Why YOU Need a Social Media Content Calendar!
Think you can wing it on social media? Think again! YOU need a social media content calendar for your business…?We all know how the day goes for entrepreneurs & business owners. You think you can get it all done & at the end of the day you are left with a long list of things for the next day, right? Don't neglect your social media! It's the worst thing you can do. You start to gain traction with your followers & then you get distracted & end up not posting for days (possibly even weeks, right?!). If you can invest a couple hours a week on your social media you will be amazed at what you attain! If you don't, well, you will see any progress you've made decrease drastically! Don't lose out on the momentum you've built! A social media content calendar is crucial to your online marketing.
There are many aspects involved with developing social media content for your business. Questions that need to be addressed include the type of content, the ideal social platforms, the frequency of posts and peak times. While it is possible to wing social content and post randomly, it is not the most efficient method for social media marketing. Without a schedule, posting regular and relevant content can become quite the burden. Not to mention, you need a plan, otherwise do you really know who you are trying to reach & the big question is WHY????
As with any new project or endeavor, the first step is to develop a plan. Strategy is the most important element in the early stages of social media creation. A popular technique when it comes to creating a social media plan is to create an editorial calendar for social content.
Content Calendar
A social media calendar exists as a type of form or spreadsheet to categorize and organize content. This is a way to jot down curated content and ideas in a format to be scheduled or posted. It will also assist with maintaining consistency and presence with your content.
An editorial calendar doesn?t have to be complicated as the idea is to make it easy to glance at, understand and utilize. Create a sheet, form or tab for the upcoming month and then have posts broken down by platform, day of the week, and time of the day. Be certain to also list your topics so the sheet becomes a simple plug and play system for scheduling content.
Quick and basic examples of topics could include:
Monday ? Motivational Monday
Tuesday ? Promote Blog Post
Wednesday ? Tip Day
Thursday ? Promo or Service Highlight
Friday ? Industry News Article
Reasons You Need a Content Calendar
A content calendar helps companies stay on top of important dates or promotional opportunities without missing lapses in consistent content. A spreadsheet offers an overall view of upcoming events, holidays, and other important dates at a glance. Deadlines and reminders can be entered into a timeline.
Content in one place also makes it easier to do research on posted content. This could mean doing a scan of what types of content are working well and noting it in the calendar for strategic purposes. It could also mean having a tracking sheet of already curated to?repurpose at a later date.
What is “repurposing”? Simple, it's creating content that can be used in multiple ways. This is the most time-efficient way for you to share with your audience. In addition, it allows people to see/hear what you are sharing on various platforms without duplicating your efforts. There are tons of way to repurpose content.
Here are a few ideas to Repurpose Content:?
- Live video transcribed into a Blog post
- Blog post broken into Facebook & Twitter Posts
- Snapchat story shared as Blog post
- Blog post added to LinkedIn Pulse
Since the various platforms have different strengths and weaknesses, a one size fits all content strategic is a poor choice. A content calendar allows social media users to plan out posts to?work most effectively for each of the desired platforms. This will allow users to avoid being spammy, and also ensure none of the social platforms become neglected.
Social media and content marketing don?t have to be complicated. Organization is truly the key to success when it comes to curating and scheduling social content. An editorial or content calendar is essential when it comes to remaining consistent, on brand, and relevant online.
Consistency is key online! Have a plan & stick to it! ;)?
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