How to Set Up a Social Content Calendar and Execute on Time

If you want to have a successful social media marketing strategy, it is essential to utilize a social media content calendar. Content calendars enable businesses to identify what it is that’s important to post, when and to what channels. We happen to specialize in streamlining social media content initiatives, so we’ve got some pointers to get you started.

                                                                  Photo courtesy of Eden Constantino

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Establish your objectives in alignment with your business goals.

What do you hope to accomplish with the content you post on social media? Do you want to generate leads, drive website traffic, or raise brand awareness? Does your company have business OKRs for the year, or a roadmap? Figure out what you’re bringing to market and start from there. You will definitely want to develop a content schedule that is in line with your overall marketing and business strategy by setting these concrete targets.

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                                                                     Photo courtesy of Brands&People

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Figure out which platform you’ll use to organize your content.

There are plenty of project management tools you can use for this:

• Monday.com
• Notion.so
• Microsoft Excel
• Asana

We recommend that whatever it is you use, you stick to it and ensure your entire team has visibility into the platform. There can be a lot of moving pieces when it comes to producing social media content. A project management tool will keep everyone on track and your projects delivered on time.

                                                               Photo courtesy of Louise Viallesoubranne

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Organize your content schedule and decide what you will be tracking.

Content tracking schedules should include the following:

• What you are posting (assets, copy, etc.)
• What channels you are posting to (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, etc.)
• When you are posting (date, time)
• Who is responsible for creating and posting the content (videographer, writer, creative director, social media coordinator or manager)
• What initiatives your posts will be promoting (products, services)
• Target goals of your posts (clicks, viewers, followers, etc.)
• Link to drafts
• Link to published posts
• Geotargeting
• Vertical focus
• Budget details
• Approvals needed

The more detailed your calendar the better, as it will become the sole source of information for your team.

                                                                      Photo courtesy of Jason Goodman

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Make this a collaborative effort.

If your whole team will be using your social media content calendar, they should be a part of creating it and giving feedback on whether it encompasses all aspects of the content creation process. Doing this enables buy-in from your team and improves adoption in the long run. 

Sometimes it can be tough to hear or incorporate feedback (especially if you are ultimately responsible for enabling project management), but trust us, if you want your team to use the tool, make sure you get everyone to sign off on it. The truth is your calendar will likely shift over time, so you need to be adaptable.

                                                                      Photo courtesy of Marten Bjork

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Plan well ahead of time to ensure you can get posts out in a timely manner.

Ideally, you would have an annual tentative schedule planned out in the last quarter of the year before you begin posting. However, we know that in the current market that could be nearly impossible.

Be as adaptable as you need to be to keep up with frequent changes in the world, but aim to have the next 3 months’ worth of content planned out. Quarter-by-quarter you should work across the business to plan out your content calendar with at least 3 months’ notice. 

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Things to keep in mind that make producing content for social media challenging:

• This is quite possibly the quickest changing landscape due to the interactive nature of social media. Draft your content plan, but be prepared to change everything.
• Different platforms will call for different kinds of content. Cater to the platform you are producing content for.
• Current events affect social media in a way we haven’t seen when creating advertising in print or on TV. You may need to reflect this in your work.

                                                                           Photo courtesy of Headway

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Put time aside at the beginning and end of your day to update the social media calendar.

If you want your calendar to be successful, it needs to remain the sole source of truth. In that, it must be updated regularly. We recommend utilizing your work calendar to set aside reminders to update tasks (or remind others to update their tasks) on the calendar.

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Connect your calendar with a social media management platform.

The purpose of having a social media calendar is so that you can post quality content with consistency. We recommend that you invest in a social media management tool to do just that. Try out Synup Social for free to get started.

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Ready to start using social media marketing for your business? Synup is offering a free trial today to help your company reach more customers by uniting your social profiles on one platform. Start a conversation with us to find out how we’re making this process stress-free with maximized results.

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