One of the biggest challenges brands face when managing their social media accounts is organization, which a social media content calendar can address.
With 52% of all online brand discovery happening in public feeds, it’s crucial that your company is putting out relevant and consistent content. But how do you keep up the pace of posting while still telling coherent and compelling stories? The answer is…a social media content calendar. It is the most essential tool when developing and implementing your content strategy.
1. Save time by keeping things organized.
Creating and maintaining a social media content calendar helps you determine your workload, plan ahead and efficiently use your time and resources in the right places. It’s the best way to make sure you won’t be in a last-minute panic, searching for content and trying to post on the fly.
2. Visualize your marketing plan’s big picture.
A social media content calendar allows you to build and balance your brand story. Synchronize your posts with your overall marketing plan. Incorporate content that promotes your events, PR, etc. And make sure it’s balanced. Remember the give, give, give, take rule. For every “ask” from your audience, you should offer three pieces of relevant content that they can use.
3. Maintain consistency.
Utilizing a social media content calendar not only allows you to put out a steady stream of content, but it also helps ensure that your brand voice is consistent. Seeing a month’s worth of posts all mapped out before you is like seeing a snapshot of your brand. Whether the content is built around topics, themes or hashtags, it should reflect a unified message in a consistent brand voice.
4. Track and measure the impact of your content.
In addition to organized planning, a social media content calendar gives you a base to track and measure the marketing results. Plan out your A/B testing and get valuable information like the content that works best, the platforms that get more traction, the optimum frequency and the best time of day to engage with your audience. These metrics are key to ensuring you’re efforts are worth it.
5. Save your sanity.
Let’s face it, life is easier when you aren’t scrambling for content, or worse, when you haven’t posted anything at all. While there is plenty of room for spontaneity on social media – and staying nimble and responsive is important – planning and organization takes a tremendous amount of stress off your shoulders, freeing up mental space for running the rest of your business.
If you need help planning a social media content calendar, please reach out. Fly Pages can help.
