How To Build Your Content Calender
If you want to have a social presence–which you should– you’re going to want to do it right! A primo content calendar will not only give your posts direction (so no one is lost on what needs to be done), but it also bestows upon you the greatest gift you can give to your social media: Consistency. What’s our process? So glad you asked!
Decide What’s Important To Your Organization
Think of how you want to be perceived. Do you want to carve out time in your month to be relatable or funny, or would you rather be serious? Is getting more demo requests a focus point for you? Your goals are important when beginning the calendar!
How Often Should You Build This Thing Out?
There’s no correct answer for this, but in our case, we build out a month's worth of tasks in advance. It’s not so much that we get overwhelmed, but not so infrequent that we have to devote time to it weekly.
What Do You NEED To Hit?
Holidays, product releases, and anything else you know about in advance should be added first. These are like the free space in ‘Bingo’. You already have content for those days, so it’s one less day to fill.
Look At Your Posting Data
Google analytics and the unique clicks you’ve gotten on previous posts and emails provide an excellent window into what you should post next.
Pro Tip: Use custom redirects with all your social post links for enhanced data collection abilities!
Find Your Frequency
You do not have to post every day. Sometimes less is more! Don’t overwhelm your followers, or important messaging might be lost. But don’t post too infrequently, either. A rarely updated social media profile can hurt user’s impressions of your reliability and maybe even make them think your org is struggling or inactive.
Compile Your Ideas
Keep track of your post concepts on a doc or spreadsheet. It will let you develop patterns, and prevent you from being repetitive.
Give Your Days a Theme
Maybe Monday is for memes. Fridays can be for demo requests. Setting up themes for your days gives a good framework for your posting, which will give you a focus you wouldn’t have otherwise.
Consider Your Brand Voice
When it comes to social media, we tend to be more casual, but when you’re crafting your social posts, remember that you’re speaking as the company. You’ll often have more leeway on social, but don’t overdo it with the emojis 😉
Take Note of Timeless Content
If there’s a post that can work a little later down the road, put it aside! This will take the pressure off when you’re doing your next calendar! Check your data to see what performs well, and put it in rotation.
Build With Different Platforms in Mind
Do you know the Twitter character limit? What about Linkedin? Have you checked how images are cropped on Facebook this week? If you know what platforms you’re going to post to, make sure you’re creating posts tailored to how each one operates!
Do It Again… But Better!
Your calendar has gone out, and the data is rolling in! You know what posts succeeded, and which… didn’t perform. Don’t lose sight of any of it! Take that data, and apply it to the next month. There’s nowhere to go but up!
