Planning Your Social Media Calendar

How do you take your content ideas and unfurl them over the year for the best results? Think it through and use a calendar. When we see our work laid out in a calendar it seems more manageable, so use one like the Excel file attached below. Tackle one month at a time, and keep to a pattern of posts for simplicity. Here are some tips to get you started:

• First, consider which topics will do best during different seasons and coincide with your company calendar of events. Read the previous article for content ideas.
• Post on the days and times your clients are most active. (Review data/insights)
• Make your primary focus engagement. Encourage shares, responses, and discussion. To share is human, to engage divine.
• Figure on one article a week (or month to get started). Pick your publish day and pop it onto your calendar, like the helpful Excel file below.
• Plan your social media calendar around the article publish date:
  1. Social media posts announcing your article
  1. Video link or Facebook live
  2. List or Infographic from your content
  3. Share a related topic post
  4. Post a question or poll about the article
  5. Fill in with community shares, encouraging quotes, and relevant comics

Here’s your blank Social Media Calendar