Planning for perfection: The ultimate guide to social media calendars
The way that you express yourself on social media will make a huge difference to the success of your brand. Here, we explain why a content calendar should be the foundation of your online social media content plan and how to put one together for the best results for your business.
What is a social media calendar?
Simply, a social media calendar provides you with an overview of all upcoming social media posts organised by date. There are many ways to organise a social media calendar, but putting together a simple template on Google Sheets can be a great way to get started. It should contain the following key elements:
- The date and time that the content will be posted.
- The social network on which the post will be shared.
- Copy and creative assets to be posted.
- Any links, hashtags, or any other content to be included.
- The person who is responsible for sharing the content.
Why is a social media calendar important?
Social media calendars enable your entire team to be organised and focused on your business objectives. Following a calendar also saves you valuable time, as you can plan your posts well ahead of schedule, which is much easier than taking a scattergun approach and randomly posting when you feel like it. A calendar is also helpful for consistency, which is really important for post engagement and follower interactions.
Another big plus point is that you can ensure that you cover all bases with your content, meaning you can switch between educational, entertaining, and informative posts to engage with your audience. No matter how you look at it, a social media calendar should be regarded as an essential tool for your business. But how do you create one?
How to create an effective social media calendar for your business
While there are lots of ways to create a social media calendar for your business, here are some valuable tips you can follow:
Audit your networks and content
Before you create your calendar, you need to have a clear understanding of your social media accounts. Your audit should include account security details and passwords, goals and KPIs for your accounts, key metrics for measuring success, and details about your most successful posts. This will inform the strategy and calendar that you put together.
Decide on the social channels you wish to use
It’s not necessary to post on every single social media platform, but you do need to make sure that you are consistent with the platforms that you work on. Be it a combination of Facebook and LinkedIn or Twitter and Instagram; you will need to also think about the types of content you will share on each platform.
Set the foundations for your social media calendar
While it can be helpful to turn to a social media calendar template to help you, the reality is that it will look different from business to business. You need to decide on the key information and functionality that makes sense to you and your business and incorporate all of these aspects into your calendar.
Ask your team for feedback
Before going live with your calendar, it’s a good idea to check in with your team. You can ask them for feedback on the layout and content of the calendar and ask for any suggested improvements. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page and increases the likelihood of the calendar contributing to your team’s overall success.
Consider tools that can help you
While you can put together your own content calendar, you can also use tools like Hootsuite to help you, which automates your content and helps your team collaborate much more efficiently.
Recap
A social media calendar can be a real asset to your business, and it will help you share engaging, well-thought-out content that is on-brand and relevant. You can use the tips above to create a killer content calendar and plan for perfection when it comes to your social media presence this year.
Looking for some help with your socials or online content more generally? Get in touch with our team to find out how we can help your business grow and thrive online with our unique approach to digital marketing.
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