What is a Social Media Content Calendar?

A social media content calendar is a calendar used for planning social media posts in advance. Most commonly, they are digital and shareable.

Why are Social Media Content Calendars Important?

The job of a Social Media Manager can sometimes feel overwhelming. How are you supposed to constantly have content ready to go, regardless of the occasion? With three hundred sixty-five days in a year and multiple platforms to juggle, it’s understandable that sometimes you run out of ideas. A social media content calendar can help you look at the bigger picture and plan, so you aren’t always on your toes for what content comes next. 

Tip 1: Social Media Content Calendars Help You See The Future

One of the benefits of Social Media Management is that not all content needs to be breaking news. Sometimes, you just need to post to keep up with engagement and reach your audiences. If you’re anything like me, sometimes you forget about St. Patrick’s Day or Valentine’s Day. But if you use a social media content calendar with Holidays preloaded, you’ll never miss the fun opportunity to post on National Hot Dog day!

Tip 2: Content Calendars Can Keep Your Teams On The Same Page

Suppose you have a Digital Marketing department, a PR department, or maybe even a Social Media department. In that case, you probably have several cooks in the kitchen when posting to social media platforms. Having a social media content calendar that is accessible to different departments can allow them to plan around each other so that you can avoid ten postings to your Instagram on Friday afternoon. 

Tip 3: Social Media Content Calendars Let You Get Ahead

If your company has a goal for posting on social media, then having a content calendar will let you get a head start on your work. Looking at a few months at a time, you can see when you have different campaigns or events going on and how many posts those may require. When you look at the bigger picture, you can see the gaps when you may not have any content to post. Instead of scrambling when you get there, you can plan on how you will fill those gaps. Maybe it’s a fun Halloween post, or perhaps it’s a Trivia Tuesday. 

Overall, using a social media content calendar is a great way to simplify the life of a Social Media Manager. Whether it’s getting all of your teams on the same page or just coming up with content to post, content calendars will be your best friend. 

If you are looking for more resources, check out this Hubspot online template! Also, check out my resource page for additional information on social media content calendars.