Last Updated 3 years by Emily Standley-Allard
We’re all busy. And when we’re busy without a plan in place for the tasks we have to get done, things inevitably slip through the cracks. Social media content is no exception.
Just like with blogging, a successful social media strategy requires regular publishing and engaging with followers to see positive results — whether that be in terms of SEO, brand recognition, lead generation, or all three.
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If you’re not already using a social media content calendar, let’s take a moment to go over these points from Hubspot:
- Calendars help you get organized to avoid the dreaded scramble when things come up. With a social media calendar, marketers can plan out posts for entire weeks or months in advance, which frees up working hours to strategize for the future — and to dash off any posts about breaking news in your industry. Otherwise, you’ll spend valuable time each day searching the internet for that day’s content to share, which is a known productivity killer.
- A calendar helps you plan for each social network to customize posts instead of spamming all platforms with the same message. Social media marketers should take the time to craft custom messages for each network, and doing this in advance will save time throughout the week and ensure you’re being thoughtful and intentional when you do post.
- Calendars can help you track performance and plan for future posts. Without a calendar, social media marketers are publishing content into the void and are unable to track big-picture and past performance. With a calendar, marketers can look back and analyze which content performed best so they can adjust their strategy accordingly.
- With the help of a calendar, marketers can plan for holidays and observance days, such as National Cat Day, when they can tailor their content and engage with a wider audience.
- Social media calendars improve efficiency. According to Content Marketing Institute, 72% of B2B marketers attribute the success (which has increased annually) of their content to the development of a formal content strategy.
Now that you understand the merits of having a social media content calendar in place, check this list of top tools from Hubspot to stay organized and on top of your game.
Social Media Content Calendar Tools to Plan Your Messaging
Time consuming updates have always been one of the downsides of social media.
But now, you can say goodbye to all this with social media content calendars.
The social media calendars being referred to here are the very same calendars used in online magazines and for multiple digital productions. They basically help people plan out events and strategies for business. Content calendars also help you remove all other concerns and activities that are not business related.
This way, you can focus more on activities that benefit your business and nothing less.
And there is even more good news for you. Making a social media content calendar is very simple.
You can make use of the basic Microsoft applications: Word or Excel, or use an application like Trello or even Google Drive.
The very first thing you need to do here is to create a publication calendar.
This will help you plan out the topics that you will be blogging about for the rest of the month, and eventually, for the entire year.
The workload will all depend on you.
What is most important here is that being able to map out everything that you need to do for the month will give you a clear idea of what is ahead.
You can also add in keywords to use for a particular time period and easily create different niches per month.
With this, your writing plan gets more structured and thus, you are able to come up with better keyword selections and ideas.
After making the social media content calendar, the next thing you need to do is create a social media plan.
Always make use of Internet and automation tools to maximize the time you spend online and to filter out unnecessary mails and notifications.
Automation also allows you to automatically update your social networks once you post a new blog online.
This way, your followers will always be updated, every time you post something new.
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Other followers who have gotten so used to regular posts from certain websites will even e-mail site owners in case they missed posting on a day – that’s how highly connected automation be.
And last but not the least, you need to make a clear schedule with specific times of the day or the week dedicated to answering questions and discussing the topics you posted over online.
For better organization, you can create a color coded system that easily notes just how many hours you need to spend in your social media per day and on what networking site you will be working in. Just make sure that once you make that schedule, you stick to it no matter what.
Social media and online networking is a very good avenue for those who want to earn a living at home.
Working online gives you the opportunity of owning your time and working at your own pace.
It cultivates self-discipline because there will be no one pressuring you about deadlines and about getting things done.
So when working with social media, remember that time is golden and the news is always changing at the speed of light!
Social Media Templates
HubSpot’s Social Media Calendar Template
If you’re new to setting up social media calendars, HubSpot offers a pre-made, free, and downloadable template that you can use to schedule out full weeks of posts.
Use the Monthly Planning Calendar Tab above to get a bird’s-eye view of what’s coming down their content pipeline in a given month.
In the Content Repository tab, users can record the content they’re publishing on this tab to keep track of which pieces have been promoted and to easily recall older content that can be re-promoted on social media.
On the Social Network Update tabs, users can draft and plan out social media posts in advance.
These tabs are for organizational purposes, and the content of the posts themselves must be uploaded into a social media publisher.
This free resource can be used to draft social media posts, or it can be bulk-uploaded into a publishing app to maximize efficiency.
If you happen to be a HubSpot customer you can use this spreadsheet to organize content and upload it directly into Social Inbox.
HubSpot’s Social Media Content Calendar Template for Startups
This template is very similar to the one seen above, but also has tabs that work as a repository for content ideas. The template also includes helpful tips for posting on specific social media networks.
If you’re aiming to get all of your ideas down in order to develop a big-picture plan for your social assets, we recommend starting with this template.
Getting Started on Your Social Media Schedule
Now that we’ve reviewed a few helpful ways to kick your social media strategy into high gear, it’s time to put them into action!
Every social media platform is different, and you could need a combination of these tools that helps you execute your strategy efficiently to drive the most ROI.
Order a social media audit today to reveal the gaps between your success and where you want to be!
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