3 Tips For Creating The Perfect Social Media Content Calendar
Planning out a social media content calendar can be a daunting and time-consuming task, especially if you don’t know where to start. Many brands don’t plan, they react. The result is a hodgepodge of stale and unimaginative content that is wrong for their audience.
Social Media Content Calendar Tips
Putting in a little work behind the scenes can make all the difference! Consider these 3 tips when creating your next social media content calendar.
1. Know Your Audience
Knowing your target audience is key to creating the right content for them. You don’t want to just create a calendar that you, your boss or your board will like. Your target audience’s demographics and interests must be a driving force for creating content that will be engaging.
Disclaimer: I am not saying to lose sight of the company’s goals, mission and objectives. However, it is important to create content that is tailored to your audience or you won’t reach your social goals.
2. Storyline Ideation
Next, I like to spend time ideating on possible storylines. The goal here is to plan out all the possible stories your brand could tell. These could be weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly. If you have a marketing plan handy it makes this process even easier.
Possible storylines themes can include:
Blog Posts: If you regularly update a company blog, which we highly recommend you do, it is an excellent for content on your other social media channels.
User Generated Content: Let your fans help you tell your brand story through their lens. Be sure to give them credit. TIP: One way to encourage your audience to share their experiences is through contests or giveaways.
Company News: Share your updates! Is there a new hire, new product launch, conference, special event, job opening, etc? Keep your fans in the know with your company news.
Product/Service Education: Don’t be afraid to brag a little! You do not focus on selling in your social media content calendars, but reminding your audience how awesome you are is not a bad thing!
Holidays: Need some fillers? Check out national holiday calendars for monthly, weekly and daily celebrations. One thing to note: please do not overuse this! Not every national holiday applies to your brand. For example most brands won’t need to post something for #NationalPigDay (March 1).
Industry News: Share interesting industry articles, even if they are written by external sources. Don’t forget the social part of social media. Sharing is caring, people!
Wildcard: I highly recommend you include a wildcard post now and then. This is an excellent way to test out a fun, new concept into your social media content plan! You might be missing out on the most engaging content if you don’t test new ideas.
This list will should get your creative juices flowing. What storylines can you think of right now?
3. Vary Your Content
Now that you know your audience and have established storylines it’s time to compose your copy and create your images.
To keep your content entertaining, mix it up. Use a variety of imagery: videos, photos, memes, boomerangs, graphics, etc. Post content to your feed and stories. Keep your audience wanting more!
This process might take you some time to plan up front, but I promise you will be thanking me later!
Besides, when was having a well-informed, organized plan in place ever a bad thing? Just saying.