Creating a content calendar for consistent brand presence

One of the biggest reasons I see social media efforts failing is a lack of planning.

When most clients decide to engage me as a social media manager, they’ve hit the point where they’re not sure what else to do to boost their social media engagement. Or, they don’t have the time or energy to keep up with it all.

And that’s fair.

Social media takes a bit of effort to stay in front of your audience and keep your brand presence consistent.

The first thing I suggest is making sure you have a content calendar in place.

What is a social media content calendar?

Think of a social media content calendar as your ultimate plan for online marketing success!

When you create a comprehensive social media content calendar, you’re taking the guesswork out of what you’ll post and when you’ll post it.

You can explore all the pillars of content and create a series of posts for each. Then, shuffle them around in your calendar so you’re consistently sharing valuable content that you know your audience needs.

A social media content calendar will keep you consistent with your online posting, as once you’ve worked this out, you can schedule your posts ahead of time to save constant posting.

What are the 4 content pillars to include in a social media content calendar?

Social media works best when you’ve got a healthy mix of social media content. If you’re always just promoting your business, people will soon stop following what you’re putting out there.

Always remember it’s about your audience – teach them, inspire them and share your thoughts.

Here are the 4 content pillars to include:

1.     Education – Openly share your knowledge with your audience, as people appreciate free information. Give them handy tips to educate your audience, and they’ll see you as an expert who they’ll keep coming back to.

2.     Inspiration – For something not so business-like and boring, share inspirational stories or quotes with your audience. Light-hearted humour is always well received, so share personal, funny stories or photos to keep your audience engaged.

3.     Connection – Social media is all about connecting with others. When you’re creating your content calendar, look at what other people have posted. If you think it’s something your audience will love, share it with them. But make sure you credit the source. The other business will appreciate your support and, in turn, may start sharing your content with their audience too.

4.     Promotion – Make your promotional posts subtle so your audience doesn’t get sick of you simply pushing your business in their face. For example, share a tip and link it to a sales page or a blog, offer a free download that can link to further sales, etc.

When creating your social media content calendar, have a healthy mix of these 4 content pillars. I’d highly recommend educational and inspirational posts being higher on your priority list to build your online presence as an expert in your field.

How to schedule social media posts using your content calendar

The beauty of having a social media content calendar is knowing precisely what you’re going to post and when.

So rather than messing around every day with posting, it’s always best practice to use a social media scheduling tool.

Here are my top 5 recommendations for social media scheduling tools:

·        Meta Business Suite – Meta works for scheduling posts, stories or ads on Facebook and Instagram. You can also use it to view notifications and respond to messages quickly.

·        LinkedIn Scheduler – this tool allows you to schedule image, text or video posts up to 3 months in advance. You can choose the date and time when you want your post to appear.

·        Buffer – this super user-friendly tool allows scheduled posting to all the major platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. It’s clean, uncomplicated user interface makes it so easy to use (and one of my favourites!).

·        Hootsuite – A popular social media scheduling tool that allows you to post to all the social media platforms in one place – Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

·        Later – This calendar-focused social media scheduling tool is easy to use with its drop and drag interface, allowing you to schedule and post to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok and LinkedIn.

Need help creating your social media content calendar?   

With the Christmas/New Year break quickly approaching, now’s the best time to start planning. By using a content calendar, you can create all your social media posts and schedule them for the upcoming festive season.

You need a break at the end of the year, but your social media shouldn’t stop!

Staying consistent is the key.

To find out how I help my clients with social media, you can see my services here or email me to connect.

Here are some other blogs you may find handy:

·        Revealing the bare bones of a great social media strategy

·        How to create a comprehensive media strategy

·        Using social media to amplify your brand online

I’d love to hear if you’ve got a social media content calendar in place or the scheduling tool you use (and love!). Drop your comments below.