ve gone away. Still, I’ve had GREAT engagement on LinkedIn with just regular text-based discussions.

I found a few years ago that colorful Facebook text posts get good engagement, especially if you ask questions.

You could also use a text post to share a visitor or guest testimonial, answer a single destination FAQ, or share an historic or motivational quote related to your town.

These are words and conversations that are already in your brain’s knowledge bank, so you could dump them into a social post without much effort.

6) Share relevant news media or travel media coverage, especially from travel bloggers and creators you’ve worked with in the past

Were you featured in a news item? Share that link more than once, as long as it’s not too far out of date and is still relevant.

Did someone write a great blog post or make an excellent video about you? Share it more than once.

I can’t tell you how many travel bloggers have told me that they don’t understand why destinations, attractions, hotels, and tourism partner businesses don’t share the content that they made, and SHARE IT MORE THAN ONCE.

If you went to all the trouble and expense of hosting a media visit and/or working with a travel creator, why in the world wouldn’t you share their blog posts and content for months, even years, if it is evergreen?

7) Share a promo video and/or blog post about an upcoming season, to inspire and encourage early booking

Take those blog posts and videos showing off your destination in summer, fall, winter, or spring, and share them in another season.

They’re sitting there, already made. Use them!

In the depths of winter, for example, remind people what’s wonderful about your summer, and encourage people to go ahead and book that awesome summer trip NOW so they can get the best choices in lodging, and look forward to it for months.

What sorts of posts do you do when time, brainpower, and creativity are basically non-existent? Let me know in the comments.

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