How to Create a Social Media Calendar
A social media calendar is a content marketing tool that helps you plan and organize your social media posts. It also keeps track of what's working and what isn't, which helps you refine your content strategy. In this article, we'll guide you through the process of creating a social media calendar for your business.
In the next section, we'll define the purpose of a social media marketing calendar (and how it differs from other types of calendars). After that, we'll show you how to create one in a few simple steps.
Define a Content Strategy.
Social media is a huge part of your business's marketing strategy. It's important to have a plan before you start posting, so that you can be confident that you're getting the most out of your time and efforts. Learn how to create a solid social media strategy here.
To begin, define the purpose of your social media calendar:
What are the goals for this calendar?
Who is it for?
What kind of content will be included in each post?
Once these questions have been answered, it's time to move into more detail about how often each post should occur and when those posts should go up.
With effective scheduling, you can create a social media calendar that helps you achieve your social media marketing goals.
Social media scheduling is a great way to help you manage your social media content and achieve your goals. With an effective social media calendar, you can:
Set clear goals and targets.
Manage your time and resources more effectively.
Reach your audience more frequently with the right content at the right time.
Save money by avoiding wasted spend on unproductive activity or poor targeting.
If you're ready to create an effective social media calendar, here's what you need to know:
Identify Social Media Channels.
Identify Social Media Channels.
Verify the frequency and scheduling of the social media channel(s) you want to use.
Write down a list of channels you'll use and how often, then separate them by "must have," "should have," and "maybes."
Plan for Each Social Media Channel.
Plan for Each Social Media Channel.
Define your goals for each channel.
List your target audience for each channel.
Define your target audience for each channel.
Identify the best time to post for each channel
Add Campaigns, Holidays and Events to Your Calendar.
It's time to add some social media campaigns, events and holidays to your calendar. To get started, here are some questions to ask yourself:
What holidays and events should I include in my social media calendar?
How often do I want to post on each of these days?
Should I post the same content every year or should I change it up a little bit each year?
Fill in the Gaps.
Next, fill in the gaps.
How can you use your social media calendar to plan your content?
What kind of content will you share on each channel?
How often should you post on each channel, and what kind of frequency works best for you?
What days or times do your fans engage with the most on social media (and why)?
Review Your Results.
Use the information you gathered in your social media campaigns to identify what worked and what didn't. For example, maybe you saw that your posts about new products resonated with followers on Facebook but not Instagram. Next time around, you might focus on making sure that all of your posts are tailored for each platform.
Plan Ahead. Once you have a better idea of what types of content perform well and which strategies are successful, plan out some more campaigns in advance so they don't end up being last minute.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You’ve learned how to create a social media calendar. Effective scheduling helps you achieve your social media marketing goals. It also enables you to produce more content, be more consistent and keep track of what you post and when. Of course, the first step is deciding exactly what “success” means for your business because without that knowledge, it’s hard to know whether or not you’re getting results. Once you have a clear idea of what success looks like for your business on social media, use these steps as a guide to help set up a social media calendar that will help keep your team organized and focused on the right goals