A social media calendar, also known as a social media content calendar, is a tool individuals or organisations use to plan and organise their social media content in advance. It’s a document that outlines the specific dates and times when social media content will be published, along with the type of content and the platform(s) on which it will be posted.
I am sure most of us wandered around these questions – “What next?”, “What do I post next for my content on social media?”
Questions as such have burdened us quite often.
For a detailed guide to creating a useful (and effective) social media calendar, continue reading!
Table of Contents
- Understanding Social Media Calendar – An Introduction
- Why Does Your Business Need A Social Media Calendar?
- Planning Your Social Media Content
- Creating a Content Calendar
- Free apps and tools
- Be Strategic, Not Spontaneous: Social Media Calendar for tomorrow
Understanding Social Media Calendar – An Introduction
A social media calendar is a list of your upcoming postings on social media that is arranged by date. Content calendars are used by social media marketers to schedule posts, oversee campaigns, and evaluate ongoing tactics.
Calendars for social media can take many different formats. Yours may be a spreadsheet, a Google calendar, or an interactive dashboard (if you’re using a social media management platform).
A social media calendar typically includes the following elements:
1. Dates and times:
A social media calendar typically includes a calendar view of the days or weeks ahead, with specific dates and times for each post. This helps ensure that content is posted at the most effective times when the audience is most likely to be online and engaged.
2. Content types:
The calendar will outline the types of content that will be shared, such as blog posts, images, videos, polls, or curated content from other sources.
3. Platforms:
The calendar will indicate which social media platforms the content will be shared on. For example, a business may choose to post a new product launch on Instagram, but share an industry report on LinkedIn.
4. Themes and topics:
A social media calendar may include themes or topics for each day, week, or month. This helps to create a cohesive and consistent message across all social media platforms.
5. Calls-to-action:
The calendar may include specific calls-to-action (CTAs) for each post, such as “Learn more,” “Sign up,” or “Share with a friend.” This helps to drive engagement and encourage users to take action.
6. Metrics and tracking:
A social media calendar may include tracking metrics such as reach, engagement, and click-through rates for each post. This helps to monitor the effectiveness of the social media strategy and make adjustments as needed.
By using a social media calendar, businesses and individuals can ensure that their social media posts are timely, relevant, and engaging. It also allows for better planning and coordination of social media efforts and helps to ensure a consistent brand message across all platforms
The main elements of a social media calendar include:
- Content themes/topics:
- These are the broad topics or themes that you want to cover in your social media content. They should align with your overall brand messaging and reflect the interests and needs of your target audience.
- Posting schedule:
- This outlines the specific dates and times when you plan to publish your social media content. It’s important to consider the best times to post on each social media platform to maximise engagement.
- Content types/formats:
- This refers to the specific types of content you plan to create, such as images, videos, blog posts, or infographics. Different types of content may be more effective for different platforms and audience segments.
- Key performance indicators (KPIs):
- These are the metrics you will use to measure the success of your social media strategy. Examples of KPIs include engagement rate, reach, and click-through rate.
- Holidays and special events:
- It’s important to incorporate relevant holidays and special events into your social media calendar to stay relevant and timely.
- Promotions and campaigns:
- If you plan to run any promotions or campaigns on social media, you should include them in your calendar to ensure they are properly planned and executed.
- Collaborations and partnerships:
- If you plan to collaborate with other brands or influencers on social media, you should include those partnerships in your calendar to ensure a seamless and coordinated effort.
By including these elements in your social media calendar, you can effectively plan and execute your social media strategy, ensuring that your content is timely, relevant, and engaging to your target audience
Why Does Your Business Need A Social Media Calendar?
The Social Media Content Calendar is being used by brands all around the world in the present era of digital technology.
It is important as it helps brands to plan out their content in advance so that they don’t get stuck somewhere and miss out on important information. It is basically a blueprint or a framework that you share with your audience.
Brands can occasionally offer timely information on social media, but they aren’t always able to. For a brand to post something timely and relevant, it typically involves ahead planning.
For instance, if you need to sell heart-shaped chocolates on the occasion of Valentine’s Day to your consumers and viewers, you need to plan out and come up with relevant posts weeks or even months before the occasion.
There can be theme-based chocolates based on valentines week and hampers along with dedicated photoshoots for the desired posts.
The marketing and content team may come up with promotional videos where consumers are enjoying the chocolate and gifting it to their significant others and close ones.
The next step would be to decide on social media endorsements or influencers for the shoot if required and decide to post strategically across different social media platforms with relevant hashtags for the same.
A social media calendar is a tool that businesses use to plan and organize their social media content in advance. It involves scheduling posts across various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others, according to a predetermined schedule. In this response, we will explain in detail why a social media calendar is essential for any business.
1. Consistency:
One of the most significant advantages of using a social media calendar is that it enables a business to post content regularly and consistently. By planning and scheduling posts in advance, a business can ensure that it maintains a steady flow of content, even during busy periods or when staff is unavailable. Consistent posting is critical in maintaining engagement with followers and building brand awareness.
2. Time-Saving:
A social media calendar helps businesses save time and streamline their social media activities. By planning and scheduling content in advance, businesses can avoid last-minute scrambling for content and ensure that they have enough time to create high-quality posts that are aligned with their overall marketing strategy.
3. Better Targeting:
A social media calendar can help businesses target their audience more effectively. By planning content in advance, businesses can ensure that their posts are tailored to their audience’s interests, preferences, and behaviours. This targeted approach can increase engagement, higher click-through rates, and increased conversions.
4. Improved efficiency:
A social media calendar can help businesses become more efficient in their social media activities. By planning and scheduling content in advance, businesses can ensure that their posts are optimized for each platform’s specific requirements, such as image sizes, post lengths, and hashtags. This optimization can result in better performance metrics and higher engagement rates.
5. Flexibility:
A social media calendar can help businesses be more flexible in their social media activities. While it’s important to plan content in advance, a social media calendar can also allow businesses to make changes and adjustments as needed. For example, if a particular post isn’t performing as well as expected, a business can adjust its strategy and schedule new content to better meet its goals.
6. Collaborative:
A social media calendar can also help businesses collaborate more effectively across teams. By planning and scheduling content in advance, teams can work together to create a cohesive content strategy that aligns with the business’s overall marketing goals.
Planning Your Social Media Content
Before you start planning for your social media content you need to keep in mind the following factors:
1. Understanding your target audience
Knowing where and how your audience interacts with your brand can help you use your social media calendar effectively. The platforms for these are probably something you already have a general notion of, but before scheduling anything, look at your social analytics.
Tools like Facebook Audience Insights or Instagram Insights may be used for this. You should be paying attention and monitoring your social success because the majority of social media platforms have an analytics feature built in that allows you to monitor audience interaction.
2. When and where should you post?
- Research peak posting times: Each social media platform has its own peak posting times. For example, studies have shown that the best time to post on Instagram is during off-work hours on weekdays, while Twitter engagement is highest on weekends.
- Experiment with posting times: Test different posting times to see when you get the most engagement. Use analytics tools to track your posts’ performance and identify the best times to post.
3. Choosing the right platform
- Different types of content are better suited for different social media platforms. For example, Instagram is great for visual content, while Twitter is better for short, text-based posts.
- Think about the context in which your content will be posted. For example, if you are posting about a timely event, you may want to post it as soon as possible to take advantage of the buzz.
Make sure you carefully review your posts over the past few months because analytics will be the most helpful tool to employ when figuring out these elements. For instance, if you discover that your Instagram page has been getting a lot of engagement from short videos, prepare to shoot something in advance so you can continue to provide your audience with what they want the most.
4. Interacting with your audience
- Use engaging headlines: The headline is the first thing that people see, and it’s what will determine whether they’ll click through to read the rest of the content. A good headline should grab the reader’s attention and make them want to learn more.
- Write for your audience: Make sure your content is written in a way that your audience can understand and relate to. Use language that is appropriate for your audience and avoid using jargon or technical terms that may confuse them.
- Ask questions: Ask your audience questions within the content to engage them and encourage them to interact with you. For example, you could ask them for their opinions or ask them to share their experiences related to the topic you are discussing.
- Use visuals: Incorporate visuals such as images, videos, or infographics to make your content more engaging and easier to understand. Visuals can also help break up long blocks of text and make your content more visually appealing.
- Encourage comments and feedback: Encourage your audience to leave comments and feedback on your content. Respond to their comments and engage in conversations with them to show that you value their input.
Creating a Content Calendar
Planning a social media calendar can be overwhelming, but with a step-by-step guide, you can create a comprehensive plan that will keep your audience engaged and help you achieve your social media goals.
By following these steps, you can create a comprehensive social media calendar that will help you achieve your goals and engage with your audience effectively.
Here are the steps to follow:
Define and maximize your online potential
You need to have a comprehensive understanding of your current social media accounts before creating your social media posting calendar.
- Start by defining your social media goals. Do you want to raise your company’s profile, improve internet traffic, or enhance sales?
Understanding your objectives will enable you to customise your social media material to meet these aims.
Review your profile information: Review the information on your profile and make sure it accurately represents you and your brand.
This includes your bio, profile picture, and header image. Make sure your profile is consistent across all platforms.
- Review your privacy settings: Check the privacy settings of each social media platform to ensure that your personal information, such as your email address and phone number, are hidden from public view.
You should also review your notification settings to ensure you’re receiving the notifications you want and avoid the ones you don’t.
Know Your Audience:
- Identify who your target audience is, what social media platforms they use, and what kind of content they are interested in. This information will help you create content that resonates with your audience and generates engagement.
- Check your followers and engagement: Analyze your followers and engagement metrics to identify which platforms are most effective in reaching your target audience. Consider using social media analytics tools to get a deeper insight into your followers’ demographics, interests, and behavior.
Determine your social media goals
Determine which social media platforms are best for your business based on your audience and goals. Consider the demographics of each platform and the type of content that performs well on each.
What do you want to achieve with your social media presence? Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, generate leads, or increase sales? Your social media goals will help you determine which channels and content mix will be most effective
- Develop a content mix: Your content mix should be tailored to your audience and social media goals. Consider creating a mix of content types such as text, images, videos, and infographics to keep your content fresh and engaging.
- Test and refine: Once you have chosen your social media channels and developed your content mix, it’s important to track your performance metrics and make adjustments as needed.
- The social media rule of thirds is a guideline for content creation and sharing on social media platforms.
It suggests that you should divide your social media content into three categories:
- One-third of your content should promote your brand or business, such as products or services you offer.
- One-third of your content should share ideas and information from industry leaders or experts in your field, providing value to your followers.
- One-third of your content should be personal, showcasing the human side of your brand, such as behind-the-scenes photos or posts about company culture.
Create a Content Plan:
Brainstorm ideas for content and organize them into themes or categories. This will help you create a consistent content plan that aligns with your goals and appeals to your audience. Consider using a mix of text, images, and videos.
The social media calendar you create will be unique to you. An owner of a small scaled company who manages their own social media posts, for instance, will probably have a much easier and simpler calendar than a huge company with a full social and marketing team.
Start with the basic blueprint such as:
- What will the platform be?
- Specific dates and events
- Varying time zones according to different zones
- The content
- Graphics, and other related visuals
- Online metrics
- Tools if any
- Collaborations
- Celebrity endorsements
- Budget
To get started, you can make use of online free templates in order to create your social media calendar. We will talk more about it in the coming section!
Set a Posting Schedule:
Decide on how often you will post and what time of day. This will vary depending on your audience and social media platform. Use insights and analytics to identify the best times to post.
Setting up a posting time schedule for your content can help you stay organised and consistent in your content creation efforts. Here are some steps to follow to set up a posting time schedule for your content:
- Determine your posting frequency: Decide how often you want to post new content. It could be daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.
- Determine your audience’s peak engagement times: Find out when your audience is most active on the platform you plan to use to post your content. You can use analytics tools or social media insights to gather this information.
- Create a content calendar: Once you have determined your posting frequency and audience’s peak engagement times, create a content calendar that outlines what type of content you will post, when you will post it, and on which platform.
- Use a scheduling tool: To automate the process of posting your content at specific times, use a scheduling tool. Popular scheduling tools include Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social.
- Review and adjust: Regularly review your content schedule and adjust it as needed based on your engagement metrics and audience feedback.
Getting down to the creation
- Organize your content plan into a calendar format, including the date, time, platform, content type, and any relevant hashtags or links. Use a tool like Google Sheets or Trello to make it easy to collaborate with your team.
Monitor and Adjust:
Keep an eye on your social media metrics, such as engagement, reach, and conversions. Use this information to adjust your content plan and posting schedule to improve your results.
Before you start monitoring and adjusting your online content, you should define your goals. What do you want to achieve with your content? Is it to attract more visitors to your website, generate more leads, or increase sales? Once you have a clear understanding of your goals, you can monitor and adjust your content accordingly.
- Analyze your existing content: Analyze your existing content to see what’s working and what’s not. Use analytics tools to track website traffic, engagement, and conversions. This will help you identify which pieces of content are generating the most traffic and engagement, and which ones are not performing well.
- Make adjustments based on data: Once you’ve analyzed your existing content, make adjustments based on the data you’ve collected.
For instance, if a certain blog post is drawing a lot of attention, you might want to produce more material on related subjects. If a certain social media platform is generating a lot of engagement, you might want to concentrate more of your efforts there.
- It’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and changes in your industry. This will help you create content that’s relevant and timely. Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing, and look for opportunities to create content that sets you apart.
Take feedback for improvement
Finally, engage with your audience. Respond to comments and messages, ask for feedback, and encourage discussion. This will help you understand what your audience is looking for, and help you create content that meets their needs.
Each member of your marketing team understands the value of an efficient social calendar. To make sure it meets the needs of everyone, seek input and suggestions from stakeholders as well as your team.
Free apps and tools
Making your own social media calendar template from scratch can be mind-boggling. Fortunately, there are free solutions online that you may use or modify to meet your specific needs. Check out these free templates here:
- Hootsuite:
Hootsuite offers a free social media calendar template that you can download and customize to fit your needs. The template is available in Excel format and includes tabs for each social media platform.
- Trello:
Trello is a project management tool that can also be used for social media planning. They offer a free social media calendar template that you can use to plan and schedule your posts.
- Hubspot:
Hubspot offers a free social media content calendar template that you can download and use in Excel format. The template includes tabs for each month and allows you to plan your content in advance.
- Google Sheets:
Google Sheets offers a variety of social media calendar templates that you can use for free. Simply search for “social media calendar templates” in the template gallery and choose the one that best fits your needs.
- CoSchedule:
CoSchedule offers a free social media editorial calendar template that you can use to plan and schedule your social media posts. The template includes a monthly view and allows you to track your progress and engagement.
- Sprout Social:
Sprout Social offers a free social media calendar template that you can download and use in Excel format. The template includes tabs for each month and allows you to plan and schedule your posts in advance.
- Later:
Later offers a free social media content calendar template that you can use to plan and schedule your posts. The template includes a monthly view and allows you to track your progress and engagement.
- Canva:
Canva offers a variety of social media calendar templates that you can use for free. Simply search for “social media calendar templates” in the template gallery and choose the one that best fits your needs.
These are just a few of the many free social media calendar templates and tools available online. Choose the one that best fits your needs and start planning your social media content today!
Be Strategic, Not Spontaneous: Social Media Calendar for tomorrow!
You must always think ahead and look towards the future if you want your internet store to be successful. It doesn’t just entail making plans for the subsequent five or ten years, as you now understand.
Just planning your activities for the upcoming month can be seen to be thinking about the future.
You can create your own social media calendar using the free resources and templates provided in the article.