- March 18, 2022
- by Last expert
- Blogs, Non Voice Support, Social Media Management
- 0 Comments
How can I ensure that my future and present consumers receive fascinating, engaging, and relevant information regularly? This is a question that many marketing and communications professionals struggle with.
Even when the company’s staff contains skilled writers and tech-savvy social media professionals, coming up with new relevant material regularly can be a difficult chore. A content calendar could be the answer you’ve been waiting for.
Businesses are generally encouraged to generate and share more information, but a lack of time and human resources frequently prevents them from doing so. Companies that conduct their digital marketing and content generation in-house, in particular, may find it difficult to complete all of their intended material.
However, the basis of the problem is often not the number of resources available, but rather their inefficient utilisation as a result of bad planning.
A content calendar is a simple method to address this problem while also making the most of your company’s limited resources. It’s a useful tool for coordinating content creation and for breaking down your team’s forthcoming tasks into manageable chunks.
By incorporating this tool into your planning process, you’ll be able to spend less time pondering what to write and more time on the actual creation. We’ve compiled a list of ten pointers to get you started on designing your content calendar:
1. Define your goals
Begin by asking yourself, “What is the main aim of this content?” before creating future content. The response to the query should be utilised to determine the appropriate channel and format. Is the content intended to generate new leads, direct readers to a website, increase visibility, or potentially increase the number of people who follow you on Facebook?
The goals you set have a significant impact on who you publish information to, where you post it, and how often you publish it. As a result, your team must understand your objectives both before and during the planning process.
The first step in developing a content schedule should be to define your goals. Pushing out material without a defined aim won’t help your business — it’ll only waste money. The person working on each project or calendar item should have a clear understanding of the desired outcomes.
2. Create a template for the calendar
On the internet, there are a plethora of applications that provide calendar functionality; feel free to choose whichever style you prefer. However, because learning a new piece of software might take time, your content schedule can be as simple as a spreadsheet.
If you’re planning content with the entire organisation, the calendar should have a share option. You may make a calendar template, for example, with the free Google Sheets tool, which allows everybody involved in the content creation process to update the sheet on their computer and add comments and ideas.
Your content calendar can be customised to meet the needs of your team, but it should include the essential information:
The medium through which the content will be distributed
The subject
The sort of content
The publication date and time
whoever is in control
Follow-up: Has the content been released on time?
The following is an example of a simple content calendar template:
3. Choose your channels
Find out how your present and potential customers communicate. This will assist you in determining the type of material you should create. Is it a good idea to post content on your blog? Instagram and Twitter photos? Do you have any YouTube videos? A Facebook survey?
It might be useful to publish information on a variety of platforms and in a variety of formats to reach a larger audience. Make sure, however, that you have the resources to focus on the platforms on which you want to emerge. Instead of randomly posting on every network you can think of, choose your most critical channels and focus on providing high-quality content.
The simplest and least time-consuming sort of content to develop is social media posts. Make sure, though, that your content plan is more than just a social media calendar; it should also include more in-depth information.
Press releases, expert articles, and guest blogs should all be included in your year’s communications and marketing strategy because they will provide greater value to your potential customers by offering more information.
Furthermore, using social media to cross-promote and distribute your more in-depth material can be very beneficial. More traffic and clients will be attracted to your website if you share an infographic from a blog post on Instagram or share an article on LinkedIn or Twitter.
4. Start with the calendar year
When you’re planning your material, start with the calendar year. Make a list of any major events — holidays, trade shows, seminars, and training – that you wish to base your material on. This simple step will assist you in determining the type of seasonal content you will require in the future, as well as estimating the incoming workload, allowing your team to plan ahead of time.
5. Add your content
Start filling in the spaces with relevant content ideas once you’ve jotted down all of the crucial dates. This content could include the following:
Posts with a theme – Do you intend to attend a trade show or a seminar? Is there a current topic of discussion that has something to do with your operations? Keep an eye on the broader conversation in your field and take note of the hot themes.
Serial postings – Do you specialise in a service that you’d like to inform your consumers more about? Serial postings are an excellent approach to educate and share your knowledge.
Expert writings and guest blogs on your services and relevant industry themes are available.
Press releases announcing the launch of a new product, research findings, or your company’s expansion into new markets, to mention a few.
Season’s greetings or holiday greetings
Videos or images from events, campaigns, goods, and initiatives are available.
Stories and interviews with stakeholders in the form of a film or a case study
Details about the organisation that is both interesting and amusing — What happens during a coffee break and who comes to the office?
Make sure you have enough interesting ideas to keep your schedule full. Keep your content interesting by mixing things up.
6. Keep evergreen content at hand
Content that isn’t bound to a specific date or time will always be valuable to your customers and your business. Because current topics remain topical and are often searched online, this type of material is likely to continue to receive clicks and visitors long after the original buzz has died down.
It’s also simple to reacquaint your readers to earlier timeless articles and blog posts by linking to them from fresh content on similar topics.
When your timetable is disrupted, timeless content might also come in handy. Because it can be developed and published at any time, it’s a smart idea to keep ready-made content on hand for times when your team has to focus on other duties. There should be a spot in your schedule reserved for ideas for timeless content that may be used at any time.
7. Make use of prior content
You don’t always have to start from scratch while creating content. Most businesses have useful content in their possession that isn’t being used, such as CRM data and consumer survey results.
Old blog posts can be repurposed and updated in a variety of ways, including converting them into short movies. Because your potential clients may seek information on a variety of platforms, it’s a good idea to deliver comparable concepts in a variety of formats.
You’ll be able to make the most of all of the useful material you’ve developed by reaching out to various target groups this way.
It’s also crucial to keep your website’s material up to date, as many potential clients will look through your earlier blog entries or articles. You will appear competent and reliable if you review and update them regularly to verify that your content is accurate.
Mark the articles that have been updated to let your users know that your information is current and that you are always working to improve it.
8. Decide on the publishing frequency and set time limits
Consider how frequently you can publish new material in a reasonable time frame. Because writing content takes time, it’s crucial to find a publishing schedule that works for you. Understanding your boundaries is critical to the calendar’s efficiency. The material will suffer if it is too crowded. However, there should be enough material on your website to drive traffic and provide value to your clients consistently.
A content calendar will assist you in identifying your company’s busiest periods. Individuals and the entire team can better prepare for the company’s busiest months by starting and finishing assignments far ahead of the publication deadline. To put it another way, planning should always be time-bound to ensure that deadlines are met.
A content calendar will assist you in identifying your company’s busiest periods. Individuals and the entire team can better prepare for the company’s busiest months by starting and finishing assignments far ahead of the publication deadline. To put it another way, planning should always be time-bound to ensure that deadlines are met.
9. Update and review your plan
There is no precise answer to how far ahead of time you should plan your material. Planning is influenced by a variety of factors, including the volatility of your industry and even certain characteristics unique to your organisation.
However, keep in mind that the farther ahead of time you arrange your material, the better the content flow will be. A simple rule of thumb is to prepare the primary content for the entire year first, then plan weekly and daily material for the following month in greater detail.
Individuals should be able to communicate their ideas and make changes to their plans as needed. It can be a good idea to discuss the content calendar with the entire team frequently. This will assist you in staying on track and adapting to potential changes.
10. Monitor how your content is received
One of the best things about digital marketing is that nearly everything can be measured. However, once a corporation devotes a large amount of time to generating and disseminating high-quality information, analysing the material’s real impact is frequently neglected.
You should spend some time reviewing your operations and data and incorporating them into your long-term strategies. Which social media posts have generated the most discussion? Which of your blog posts has been retweeted? How much coverage has your press release received in the media?
You can adapt and generate even more intriguing and engaging content in the future once you know what kind of content interests your readers.