Nobody said managing social media accounts was going to be a walk in the park! But there are definitely some tips and tricks to make things easier, especially if you’re handling multiple platforms for your business.

Social media management is most certainly a commitment, but it doesn’t have to be as stressful as you first think. In this quick guide, we’re going to share the steps for creating an effective social media content calendar and why you need one in the first place.

Can’t quite work out what to post on social media?

One of the biggest challenges many businesses face is knowing what to post on their social media. Especially when each platform can differ so greatly. To help you never run out of things to talk about, conduct a social media audit of your previous efforts. This is a great way to determine what received the most engagement, what didn’t work and what you can do to improve going forward.

Pull together the analytics from each platform your brand currently uses, or if you’re currently using a scheduler you most likely have access to some analytics there.

No content yet? Don’t worry! Check out your competitors instead. See what works best for them and where they may be going wrong or missing a trick! Look through hashtags on Instagram to determine key topic areas you can get on board with in your industry.

Why you need a social media content calendar

Save time and get organised

When you’re rushing between platforms to share content, it quickly falls out of alignment with your brand. When you create a content calendar, you’ll spend less time stressing about posting daily on Instagram and instead focus your efforts on engagement. 

Say goodbye to endless scrolling through generic content and quotes just to share something. Feeling lost for Instagram ideas? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Although you may be posting daily through a scheduler, that doesn’t mean you’ll have to sit and watch each feed like a hawk.

Plus, who doesn’t love to get themselves organised, right?

Plan for every platform

In order to appeal to the audience of each platform, it’s super important to craft a custom message for each social network. Doing this in advance will save you a shed load of time and save you from looking sloppy when the sizing or messaging isn’t quite right for the platform.

Post consistently 

Whether we’re talking Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or even LinkedIn, being consistent is key to growing your accounts. There’s just no way around it I’m afraid! You need to keep showing up.

When it comes to Instagram, showing up is crucial to growing your following. Consistently showing up in your audience’s feed will not only encourage engagement but it will also start to form a bond between you and your followers. The more you show up, the more they’ll trust what you’re saying and interact with you.

Posting consistently via a content calendar will not only save you time on a daily basis, but you’ll also become a reliable account for your followers.

Plan for important dates

It’s so easy to get caught up and miss key dates. When you’ve got a content calendar on the go, you’ll never miss National Cat Day again! Whether it’s your brand’s birthday, a media event or Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, there are plenty of dates for the calendar that you can bring into your social media strategy.

Track your performance and plan ahead

If you don’t know how your posts are performing, how will you know what to post in future? Keep track of your analytics in order to track performance. This way, you can check back and see what performed the best before reworking your strategy.

So, how can you create an effective content calendar?

There are a variety of tools available to help you get your social content organised.

Microsoft Excel Content Calendar

Many social media marketers are already familiar with Microsoft Excel. Excel can be customised according to whatever your priorities or metric focus may be. There are also a whole load of templates available online so you don’t have to set it up either! Bonus.

Trello

Here at Second Mind Marketing, we’re pretty fond of using Trello. Not only is setting up a board super simple, but you can add due dates, team members, attachments and more.

Trello is a great way to plan your posts per platform while being able to see them all in one place. 

Later.com

Later is a great tool for scheduling and planning your posts, with the added bonus of analysing your hashtags and engagement. However, as your accounts grow, you may need to opt for their paid version.

Buffer

Buffer is an awesome tool for planning your posts and scheduling them out in no time. With free and paid versions available, you can get planning hundreds of posts pretty quickly, across multiple platforms. You can also analyse your campaigns and measure their performance.

Hootsuite

Before Buffer came along, Hootsuite was the go-to tool for planning and creating posts across multiple platforms. There is also the opportunity to engage with customers across public and private social channels - all in one place.

Check out this Hootsuite VS Buffer showdown.

HubSpot

HubSpot offer a pre-made (and free!) downloadable template that’ll help you plan out full weeks of posts. This helps to organise your social media content, with colour coding to keep things separate.

Getting started with your social media calendar

While we’ve talked about multiple ways to plan your content, it’s important to note that not all of these will schedule your content too. If your aim is to work collaboratively in a visual manner, some tools most definitely override another! 

To find the best tool that works for you, all you can do is experiment. The size of your team may affect which tool works the best, with some offering free and paid options. 

If you need help with your social media content calendar, get in touch and we’ll be more than happy to kickstart your social.