Social media offers advantages for businesses of all shapes and sizes. It’s a great way to promote ongoing promotions, connect with clients, and enhance your brand image. Despite these reasons for implementing a social media campaign, managing social media accounts can be difficult. If you run your own business, you have a lot on your plate. When it comes to posting on the daily, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. Hiring social media specialists is the way to go, but is there more you can do to streamline your digital marketing efforts? A content calendar can sure help!
What is a content calendar?
A content calendar is exactly what it sounds like – a calendar that helps you keep track of content. The purpose is to let you see what you are going to post and when you are going to post it. Beyond staying organized, a content calendar is a useful tool for helping you tell your company’s story. Mapping out your posts allows you to establish an overarching theme.
Typically, content calendars include the following information:
- Title of the post
- Writer’s name
- Deadline
- The channel where it will be posted
This information ensures that each social media profile is getting equal amounts of attention, whether that’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or a blog.
There are a bunch free content calendar templates available that will help take the stress out of planning and integrating a content strategy. Experiment to find one that suits your needs!
Why do you need it?
When it comes to posting regularly, coming up with new topics is half the battle. Even the best writers get stuck from time to time, and this is a major reason why posts become so few and far between. A content calendar can easily solve this problem because there won’t be any need to scramble for a new topic. Having dozens of ideas mapped out will make going to the blank page far less daunting. It also allows more time to personalize your post with GIFs and images.
A Content Calendar Will Keep You Organized
A content calendar makes it easy for writers to see who is posting what and when, streamlining your digital marketing strategy. Since a content calendar aids in organization, it also lets others members of your staff get involved. Two heads are always better than one, and a content calendar can open up the stage to employees who have a unique perspective on your business’s mission. All your writers need to do is ask around! The more the merrier, as they say.
And Prepare You for The Holiday Season
Holidays are the perfect time to post about ongoing promotions and spread some holiday cheer. But, as you may already know, holidays have a way of sneaking up. Nothing is more overwhelming than trying to scramble together a piece to post on the appropriate day. A content calendar allows you to plan out a longer, or more important post, such as a holiday special.
Closing
Keeping a calendar will help you post consistently. It also allows you to see individual posts as part of a bigger story. The latter is arguably the most important point when it comes to posting content. The most successful companies have a have a story to tell. If it’s well-honed, people will stick around to hear it.