Whether it’s for a blog, Facebook page or Twitter account, a content calendar can help your company organize its social media. Creating a content calendar isn’t complicated, but it does take some time and planning. Follow these steps to create a content calendar that will engage and interest your audience.
Know your audience
This step is simple; you’re already doing it. Think about your audience. What do they care about? What interests them? How can you help them get what they want?
Before you decide what content will actually go in your calendar, you have to make sure it’s what your audience wants to see. This will drive your entire content strategy.
Create a plan
Your blog and social content calendars will fit into your overall business and communications plan. The information you share with your audience on social media is simply a tactic in a much larger plan.
When building your calendar, keep your business plan in mind: Campaigns, themes, sales, events or any other aspect. Each of these will determine the kind of content that fills your calendar.
Find content
This seems obvious, but it can be the most difficult and time consuming step. Consolidate all your internal content that already exists. This may include: Tutorials, blog posts, videos or any other content you have created for your business.
However, don’t limit your content to information about your business. Remember, the goal is to help your audience, and company information is not always helpful. Your audience wants to see more than just facts about your business, they care about other things. Industry news and third-party articles related to your business will add more value for your audience.
Maintain a balance between your own content, and that found from third-party sites. This will show your audience that you have value, and help you position your company as an expert in the field.
Be flexible
While your content calendar, for the most part, dictates what you share on social media, it is not written in stone. Remember the social aspect of social media. The key is to have conversations with your audience, not just broadcast information. Make room for questions and meaningful conversation every day.
Monitor industry news and trends for interesting content to share. Be prepared to change your schedule should something more important occur in your industry. Your content calendar is a guideline, it’s not permanent.
Use a content calendar to help achieve your overall business goals. Follow these steps to get started building yours. Do you use a content calendar? What is your strategy when creating one?