A social media content calendar is an important tool for marketers, offering a structured approach to planning, creating, and distributing content across various platforms. This comprehensive guide explores the essence of a social media calendar, why it’s a must-have for any social media strategy, how to create one, and popular tools.
What Is a Social Media Calendar?
A social media calendar is essentially a roadmap that outlines your upcoming social media posts, systematically organized by dates and times.
It serves as a centralized repository where marketers can plan and schedule content, manage campaigns, and align strategies effectively.
Typically, a social media calendar includes essential details such as the post creatives (copy, image files, videos, links, tags etc.), publication dates and times, intended social platforms, and any additional relevant information.
Why Use a Social Media Content Calendar?
1. Get organized and save time
A social media calendar allows for efficient planning, batching work, and scheduling posts in advance, freeing up time for strategic endeavors amidst managing multiple social media accounts.
2. Make it easier to post consistently
Consistency in posting is key for audience engagement, and a social media calendar ensures adherence to a regular posting schedule, enhancing predictability for followers.
3. Take a real vacation
By scheduling content in advance, social media managers can enjoy guilt-free time off without the need to constantly monitor or post on their accounts, promoting work-life balance.
4. Reduce typos and avoid big mistakes
Planning content in advance enables thorough checks and balances, minimizing errors and mitigating potential social media crises, especially with a structured approval process in place.
5. Make higher-quality content and cohesive campaigns
With adequate planning, social media teams can allocate resources effectively, resulting in better-quality content and more cohesive campaigns that align with long-term marketing goals.
6. Time content to important holidays and events
A social media calendar facilitates timely content planning around significant holidays and events, ensuring relevance and resonance with the target audience.
7. Spot opportunities for partnerships or sponsored content
Advanced content planning allows for strategic partnership opportunities with influencers or brands, optimizing both organic and paid content for maximum impact and engagement.
8. Track what works, and improve it
By adhering to a structured calendar, marketers can analyze social media analytics to identify successful strategies, optimize performance, and continuously refine content for better results.
How to Create a Social Media Content Calendar
1. Audit Your Social Networks and Content
Before crafting your social media posting calendar, it’s essential to gain insight into your current social media presence. Perform social media audit to compile a comprehensive record, including:
- Identify and address impostor accounts and outdated profiles.
- Ensure account security and update passwords as necessary.
- Establish goals and KPIs for each branded account on different platforms.
- Understand your target audience, including their demographics and personas.
- Define and assign accountability within your team for social media tasks.
- Analyze your most successful posts, campaigns, and tactics.
- Identify gaps, underwhelming results, and opportunities for improvement in your social media strategy.
- Determine key metrics to measure future success on each platform.
- Monitor competitors’ activity to glean insights and learning opportunities.
As part of this audit, assess your current posting frequency and analyze your analytics to understand how posting timing affects engagement and conversions.
This comprehensive audit will provide valuable insights to inform your social media strategy moving forward.
2. Choose Your Social Media Channels and Content Mix
Deciding on the types of content to post forms a crucial aspect of your social media strategy and is foundational to creating a social media calendar. Here are two standard marketing strategies for content mix:
The Social Media Rule of Thirds:
- Allocate one-third of your posts to promoting your business or driving conversions.
- Dedicate another one-third to sharing curated content from industry thought leaders.
- Reserve the final one-third for engaging personally with your followers.
The 80-20 Rule:
- 80 percent of your posts aim to inform, educate, or entertain.
- Reserve 20 percent of your posts to promote your business or drive conversions.
Additionally, determine which social channels are best suited for each type of content. Some channels may not be necessary for your business. Refer to the audit completed in step 1 to determine the most suitable channels.
Don’t forget to include user-generated and curated content in your calendar to avoid overwhelming yourself with content creation.
3. Decide What Your Social Media Calendar Should Include
Your calendar should be tailored to your specific needs, whether you’re a small business owner managing your own posts or part of a larger team. Here are key elements to consider including:
Basic Details:
- Platform
- Date
- Time (including time zone)
- Copy (text for the post)
- Visuals (such as photos, videos, illustrations, infographics, GIFs, etc.)
- Link to assets (where the media files are stored)
- Link to published post, including any tracking information (like UTM parameters)
Advanced Information:
- Platform-specific format (feed post, Story, Reel, poll, live stream, ad, shoppable post, etc.)
- Associated vertical or social media campaign (such as product launch, contest, etc.)
- Geo-targeting (target audience location, e.g., global, North America, Europe, etc.)
- Indication of whether the post is paid or organic, including additional budget details if applicable
- Approval status of the post
4. Invite Your Team to Review and Utilize Their Feedback
Ensure your calendar resonates with your marketing team by seeking feedback from stakeholders. Regularly assess its usability and gather ongoing input.
Adjust the level of detail based on team preferences; simplify if cumbersome, enhance if lacking. Collaborative refinement ensures it serves everyone’s needs effectively.
Social Media Calendar Tools
Here are some of the popular social media calendar apps.
1. Hootsuite
Renowned for its robust and intuitive interface, Hootsuite Calendar view allows seamless scheduling and management of social posts across major networks, with advanced features like cross-platform campaign optimization.
2. Later
While offering organic content scheduling for major platforms, Later stands out with its visual Instagram planner, aiding in crafting cohesive and visually appealing Instagram grids.
3. Buffer
Buffer provides a straightforward social media calendar tool tailored for organic posts across major platforms, though it lacks advanced functionalities and paid campaign support.
4. Sprout Social
With a robust and user-friendly interface, Sprout Social offers an extensive social media calendar tool suited for teams with significant budgets, though lacking native support for paid social posts.
5. Sprinklr
Geared towards enterprise-level marketing teams, Sprinklr offers a comprehensive suite for managing social and beyond, albeit with a substantial investment required per user.
6. Canva Pro
Primarily known as a design tool, Canva Pro integrates a social media calendar alongside advanced design features, making it a versatile choice for crafting visually engaging social posts.
In a Nutshell
A social media content calendar serves as a foundational pillar of any successful social media strategy. With the right tools and methodology, creating and implementing a calendar can elevate your brand’s presence and impact.