Marketing Masterclass: How to create an effective Social Media Content Calendar

Creating a calendar is more straightforward than you think. And its impact on your marketing efforts is nothing short of impressive.

I know you’re excited now and want to learn more about social media calendars and how to create one. Let’s explore how you can quickly set up your social media content calendar and elevate your performance.

What is a social media content calendar?

A social media content calendar helps you quickly overview your upcoming posts across various platforms. It’s your roadmap for being strategic with your content, maintaining consistency, and regularly delighting your target audience.

Your calendar can be as simple as jotting down the dates you plan to post or as detailed as you like. A successful social media content calendar typically includes high-level information to maximise the effectiveness of each post. I like to create social media content calendars using Excel or Google Sheets (useful if you want to share the calendar with your client or others in your business who may be interested or wish to have sight of what you are doing).

Here are some examples of the column headers you could include in your calendar:

• Platform: Specify whether the post is for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or another platform.
• Content-Type: Identify whether it’s a behind-the-scenes video, customer testimonial, product highlight, etc.
• Date: Outline the proposed date for posting.
• Time: Note the time you plan to publish the post.
• Hook: Give each post a catchy first sentence to encourage people to stop scrolling and read your post.
• Topic: Describe what the post will cover.
• URL: Include any relevant links. I recommend using Google’s campaign builder to create tracked links and see how much traffic your website receives from each social media post. It’s far more granular than seeing that Facebook generated 100 visits to your website, for example.
• Visuals: Describe any images or graphics you plan to use or drop them into the cell.

This framework provides a solid foundation for effectively developing each post and ensuring you have covered all bases.

It’s important to note that we should distinguish between a content calendar and a content plan. While a content calendar focuses on post dates and times, a content plan details the strategies and topics you want to tackle in your social media marketing. Although these concepts are closely related and often used interchangeably, they can be integrated into one document for simplicity.

Why you need a social media calendar

With over 45 million people in the UK using social media platforms, having a robust social media strategy is essential. But how does a social media calendar fit into this?

Knowing your audience is one of the first golden rules in effective social media marketing. And the second is to stay consistent.

It is key to understand where your target audience spends time online and what type of content they want to see. Give them what they want, and they’ll come back for more.

Regarding consistency, connecting with your audience is even more complicated when you only post occasionally. So don’t leave your content to chance and post on a whim. Instead, create a social media content calendar, plan what you want to share, and execute it.

With all your content in one place, it’s easier to see if there are any gaps or repetitions. You’re also more likely to ensure your posts resonate with your audience. You can see the full spread of your intended content, which can help you see the complete picture of your social media efforts.

As mentioned earlier, consistency is another crucial factor in successful social media marketing.

We all know that publishing content consistently isn’t easy, but a calendar can help you stay organised. But there are more benefits to having a social media calendar:

• It enables you to save time
• You can schedule your posts more efficiently
• It helps you to reduce errors, as you can easily spot mistakes or grammatical errors.
• You can easily create cohesive campaigns
• It helps you to strengthen your brand identity
• You can run timely campaigns aligned
• You can track performance more accurately

So, I know I’ve sold you the concept of creating a social media calendar, right? And now you are going to ask me how you can create your very own.

Follow these six steps to create your own customised social media content calendar.

As a side note, you don’t need fancy software to create an effective social media content calendar. A spreadsheet or Google sheet will do!

Step 1: Review your social media goals

Before creating content, determine your goals for social media. Setting specific goals will guide your content creation process. Collaborate with your team to establish SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

It’s also a good time to determine which key performance indicators (KPIs) you’ll use to measure the success of your social media. For example, will you focus on follower growth, engagement rates, or website clicks?

Knowing this will help shape your strategy moving forward.

Step 2: Audit your current profiles

Now that you have clear goals, it’s time to assess your current performance on your existing profiles. This audit will serve as your baseline data for future comparisons.

Gather all relevant information:

• Account details and passwords
• Specific goals for each platform
• Audience demographics
• Team member responsibilities
• Insights from successful posts and campaigns
• Areas that need improvement

This may require some upfront effort, but ensuring that your future content aligns with audience expectations will pay off.

Step 3: Choose your platforms

Choosing the right social media platforms is crucial. Each platform has its unique audience demographics. For example, if you’re targeting younger consumers aged 18–25, platforms like TikTok or Instagram may be more effective than Facebook.

While 58% of the global population uses social media, not every platform will suit your specific target audience. Focus on those where your potential customers are most active. Since my ideal clients work in professional services, LinkedIn is the best platform for me, so that’s where you’ll find me.

Step 4: Outline your posting frequency

One of the biggest benefits of having a social media content planner is that it helps maintain consistency in posting frequency.

But how often should you post?

This depends on your resources.

Multiple daily posts may be feasible if you have a large marketing team with various specialists handling different aspects of production, such as graphics, videos, and copy.

However, if you’re managing everything solo or with a small team, set realistic expectations for frequency. I like to post once daily, Monday to Friday, but that may be too much for you. Just work with your resources and capability.

The key is finding a balance between quality and quantity. Most algorithms favour consistent posting schedules over sporadic bursts of activity. So find a time and frequency and stick to it.

Step 5: Decide on content types

To keep your audience engaged, diversify the types of content you share. Consider using popular frameworks like:

The 80/20 rule: Aim for 80% of posts to focus on engaging and informing your audience while reserving 20% for promotional material.

The social media rule of thirds: Divide your posts into thirds. One-third to promote your content, one-third to share curated material from others, and one-third to dedicate to personal interactions with followers.

This variety keeps things fresh while ensuring you’re still meeting business objectives.

Step 6: Audit your resources

Before finalising your calendar, assess your available resources, including your team’s size and skill sets. You can plan more ambitiously if you have specialists in different areas, such as graphic design or video production.

A well-organised social media content calendar lets everyone involved see what needs attention and when it’s due. This collaborative approach ensures that all elements come together seamlessly.

So, to sum it up, creating an effective social media content calendar doesn’t have to be complicated. With just some basic spreadsheet skills, you can outline a clear strategy that guides your efforts in the weeks and months ahead.