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Managing multiple social media accounts can be difficult.
With news and events coming in quickly and sometimes without prior notice, as well as the constantly changing trending topics, making sure that your brand is updated and ready to release timely and relevant content can be challenging.
This is where a social media calendar comes in. They’re effective, efficient, and will help keep you on track. We’re listing tips for how to make a social media calendar that delivers.
What Exactly is a Social Media Calendar?
A social media calendar is a system you use to organize your content for the upcoming weeks and months. It records dates along with the special events and other celebrations you could (and should) take advantage of.
Social media calendars also contain other important things related to your next posts, such as the material (photo or video) you’ll need to use on those days, links, captions, etc.
Why You Need a Social Media Calendar
Can you imagine always rushing to come up with your next content, which needs to go out in the next 12 hours? It can be done, but it won’t be easy. You’ll be cramming, you’ll be anxious, you’ll be stressed, and the quality of the content will ultimately suffer.
Whether you’re handling one or multiple social media accounts, you need to have a social media calendar. Think of it as a measure to help you keep your sanity. Yes, it’s that important.
The Benefits of Having a Social Media Calendar
Do you need to keep a social media calendar for your business? The answer is yes! If you’re a brand and you have active social media pages (which are a must nowadays), having a social media calendar is vital. Here are 3 reasons why you need a social media calendar like Eclincher or other Zoho alternatives.
- A Social Media Calendar Enables You to Plan in Advance
- Social Media Calendars Help Prevent Duplicate Content
- Social Media Calendars Make Monitoring Performance Easy
A Social Media Calendar Enables You to Plan in Advance
Your social media calendar enables you to plan what type of content you’ll upload in advance, which means you’ll have more time to brainstorm and do the necessary research to come up with fantastic content that’s worthy of your audience’s attention.
Competition is tough. Making people stop and spend a few more seconds on your post requires creative, informative, and interesting content. When it comes to social media, content is king. So step up your game and find ways to create content that counts.
Social Media Calendars Help Prevent Duplicate Content
Recycling (or curating) content is okay when done occasionally, but not when you’ve posted something similar only a few days before. Your audience will notice that you’ve posted the same thing.
A social media calendar can help you manage this. Listing down all the things you’ll post in one calendar can help you oversee your accounts better.
And since you’re planning ahead of time, you’ll be able to properly set schedules for the curated content, preventing obvious duplicate (or very similar) posts.
Social Media Calendars Make Monitoring Performance Easy
Social media calendars can also help you monitor your brand’s social media performance. Since everything that you’ve uploaded is recorded, you’ll be able to better analyze what caused your metrics to rise or fall. This makes it easier to build strategies to improve your social media engagement.
How to Make a Social Media Calendar That Delivers
If you want to make an effective and efficient social media calendar that provides the results you want, then you have to do it right. Creating a social media calendar is more than just adding dates and describing what to post on that date. You need to strategize & read tips from the Best Social Media Blogs. We recommend doing the following.
1. Evaluate Your Current Social Media Processes
Before you start adding things to your social media calendar, you have to have an idea of what your current social media standing is. Thus, you have to evaluate your current social media processes. Here are a few things you have to check.
Your Social Media Accounts and Their Status
List down all of your social media accounts, along with their respective account names and passwords, so that your social media team knows how to access them. It’s also good to check each account’s standing so you can determine whether or not your current strategies are working to your brand’s advantage. It is also important to be aware of social media security practices as well.
Fraudulent Accounts You Have to Shut Down
Black hat social media techniques exist, and one of the most annoying among these so-called techniques is fake accounts created by people not associated with the brand. They often do this to:
- Prevent the audience from connecting to the real brand’s account.
- Spread false information.
- Find ways to destroy a brand’s reputation.
If not managed, this could be problematic for your business.
Try to see if there are existing fraudulent accounts and if there are, take measures to shut them down to prevent future damages.
Posting Frequency Per Account
Another thing you have to check is your current posting frequency for every account. For instance, if at present, you post three times a day on Twitter, then record it and list your posting schedule.
It would also be good to take note of the types of content you use for each schedule. For example, do you post a photo on Mondays? Do you upload videos on Fridays? Is the material for a specific day of the week promotional, curated, or user-generated?
If possible, jot down when and what types of things you’ve uploaded in your social media accounts during the past few months. Remember that when you use Eclincher, it'll tell you the best times to post, as well as the type of content that performs best. This will help you revise your social media calendar so that you can increase your engagement and traffic.
The Goals for Every Social Media Account
The next step is to determine what the purpose or goal of each social media account is. Is your Facebook account intended for generating sales and leads? Is your Twitter account’s main purpose to connect to your customers?
Each social media platform has strengths that you can use to your advantage, so identify those strengths and set goals that you want each social media account to achieve for your business.
The Person Responsible for Each Social Media Account
After you’ve determined the items above, you have to keep track of the people responsible for each platform.
List down the people in charge of each social media account and take note of their roles.
Is Bob responsible for editing images? Is Stacey the person to call when you need to enhance video content? Who is in charge of scheduling posts? Who among your staff members is responsible for responding to customer queries? Who's going to check the comments and sends out replies?
Record everything so you and your team know who to call and what to expect.
2. Check Each Platform’s Demographic
Another thing you have to check before you start filling up your social media calendar is the demographic for every platform.
What is the average user profile of your followers on every platform? Some platforms are more attractive to older users while others are utilized more by the younger generation.
Identify each platform’s demographics and then create content that’s suited for your audience. Be sure to optimize content for each platform, adjust hashtags as needed and resizing photos — which is incredibly easy to do using Eclincher's preset dimensions for every platform.
3. Determine How Often You Should Post
When are your followers (or target audience) active? What are the peak times for engagement? When and how often should you post content for each social media page? Knowing these things could help you with your social media calendar planning.
4. Organize Your Files
The next step in the process is to keep all your files organized.
Create a directory that your team can access and easily explore. This way, they can find what they need faster and more efficiently. This is especially helpful when you’re trying to find more materials to curate.
5. Modify Your Social Media Calendar to Fit Your Brand’s Requirements
What details do you need on your calendar? Some brands only need the basics – like the social media platform where it’ll be posted, the special dates you should remember, the time the post should go live, the caption to include, the image or video to upload – while others require additional, more in-depth information.
Identify the things that your social media marketing team will need to strategically plan your social media calendar and schedule posts more efficiently.
6. Set Rules
When your social media accounts are managed by a team (which is often necessary considering the importance of social media in brand recognition, promotion, and driving sales), then you have to establish rules to prevent unwanted errors.
Your team must be aware of these rules, and they must be implemented carefully. It helps to write down these rules for your team members’ reference.
Here are a few examples:
- Set rules on how your captions (or your social media voice) should sound.
- Create a template and determine color schemes for your material so that your content shows uniformity for easy brand identification.
- Determine when the content proposals should be submitted, and to whom they should submit the proposals for approval.
- What are the rules when it comes to responding to comments?
- Who should have access to your social media platforms?
Setting these kinds of guidelines can help make sure that your brand’s social media image is consistent. Furthermore, it prevents mistakes and keeps everything organized.
7. Schedule Your Content
Finally, schedule your content in advance using a social media management tool like Eclincher. This way, you won't have to watch the clock and repeatedly log onto your platforms manually just to make sure that your posts go live on time. This gives you more freedom to do other things and ensures that all your content goes live during the times indicated on your social media calendar.
Eclincher makes it easy to do all of this and so much more. Not only does the platform make is simple and straightforward to schedule content, but our queue allows you to rapidly recycle evergreen content, and our robust analytics and insights show you what's working and what isn't. Plus, because we integrate with public domain sites, Canva, and Google Analytics, you don't need to go anywhere else to manage your social media. We're a one-stop-shop for everything you need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are social media calendars only useful for large businesses?
No, social media calendars are valuable for businesses of all sizes. They help small businesses and individuals maintain a consistent online presence, plan content effectively, and save time by scheduling posts in advance.
Can social media calendars integrate with different platforms?
Yes, many social media calendar tools integrate with popular platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. This integration allows users to schedule and manage their posts directly from the calendar interface.
How can social media calendars improve productivity?
Social media calendars enhance productivity by reducing the time spent on daily content planning, providing a visual overview of scheduled posts, minimizing the risk of missing important events or dates, and enabling better coordination among team members involved in social media management.
Final Thoughts
Social media calendars have revolutionized the way we monitor performance on various platforms. By providing a comprehensive overview of scheduled posts, engagement metrics, and campaign timelines, these calendars enable users to streamline their social media strategies and effectively track their online presence.
With a wealth of data at their fingertips, businesses and individuals can make informed decisions, optimize their content, and enhance their overall performance. From scheduling posts in advance to analyzing key metrics, social media calendars have become indispensable tools that simplify the monitoring process and empower users to achieve their social media goals with ease.
