Halloween 2018 has been laid to rest, but that doesn’t mean your social media platforms should be buried along with it!
Now is the perfect time to start planning ahead for your holiday season and early 2019 content. You see this all the time in retail shops. While seeing Christmas decorations 2 months early may make you want to scream inside, they are onto something. Those early decorations may make you cringe, but those stores are also extremely prepared before Santa packs his sleigh.
Your business’s social media can be too when you think about these benefits to planning ahead:
1) Staying ahead of the game.
You hear it a lot, the digital world is always changing. As repetitive as it may seem, it is 100% true. When your business plans ahead, you could be the first to spot a new trend in social media that your competitors haven’t thought of yet. Stay on top of the trends by checking out Sprout Social’s Blog, Social Media Today, Forbes and Digital Trends before you begin your monthly planning.
2) Take a moment to glance back.
The beauty of social media is all in the metrics. If your business has been around for at least a year, pull a few social media reports from the holiday season before to see what some trends were among your followers. Here are a few questions to think about while looking at your reports:
- What did your audience like?
- What did they not interact with?
- What types of comments did they give you? Positive? Negative?
- What times were people active on your site?
- What were your highest performing posts?
3) Streamline your focus.
Planning ahead allows you to focus on a specific period of time before it actually starts. It encourages you to start with the bigger picture before you narrow your focus even further to individual goals. It also generates positive communication and helps you delegate tasks in a more efficient way before the clock winds down on your deadlines.
4) Reduces stress.
Planning ahead gives you more time, which reduces stress levels and rushed decisions. No one likes a stressed out and frantic workplace 24/7. Creating a monthly calendar at least one month in advance of project due dates gives your employees a look at what is coming up. It also prevents them from panicking since the due dates are a few weeks out making it easy to process and plan.
5) Increases success.
Less stress = more success! Planning ahead gives everyone breathing room to succeed and learn. Everyone in the business knows what is coming, and if a fire starts or a technology issue occurs, your business will be able to handle it.
