You’ve probably heard lately that you need to build a “content calendar,” but what does that really mean? And what else do you have to do now?”
It is simply this: organize yourself in such a way that posting online on various social media platforms and your website is a simple task to reach your audience and customers, rather than a nightmare and a chore.
It’s very easy to get lost in the social media world. Posting, sharing, liking, commenting, tagging, tweeting, re-tweeting, following, adding to circles — the list goes on. Who wouldn’t get lost?
The idea behind social media is to connect, share and build relationships with others. Forget about all that other fluff. The point is to engage. So, why not make it easy for yourself to connect and engage with others? That’s where the content calendar building comes into play.
You can create your calendar however you like, but Microsoft Excel really comes in handy. Create a spreadsheet of the month divided up by all your social media platforms, your blog, etc. For each week, you’ll list out the date and time for each posting. Basically, you’re creating as much as you can in advance for the month to save yourself time. Then, you can schedule it to post automatically on the various platforms, or have reminders so you’ll know what to post or write about each week. No more time crunches or panic when you haven’t engaged in days!
Not sure what to post or tweet about? Pull from information you already have. Look at your website, handouts, existing blogs, past newsletters, etc., and share existing quality content.
Here’s an example of a week of your content calendar:
| Day of week / Time | Website Blog | ||
| Monday / 10 a.m. | Post a photo with a description. | Tweet about upcoming work week. | |
| Tuesday / 11 a.m. | Share a “Tuesday Tip.” | Re-tweet something of quality. | |
| Wednesday / Noon | Post a status update. | Tweet an update with a picture. | Make a weekly blog post. |
| Thursday / 1 p.m. | Share a posting from a third party (e.g., community partner). | Tweet about an upcoming product. | Start writing next Wednesday’s blog post. |
| Friday / 2 p.m. | Post a small piece from the website blog with a link. | Tweet a small piece from the website blog with a link. |
*This is just an example with random times and entries that is non-company/industry specific.
Your calendar can be as simple or as complex as you like. Create something that is easy for you to understand and read to make your life easier.
Of course, using this calendar doesn’t mean you’re free from engagement, especially if you schedule automatic posts.* It just helps eliminate the stress and burden of online interaction and reminds you to post quality information for your audience and customers.
*We recommend Hootsuite, TweetDeck and CinchShare for automatic posting on a larger scale. Some applications are free, while others are paid or have trial versions.
Natalie Fisher is the Director of Sales, Marketing, SEO and Social Media at Blu Dove Designs. She assists clients with their needs and the team on project management. Visit bludovedesigns.com for more information.