Information in this blog post was obtained from Moz, HubSpot, and Neil Patel,

What is a social media content calendar?

In order to ensure that you are consistently posting quality social media content using a content calendar to plan is key. A social media content calendar is useful to keep yourself motivated and remember to post content at your desired frequency. But what is a content calendar you might ask? Well, a content calendar or social media calendar can come in many forms which may include being an interactive dashboard, digital calendar, or spreadsheet. Content calendars can be a detailed plan of what the content to be posted will be like including the content type, length, and topic or it can simply be which days you plan on posting. Using a social media content calendar will also help keep your posting consistent.

Tip 1: Plan Your Plan - Decide How to Plan Out Your Content by Setting Goals

Having goals that you desire to achieve through your use of social media is integral for creating a content calendar. SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals are perfect for this. Knowing and reminding yourself why you are posting on social media and what you want out of it will help you decide how often to post and other posting specifics that go on a content calendar. Part of having a goal can include having a goal of a target market that you want your content to be consumed by. If you are already on social media conducting a social media audit where you assess your current social presence and engagement can be helpful in deciding goals for improvement.

Tip 2: Choose Your Social Media Platforms

With so many social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter (now X), LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat, and Reddit it can be hard to decide which one or ones will be best for you. One way to narrow down your choice is by looking at platform demographics like users' age and sex. It is important that you choose the right platform that aligns with your target market so that your social media content can be found by the right people. According to Moz.com separating your target audience into personas can be helpful to try and put yourself in your buyer’s mindset and to better understand their specific preferences. You can also look at which platforms your competitors are on to help influence your decision. If you are considering paying for ads on social media, be sure to compare the cost on different platforms. Looking at the different features on different platforms is important as well. As platforms have unique abilities, Instagram and Snapchat have stories and Pinterest allows users to save posts to their own custom boards.

Tip 3: Pick Your Ideal Content Type

In order to decide what social media content type to post for marketing yourself be sure to review your budget as creating a video may cost more in production value than writing a tweet. Your content type is dependent on what social platform you have decided to use but as many platforms allow for multiple different types of content to be posted this should not cause too many restrictions. Ideally using multiple types of content is best for social media as it will keep your account looking fresh and engaging to your current and potential followers. The content type that you create should match up with the content your target market enjoys and engages with. As stated on NeilPatel.com, when creating content using the 80/20 rule can be helpful. This rule states that eight percent of your social media content should be designed to provide entertainment value while only twenty percent should be focused on selling your business to the audience. Providing entertainment to users on social media adds value to their lives and gives them a reason to follow your business. It also creates a more relatable brand image which can increase customer loyalty. Most users on social media will not want to buy from a business that is only posting salesy content as this appears too greedy and is not relatable.

Tip 4: Decide When and How Often to Post

Posting frequency can depend on many factors such as the size of your marketing team as larger businesses with an entire multiple-person marketing department will be able to create much more content than a single individual creating content for their own small business. It is important to have a balance of both quantity and quality when it comes to your social media posts. Do not create low-quality content just for the sake of posting more content. The frequency with which you will post on social media greatly varies on an individual basis. However, it is important to not set unrealistic posting goals that are too high as posting frequency must be maintainable in order to be effective.

Tip 5: Put it All Together

Once you have all the necessary information regarding your social media goals, chosen platforms to post on, an ideal content type, and days on which you will post it all needs to come together to form your content calendar. Organizing this information in a way that is easily readable and meaningful to you will help keep your content calendar as effective and easy to use as possible. Be sure to gather results from any social media audit you may have conducted as recommended by HubSpot. Any information gathered from research during the planning process should also be considered when compiling your calendar. Typically, the quickest and easiest way to create a social media content calendar is by using spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel.

Enjoy Your Social Media Journey Using a Content Calendar

Planning out goals, choosing social media platform(s), picking a content type, and deciding on posting frequency, are great things you can do to help prepare to build your very own social media content calendar. Taking these steps towards success to plan out your content will without a doubt be helpful to you when it comes to staying on track and organized throughout your social media journey. For additional information on social media content calendars check out Makenna's blog here.

Resources

Bernazzani, S. (2023, June 15). How to Create a Social Media Calendar to Plan Your Content. HubSpot Blog. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/social-media-calendar-tools?hubs_content=blog.hubspot.com%252Fmarketing&hubs_content-cta=null&hubs_post-cta=blognavcard-marketing#how-to-create-a-social-media-calendar

NP Digital LLC. (2022, June 6). How to Create an Effective Social Media Content Calendar. Neil Patel. https://neilpatel.com/blog/social-media-content-calendar/

Penson, S. (2012, September 4). The Ultimate Guide to Content Planning. Moz. https://moz.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-content-planning