The ever-increasing number of social media channels offer brands new ways to connect with their audience.

For instance, Facebook is an excellent platform for boosting your brand’s awareness. Conversely, LinkedIn gives you access to a pool of talented candidates who can benefit your business in one way or another.

While the benefits of using social media for your business are undeniable, managing all the accounts you have can feel like an operational nightmare.

Enter a social media calendar. This tool helps you to plan posts ahead of time. This, in turn, allows you to create and implement a steady content-creation routine.

Sounds too good to be true? Well, the following post highlights everything you need to know about a social media calendar - including how to create your own from scratch!

What is a Social Media Calendar?

This is simply a tool that allows you to schedule and store social media posts in one central place.

It gives you an opportunity to schedule your content in advance so that you have plenty of time to research and create error-free pieces. Most social calendars require you to pick a specific date, time and social network where the content will be published.

6-Step Guide to Create a Social Media Content Calendar

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you create the ultimate social media calendar:

Choose your social media channels

While this seems like a no-brainer, it’s one of the most crucial steps you should take. Before you begin analyzing individual social posts, hit pause and ask yourself: Is my brand on the right social media channels?

Have you been focusing your efforts on a social media platform that’s irrelevant for your audience? Or, is there a channel that you should be on and aren’t?

As an example, a business-to-business company could benefit more from a particular social channel than a business-to-consumer one.

With B2B firms, LinkedIn is a great tool for reaching out to potential clients. Contrary, business-to-consumer brands are better off using Facebook and Instagram to reach their audience.

Define Your Content Post Types and Categories

The whole concept behind creating a social media calendar is to have a framework for posting content that’s meaningful to your audience. So before you create your calendar, figure out what type of content you’ll be posting.

Here’s a breakdown of the main types of content that you can post on your social networks:

Articles, and blogs

Pro: Such written posts are the perfect way to showcase your brand’s expertise and knowledge of a particular niche. This will, in turn, make your business feel more credible and reputable.

Con: That said, there’s a ton of content on the Internet, so the competition is stiff. You’ll need to be very creative to create content topics that pique readers’ interest.

eBooks

Pro: An eBook is longer than a blog post or article. It lets you delve deeper into a given topic, and this helps to illustrate your industry expertise. Writing an eBook also enables you to reach your target audience more easily.

Con: Producing an ebook is time-consuming, meaning you’ll have to devote a lot of time to its production. More importantly, you should consider the audience you’re writing for. Would they have the time or be interested in reading a whole ebook?

Links to external content

Pro: If you’re pressed for time, you can opt to share links to articles, websites and other content from external sources. This will further enhance your brand’s credibility and reputation.

Con: You have to be very careful about the content you link to. If you accidentally link to spammy websites, this will reflect negatively on your brand. Linking externally also poses a risk of losing readers. If they find the other website or brand more resourceful, they may decide to turn to it.

Images and Videos

Pro: Images and other types of visual content allow your readers to put a face to your brand’s name; hence, fostering greater trust. On your part, you’re able to engage with a bigger audience than you would if you were relying on only text-based content.

Con: Visual content-based platforms like Instagram have a high level of competition. If you want to stand out, then you must be willing to invest in the right equipment and software.

Live Videos

Pro: If you’ve ever wanted to engage directly with your audience, then going live is the easiest way to go about this. According to one study, up to 80% of respondents said they preferred watching a brand’s live stream to reading a blog.

Con: Producing live content can be rather challenging. For starters, you have to plan an event to stream. Next, you’ll need to buy the correct recording equipment and ensure you have a stable Internet connection.

Making out what type of content to post on each of your social media platforms will probably be the most taxing aspect. But, it’s necessary. It will help you know the kind of content that fares better and on which specific platform.

Choose and Download a Social Media Content Calendar Template

Once you’ve determined what types of content to use, the next step is to pick a calendar template.

Here are reviews of some top-rated social media calendar templates:

Google Drive

The key highlight of Google Calendar is that it offers an array of features that you’re sure to benefit from.

For one, it makes it super easy to share your calendar with others. This is crucial if you’re working as part of a social media marketing team.

Secondly, this calendar integrates seamlessly with Gmail. This allows you to schedule events directly through your email. Google Drive also has program reminders, so you never miss out on publishing or creating an important post.

HubSpot’s Excel

If you’re a social media marketer, there’s a good chance that you already use Excel to perform data analysis.

HubSpot’s downloadable excel is fairly similar, but it takes things up a notch. For one, it’s multifunctional as it can be used for content organization as well. It helps you determine what content you’ll post each day, and on which platform. And the best part, it’s completely free!

Trello

If you’re looking for a calendar tool that can also facilitate team collaboration, Trello is your best bet. This one comes with cards, which can be assigned to different members of your team; marked with deadlines and content briefs.

You also have the freedom to customize the labels. For instance, you can indicate the status of each social media post so that the entire team is aware of its progress. Alternatively, you can use the labels to show the specific networks where the content is being posted.

Sprout Social

Like Trello, this platform also lets you collaborate with your team. However, its biggest selling point is that it can automatically post your content to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more.

The Optimal Send Times feature is pretty impressive too. It evaluates your social media data and only publishes your content when your audience is most engaged.

Loomly

Another tool that you can use to create your social media content calendar is Loomly.

What we like about it is that it offers an all-in-one solution. Use it to schedule and manage social media posts, direct you on how to create content and even tell you which posts are working and which ones aren’t.

Create a Workflow

Now that you’ve chosen a template, the only thing left is to come up with categories that will streamline your workflow.

Determine how much information you want to incorporate in your calendar, such as dates, networks, links of posts and more. Here is a more detailed breakdown of the elements to include in each social media calendar entry:

• The specific platform where the post will be made
• Relevant dates such as the date of publication
• Type of content; be it a blog post or news release
• Title or content’s topic
• The author assigned the writing task
• Status of the social media content: in progress/ under review/ published
• Deadline for publishing

You can also indicate the URL, and supporting images. It’s also wise to add a section for tracking the content’s performance.

For instance, you can indicate the number of shares or likes the post got. This can help you identify any areas that need improvement - be it in terms of your publishing schedule or quality of content.

Collaborate with Your Team

For most brands, social media is at the heart of the marketing campaign. So there’s a good chance that the social media marketing team will be working with other teams to create a campaign.

Taking this into account, it’s a good idea to share the newly-established calendar with the rest of the team.

Share it with your copywriters, graphic designers, videographers and anyone else involved. Have them check out the calendar and give you feedback.

This way, if there are any sections that need some fine-tuning, you can tweak them as soon as possible. This will then enable each individual to perform efficiently in the tasks they’re assigned.

Craft and Publish Your Social Media Posts

With the hardest part done, the only thing left is to create and publish your content. Allow your calendar to guide you when it comes to scheduling content.

For instance, if you’re set to post on your Facebook platform during the weekend, then you can create your post ahead of time.

Why You Need a Social Media Calendar

Tailor posts for each platform

One of the greatest advantages of this calendar is that it helps you to plan out your content in advance.

Since you have ample time, you can create content tailored for each social network. This way, you don’t end up posting the same message across all your platforms.

For instance, a post that you publish on Facebook may not necessarily be fit for your LinkedIn account. With LinkedIn, you may want to use a more formal tone as the platform is suited for business professionals.

Accountability

A social media content calendar acts as a central resource tool that your teammates can refer to constantly.

Let’s say you have a team of writers. Each writer will be aware of the publication dates of their posts, so they’ll know which tasks to prioritize. Overall, every team member will be able to plan ahead and spend their time more wisely.

Offers a bird’s eye view of your content

Another benefit of a social media calendar is that it gives you a clear view of all your scheduled content.

It lets you see the trajectory of the story you’re trying to create. This then makes it easy to identify gaps and brainstorm the most suitable topics to work on next.

Prepare content for special days & holidays

A content calendar gives you an opportunity to prepare content tailored for special days and holidays.

Let’s say you sell products in the pet niche. In this case, your calendar can remind you of relevant holidays like National Dog Day. This way, you can create content tailored for that particular holiday; thus, boosting your engagement and traffic.

Prevent redundant content

A social media calendar also minimizes the risk of creating redundant content, which can jeopardize your SEO efforts.

“Redundant content occurs when you have several pages of your website addressing the same search intent.”

If you have a calendar in place, you can identify such an issue from your content schedule and prevent it from happening. For instance, if you notice that two writers have been assigned fairly similar topics, then you can make adjustments in time.

Consistency

Another benefit of using a social media calendar is that it helps you create and adhere to a specific posting schedule.

This kind of consistency is an integral part of your marketing campaign. According to research conducted by Techipedia, brands that maintain consistency in their messaging are worth up to 20% more than those that don’t.

Promotes balance of content formats

Apart from consistency, a social media calendar also promotes balance when it comes to posting formats.

For instance, you may notice that you’re posting too many articles and just a few videos and images. Realizing this will enable you to make the necessary adjustments; hence, achieving the right balance.

Best Practices to Make the Most of Your Social Media Calendar

Here are a couple of tips to help get the most out of your social media calendar:

Spare time to schedule content

As a social media marketer, you probably wear many hats. Still, it’s important to set aside ample time for creating and scheduling content.

Choose a specific day and time when your post ought to be published. This way, you can plan to create the content well in advance.

Plan your content around your most active platform

Another trick that helps is scheduling your content based on the platform that gives you the most traction.

Let’s say that the majority of your audience interacts with your brand through Instagram. In that case, you’ll want to ensure that you’re dedicating adequate time to creating content for this platform.

Delegate one individual to manage the content calendar

Earlier we mentioned the need to share your calendar with the rest of your social media team. However, it can also be helpful to pick one individual who will be in charge of the calendar.

This individual will be tasked with scheduling all social media posts and setting publication dates. He or she will also be responsible for reminding teams of due dates, coming up with an efficient content strategy and spotting any errors.

Simplicity is key

If this is your first time using a social media calendar, then keep it simple. Start off with a few elements, then you can gradually add more as you get the hang of it. This way, you don’t end up feeling overwhelmed using a tool that’s meant to simplify your work.

Schedule content around events

If there’s a global theme or industry-related event that’s taking place, consider publishing content around it.

Readers and viewers are interested in content that’s up-to-date and timely. Besides, publishing such content can boost your viewership and engagement.

Use color-coding

When it comes to filling your social media content calendar, don’t shy away from colors. Color-coding helps you identify elements fast. So you can have a distinct color for each category, such as type of content, team member assigned, platform to be used and more.

Use the calendar to track engagement rate

Tracking the performance of your social media posts is imperative. So one other element you should consider adding to your calendar is a column for engagement metrics.

Here, you can indicate how many comments, likes and shares the post got. You can then review your metrics regularly, to determine which posts are getting the highest traffic.

Wrap Up

A social media calendar is an indispensable tool for marketers. It saves you time, streamlines your content schedule and enables you to work smarter.

And the good thing is that some of the calendar tools we’ve suggested are available for free or offer a free trial. For the best outcome, consider delegating one person to be in charge of your social media calendar. This individual can update the schedule, remind teams of publication dates and make adjustments when they’re called for.