When it comes to managing your company’s social media site, taking your posts one day at a time can seriously hamper productivity. Writer’s block can cause you to take twice as much time developing posts. Fortunately, you can avoid writer’s block by developing a social media editorial calendar.
Get Organized
Creating a social media editorial calendar is all about getting organized. First you will need to create an excel document or join a scheduling platform like HootSuite or CoSchedule. You can also do a mix of platforms if you prefer. We often find that an excel document with separate tabs for each social site is all you need to outline your posts. Your calendar or excel doc should specify the date, time, topic, and content of each post as well as any associated analytics. This way you can record all of the vital information and refer back to it at any time.
Make an Outline
Now that you have created a document, it is time to start filling it out. Typically, we recommend that our clients plan out their posts for the next month. Remember that this is a flexible schedule, subject to change, but nonetheless it will ensure that you always have something to post. Mark down the date and time of each of your posts as well as a general idea of what you will post. You don’t need to create the content for the next month, just specify what you will be posting about and the rest can come later.
Start by marking down your original content. If you release a blog every Tuesday, mark that on your calendar. If you plan to post any news releases, videos, podcasts, or infographics, mark those as well. By creating a good amount of original content, you should see your calendar begin to fill up quickly. Beyond self promotional posts, you will want to share some industry articles from other experts. You can also mix in some fun posts by marking traditional and quirky holidays on your calendar. Get involved with hashtags as well like Throwback Thursday, #tbt.
Schedule Your Posts
Now that you have all of your topics outlined for the next month, it is time to start scheduling! So that you don’t forget to publish these awesome posts you’ve come up with, integrate your social media with a scheduling platform. We use HootSuite to schedule our posts. At the beginning of each week, or even each morning if you have the time, create those posts and schedule them for varying times throughout the day. If you aren’t sure of the best times to post, pay attention to your analytics and historical data for recommendations! Although we highly recommend scheduling, there is one caveat. It is important to always be aware of current events. If your post were to appear insensitive due to an unexpected event, you will need to be timely in taking it down or re-scheduling it.
Record Analytics
Your editorial calendar isn’t just for planning posts; it is also for recording the effectiveness of your posts. After each post has been live for a day or two, record some key metrics including engagement and reach. Keeping track of this historical data will make it easy for you to refer back to in the future. It will help you organize your posts to see what worked well and what did not. This way you can easily filter your calendar to see how well original blogs performed over time compared to quirky holiday posts.
Make Adjustments
Even though you have developed a calendar, social media is fluid and continually changing. As you review your analytics you can evaluate the performance of your posts and make adjustments as needed to improve performance.
Now that you know the “ins and outs” of setting up and maintaining a social media editorial calendar, you can get to work! If you need assistance with social media management, please contact Informatics.
