In this article you will find:
- How a content calendar can set you up for social media success.
- How to fill out and plan your content calendar.
Start by Downloading the Free Content Calendar Template Here:
Why Use A Social Media Content Calendar?
When it comes to creating a successful social media strategy, building a solid foundation is key. Without systems and structure in place, the likelihood of remaining engaged with your audience, posting quality content on a regular basis, and ensuring your accounts grow healthily diminishes greatly. In most cases, business owners have at least three active social media channels running, and in order to keep all pages moving in the right direction, staying organised and motivated is paramount. For this reason, we recommend using a content calendar.
Getting Started
A social media content calendar can be developed on weekly, monthly, seasonal, and even yearly bases. We recommend monthly because that gives you a snapshot into the future without taking you out of the present, and it also allows you to seamlessly integrate your social efforts with all of your other monthly marketing/advertising initiatives. You will notice that in the GET Digital Support Content Calendar Template, each month of the year is already set up along the tabs at the bottom.
The key to a great content calendar is understanding that not all social media channels are created equal. Businesses do not, and should not, treat their Facebook page the same way they do their YouTube channel, or their Instagram page, or their TikTok account. Leveraging a strong calendar to help you best plan your month for each facet of your social media will help you tangibly see how your month is shaping up, and offer intuitive guidance on what content can be shared in multiple places as compared to content that is platform-specific. For example, if your business is committed to releasing one high quality longform video per month on your YouTube channel, a content calendar will help you plan for that release while also highlighting opportunities to tease said video on your other platforms. This helps generate interest, increase viewership, and ultimately strengthen your calls to action to ensure your audience is clear on what it is that you want them to do when they see your content.
The other major benefit to a quality content calendar is creating accountability. While a calendar is not going to necessarily make it easier for you to produce your assets, craft your storytelling, or keep up with your account engagement, it certainly gives you clear parameters and sets benchmarks for you and your team. If a post is missed, or if a concept does not come together in time, that’s a great opportunity for improvement in the future. Also, while it may be disappointing to miss a deadline you had set, you’ll have a strong enough foundation built that ensures you will not continue to fall behind. A complete, fleshed out calendar empowers you to pick up from where you left off and continue following the plan you created for yourself without feeling as though all has been lost. As the saying goes: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”!
Finally, a social media content calendar enables you to delegate to your team more effectively. One of the most common challenges business owners face is keeping up with social media while also overseeing every other facet of their business. Social media requires time, thought, energy, and effort, yet we frequently hear business owners lament about how it is always last on their list, and for that reason they begin to resent it. By building the habit around generating a calendar each month, you are now in a much better position to outsource the content creation/management portion to another member of your team or, at the very least, create your content in batches when it best fits your schedule. Remember, social media is about being social, and while it does require immense discipline to manage well, there must always be fun and joy in it!
Ready to GET your social media game face on? Download our FREE social media content calendar template and start crushing your social goals!
