Like many people running a business, January is a time for planning. For me, part of this involves looking at my content calendar for the year.
Working with a content calendar not only helps me to get organised, but also to be consistent. I can make sure that my online presence is always there, even when I’m not at work!
My content calendar helps me plan what to talk about online and saves me from a last-minute panic when I realise that it’s National Tea Day (which is 21st April, in case you were wondering) or something equally important to my audience (haha!), and I’ve not posted about it!
What is a content calendar?
It’s basically a plan of dates, events or promotions for the coming months for your posts and general marketing.
Plan your topics
Throughout the year there are local, national or international themes that you might like to tailor your posts, emails, and promotions around if they’re relevant to your business, or of interest to your customers.
For example, 16th May is National Vegetarian Week, and June is Pride Month. Both of these mean a lot to me, and a lot of my audience, so I’ll be posting about them.
You can look these celebration days up online, or drop me a line if you’d like a copy of my own calendar.
Someone (sorry I can’t remember who) said that using these dates in your marketing means ‘less thinking and more celebrating’, which I find is quite true!
Of course, you can also plan your own themes for a cohesive approach to your marketing. You might like to talk about or run a promotion on a particular product or service if that feels right for you. It’s your calendar so you should fill it
Create and schedule your content
I tend to create lots of my social media content in advance and schedule them to be posted on the relevant day. This saves me from having to switch into ‘social media mode’ every day, when I need to be concentrating on client work.
I use Metricool for scheduling but there are loads of apps available – lots of which have free options. You can schedule posts within Facebook or LinkedIn for free too!
I also post things spontaneously when I feel the urge, but when I don’t have time for that, I know that the basics of my socials are covered and my presence is always present!
Don’t stress!
Goodbye last-minute panics and hello consistency!
Don’t feel any pressure to talk about ALL of the days that you come across – only include the ones that are relevant to your audience.
Remember, that your calendar is there to make your life easier, not to give you more things to worry about.
Working with a content calendar you can be more in control. Your audience will love the regular updates, and you’ll love the reduced stress!