Using A Content Calendar: Tips for Planning Social Media

Updated June 2024

Using A Content Calendar Prevents These Types of Moments

Close your eyes and imagine.

It is Monday morning; you are already running late for a meeting. The barista at Starbucks can't seem to spell Bob correctly. He certainly has no idea how to make your Triple Grande Iced Vanilla Latte with Skim Milk and Extra Whip. Today is going to be a long day.

After you finally get your coffee, you run out of the cafe like your pants are on fire.

You are halfway to your full-time job when your phone starts ringing, It's Becky from Designing the Times, and your heart sinks into your stomach.

Suddenly you remember you had promised to feature her watches on your social media page. How is this launch party already happening this afternoon!

Answering the phone frantically, you promise Becky you would have the post completed. You will make sure it gets posted as soon as you get into the office.

When you arrive at the office, of course, you forget to post, and at lunch, you get a call from the lovely Becky, who is a bit less pleasant. It is almost 4 p.m. when you remember to post about the collaboration launch party, and you accidentally used the wrong creative that had the launch party happening in 2 weeks!

Becky needs to cancel at the last minute, and luckily she didn't notice the wrong date on your late post. You both agree that Monday in two weeks is the best for the new time.

Hyperbole Much?

The above example is hyperbole. However, we have all had those moments when we forget to post something on our social media because it wasn't on the top of our minds. Or that bad week where you miss posting on Instagram 3 days in a row. Certainly, not mistakes that will mean the eventual and fiery demise of your business. But flubs like these are preventable when you utilize a content calendar and the three levels of planning listed below. Added benefits of using this method are continuity in posting, ability to ensure varied content, and what I refer to as having a flexible structure to create your posts within.

Levels of Content Calendar Planning

When I talk to clients about content calendar planning, I break it down into three levels:

Yearly Level Planning: Focus on holidays and annual events.
Monthly Level Planning: Cover mid-level promotions and story arcs.
Weekly Level Planning: Detail the specifics of individual posts.

At the start of the year, dedicate an hour to yearly planning. Each month, spend another hour planning your monthly content. Then, set aside about an hour each week (perhaps on Sundays) to create your weekly content. I recommend leaving roughly 20% of your posts loosely scheduled to accommodate timely content and user-generated content.

Using Your Content Calendar to Plan Your Yearly Content

During your yearly planning, identify key holidays and promotion periods for your business. Determine if sales and events will align with the same fiscal weeks as the previous year. This planning ensures you don't miss any important holidays or events and that your social media plans align with your business goals. Break down your business goals on the yearly calendar to help track your progress.

Overview of Your Year

To begin planning your year:

Add Major Holidays: Start by marking significant holidays on your calendar.
Review Past Marketing Efforts: Decide which promotions, sales, giveaways, and events will recur in the upcoming year.
Plan Major Events: Add all major events to your content calendar.
Repeat Successful Campaigns: If you had successful social media campaigns, plan to repeat them and add them to your calendar.
Note Non-Recurring Events: For example, if you celebrated your business's 10th anniversary in March 2024 with various events, you won’t be repeating this in 2025. Plan how to fill this gap with new promotions and sales.

The Importance of Yearly Content Calendar Planning

Yearly planning is crucial for both social media and overall business strategy. It provides a clear view of major events and promotions for the year, helping you align social media activities with business goals. For example, if your goal is to have one major promotion supported by in-store marketing and social media each month, you can identify any gaps in your promotion schedule. This allows you to plan evenly distributed promotions throughout the year, avoiding last-minute scrambles to fill gaps.

Pro-Tip: Add your business goals and objectives to this calendar to ensure your content planning helps you achieve these goals.

Monthly Content Calendar Planning

The next step is your monthly content planning. At this level, you'll define themes, story arcs, and details for the monthly promotions you scheduled during your yearly planning. Use the same calendar from your yearly planning to add this monthly information.

Month-to-Month Plans

In this stage, you'll flesh out your month-to-month plans. Start by identifying the major events and promotions for the month, and plan your posts around these first. These yearly events provide structure for each month.

Once you've scheduled posts for these significant events, outline your themes and story arcs for the month. For example, in February, you might choose “love” as the theme, with story arcs like #foreverlove and #bestfriends. These arcs support the monthly theme and contribute to your promotions, with the specifics of each post to be defined in your weekly planning.

Weekly Level Content Calendar Planning

After completing your yearly and monthly content calendar planning, it's time to move on to weekly-level planning. At this stage, you'll create the actual content for your posts, ensuring that each post contributes to an engaging story. This part of the planning process is detail-oriented. If multiple people are involved, make sure to allocate sufficient time to avoid scrambling to create, approve, or post content.

The Details and Post Creation

During weekly planning, focus on the details and specifics of your posts. Utilize the holidays, promotions, themes, and story arcs defined in the previous planning stages. This is where you bring your storytelling to life, creating posts that align with your brand story and themes.

Consider the following as you create and plan your content:

Storytelling: Ensure your posts tell a coherent story that ties back to your brand.
Value: Provide educational, entertaining, and inspirational content, with just enough promotional posts.
Variety: Maintain a balance in your content types to keep your audience engaged.

Fill in some of the open 20% of posts during this stage, leaving room for spontaneous content. If you plan to post six days a week, make sure you have content ready for all six days. Once this planning level is complete, you can load your content into your scheduling and posting tool.

Things to Review Before Posting Content

Before scheduling your content, review the following:

Consistency: Ensure each post contributes to the story it supports and is brand-appropriate.
Visual Appeal: Check how your posts look together, especially on platforms like Instagram. Use tools like Later's Instagram Grid Preview to ensure a cohesive grid.
Story Arcs: Verify that your story arcs have a beginning, middle, and end.
Details: Make sure holiday-specific or promotional posts include all necessary details.
Brand Story: Confirm that your posts support your overall brand story.

The Planning is Complete

With your planning complete, you are ready to tell compelling stories, provide valuable content, and promote your brand on social media. These planning steps ensure your social media efforts are focused and goal-oriented, moving away from random acts of posting to a strategic approach. Your story will be clearer, and even with potentially fewer promotional posts, they will be more impactful. This planning, combined with the “9 Essential Posts for Businesses on Social Media,” will help you maximize the effectiveness of your social media campaigns.