The first step for a successful social media campaign is to create a thorough strategy. Such a game plan is necessary to identify your competitors, determine which social channels to focus on, and outline the details of your overall strategy. One of the most useful elements of a complete social media strategy is a content calendar. Sticking to a strict posting schedule can be difficult without some planning. A content calendar is a great tool to keep your posting schedule on track and on topic.
Decide on a posting schedule.
Setting a posting schedule is a very important part of creating a content calendar. Avoid being too ambitious. Determine how often you can post on social media and schedule that time accordingly. Keep in mind that frequency is relative to each individual channel. Social media professionals suggest posting upwards of 5 times per day on Twitter because a single tweet is very short lived, however a successful Facebook page only publishes around 10 posts per week. You need to find a balance between posting often enough that you stay top of mind and posting so frequently that your fans become annoyed. Once you’ve decided on a posting schedule that will work for you, write it down and stick to it. This schedule will be the framework for your content calendar.
Get informed about important dates and events.
Before you get down to details, do some research about events, holidays, and dates relevant to your business topic. Posting on a more consistent basis means coming up with a lot more content. The more things you can tie in to your business, the more content you will find. For example, if your family business is an ice cream shop, it would be a good idea to create a post for National Ice Cream Day or National Chocolate Day. Similarly, it would be wise to include important holidays. For the Fourth of July, you may post about the best ice cream flavors to keep cool on Independence Day. If your business is participating in any events, find a way to tie it into your social media. The more content you can create to fill up your calendar, the better.
Pick your topics strategically.
To avoid boring or annoying your audience on social media, choose a variety of topics related to your business and spread them out across your calendar. Assign the most important content for days and times when the majority of your fans are online. Be sure to include types of content that link back to your website, as well as content from referral partners and influencers of similar topics. Include a space for those upcoming events and important dates you’ve gathered, as well as a space for general information, facts, or behind the scenes photos of the business. If your website includes a blog, don’t forget to account for that, too.
Once you’ve got your content calendar sorted out, it’s time to put that plan into action. Keep the calendar handy and use it as a reference to guide for your daily posting. This will ensure you share a variety of fun and useful content, and that you keep the right pace.
For more social media tips, follow us on Facebook!
