How to Make a Social Media Calendar: A Step-by-Step Guide for Small Businesses

Does the following scenario sound familiar?

You know the importance of social media presence for your small business. You’ve penciled social media into your marketing plan. You’re consistently active on social but have trouble deciding what to post. You often find yourself posting on the fly—with no real plan in place—because you figure something is better than nothing.

Enter the social media calendar: a project management tool that helps you organize and plan your content strategy. This tool allows you to schedule posts in advance, ensuring that you always have fresh, engaging content lined up and ready to go.

Not only does a social media calendar save you time and reduce stress, but it also allows you to be more intentional and strategic with your social media efforts. By having a plan in place, you can better connect with your audience, promote your brand, and ultimately drive more traffic and sales.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps to create your own social media calendar. Whether you’re a small business owner or a small business marketer, this guide will help you get started and optimize your social strategy. Let’s get planning!

What is a Social Media Calendar?

In today’s world, social media has become a vital tool for businesses to connect with their customers and boost sales. In fact, 74% of consumers rely on social media to guide purchasing decisions. However, maintaining a consistent social media presence can be a daunting task, particularly for small businesses or individuals. This is where a social media calendar comes in handy.

A social media calendar is a tool that helps you organize and strategize your social media content in advance. It acts as a blueprint for your social media content by mapping out the frequency and types of posts you will publish.

The primary purpose of a social media calendar is to help you maintain a consistent posting frequency. By having a calendar, you can plan posts ahead and ensure that you are posting consistently, which is crucial for building a loyal audience.

Why Does My Small Business Need a Social Media Calendar?

Managing a small business is no easy feat. From tracking inventory and managing employees to keeping up with finances, there’s a lot to juggle. And when it comes to social media management, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. That’s where a social media calendar comes in.

A social media calendar is a preplanned schedule that outlines what content will be posted on which social media channels and when. This might include text, images, reels, gifs, or other types of media.

There are several benefits to using a social media calendar, especially for small businesses. Here are just a few:

→ Consistent online presence. Depending on the social network, social media experts recommend posting anywhere between 3 times per week to twice a day, which can feel overwhelming if you don’t approach it strategically. By using a social media calendar, you can ensure that you’re posting regularly—and at the right times—without wasting time you don’t have.

→ Improved organization. Social media calendars allow you to stay organized and streamline your marketing and content planning efforts. You can plan ahead for holidays, promotions, and other events and ensure that your content is aligned with your overall marketing strategy.

→Targeting the right audience. With a social media calendar, you can also plan content that targets specific segments of your audience. For example, if you’re running a promotion aimed at new customers, you can create content that speaks directly to them and schedule it to go live at the right time.

→Improved engagement. With a consistent presence and relevant content, your business is more likely to receive engagement on social media. This might include likes, comments, shares, or other types of interaction. By building engagement, you can increase your reach and visibility on social media.

→Driving traffic. Social media calendars can also be used to drive traffic to your website or other online platforms. By including links in your content and scheduling it to go live at the right times, you can boost traffic and potentially improve conversions.

How to Make a Social Media Calendar: 8 Steps to Boost Your Online Presence

As showing up on social media becomes an increasingly vital part of modern-day branding and marketing, it is essential to have an organized and well-planned social media calendar.

Not sure what your starting point should be? Here are the eight steps to creating a social media calendar for your business.

1. Understand your goals and target audience.

To develop an effective social media calendar, you must understand your business goals and the audience(s) you aim to reach. Without this knowledge, you risk working in a blind search of results. Therefore, before you start to think about what content to create and what platforms to use, you should evaluate your social media objectives and profile the behavior of your target audience.

2. Choose the right social media platforms.

After defining your goals and audience, your next priority is identifying the platforms your target buyers frequently use. You want to show up in the places they’re spending the most time. You also have to take your strongest assets into account. It would not make sense to use Instagram if your storytelling abilities work best when accompanied by long-form copywriting. It is best to concentrate on platforms that are most popular among your target audience.

3. Conduct content research.

Once you’re clear on your social media objectives and you understand your target audience, it is time to start researching and brainstorming some content ideas. You might consider conducting a social media audit or looking at what your competitors are posting. This kind of research provides a comprehensive understanding that can help define your  messaging and, most importantly, communicate effectively through various channels.

4. Define content themes and categories.

Categorizing themes creates a sense of consistency and helps you keep your social media content organized. Categories are the most logical way to group content, which makes it easier to execute based on priorities and schedules. As such, before embarking on the next steps, take the time to define and map out your content themes and categories.

5. Establish a posting schedule.

Nothing provides consistency more than a properly-defined posting schedule. It helps to inform your marketing team when they need to create a new piece of content and provides the audience with a constant stream of valuable information. A schedule also helps you avoid over-sharing or under-sharing content.

Pro tip: Invest in a scheduling tool that makes scheduling quick and convenient.

6. Create a social media calendar template.

Creating a calendar template will keep content organized throughout each month and ensure that the social media posting schedule is manageable. As a start, it can be helpful to utilize a pre-made template to create a visual representation of your content categories and schedule. Once completed, you may use software to automate expository, distribution, and analysis.

7. Plan and populate your social media calendar.

Once you’ve created a social media calendar, start planning and populating each week with content. Fill in the different categories and days of each week with new content that will appeal to your target audience. Ensure that each post corresponds to your overarching content theme and the overall objectives.

8. Track and analyze performance.

Tracking and analyzing performance is vital in measuring and evaluating the success of your social media calendar. Assess the results with your main analytic tool, observe the performance and metrics, and review the comments/feedback that your content receives. This information will guide you and bring to light improvements or changes that should be made to ensure you constantly improve your content and maximize your engagement levels.

Creating an effective social media calendar results in consistency of communication with your followers and brings clarity to your messaging. The process ensures that your social media profile and image align with your business goals and presents you with an opportunity to evaluate performance consistently. Follow the eight steps above and you are guaranteed to increase online engagement and maximize the social media reach of your business.

4 Social Media Calendar Tools

Feeling overwhelmed? Fortunately, there are plenty of social media management tools, apps, and software on the market that can assist you in your social media organization goals. Let’s take a look at four popular social media calendar tools you might consider adding to your toolkit.

1. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is one of the most popular social media calendar tools out there. It is known for its user-friendly interface and is suitable for businesses of all sizes. Hootsuite offers a range of features, including scheduling posts, content curation, team collaboration, and analytics. With Hootsuite, you can easily schedule your posts across multiple social media platforms and track their performance. The tool also offers robust reporting features, allowing you to measure the impact of your social media activities.

One of the notable limitations of Hootsuite is its pricing. While the platform offers a free plan, its premium plans can be quite expensive, making it less accessible for smaller businesses.

2. Buffer

Buffer is another widely used social media calendar tool that offers excellent scheduling capabilities. With Buffer, you can schedule your posts across various social media platforms with ease. The tool also offers a range of features such as content curation, social media analytics, and team collaboration. What sets Buffer apart is its “Pablo” feature that allows users to create stunning images with text overlays that can be shared across social media platforms.

One of the limitations of Buffer is its lack of advanced analytics features. While the tool offers basic social media analytics, it may not be sufficient for large businesses or those with specific reporting needs.

3. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a comprehensive social media calendar tool that offers a range of features designed to streamline your social media marketing efforts. With Sprout Social, you can schedule your posts, monitor keywords and hashtags, collaborate with team members, and track your social media analytics.

One of the standout features of Sprout Social is its social media listening capabilities. The tool allows you to monitor brand mentions, track industry trends, and gain insights into your audience’s interests. The platform also offers excellent customer support, making it an ideal choice for large businesses with complex social media needs.

One of the limitations of Sprout Social is its pricing. While the tool offers a free trial, its premium plans can be quite expensive, making it less accessible for smaller businesses.

4. CoSchedule

CoSchedule is a content marketing calendar tool that offers a range of features designed to streamline your content creation process. With CoSchedule, you can plan and schedule your blog posts, social media posts, email marketing campaigns, and more. The platform also offers a range of integrations with popular marketing tools such as Google Analytics, Mailchimp, and Hubspot.

One of the standout features of CoSchedule is its “Best Time Scheduling” feature which automatically schedules your posts for the optimal time based on your audience’s engagement patterns. The tool also offers excellent collaborative features, allowing you to assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress.

One of the limitations of CoSchedule is its pricing. While the platform offers a free trial, its premium plans can be quite expensive, making it less accessible for smaller businesses.

And remember—Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social, and CoSchedule are just a few of the popular tools available in the market. Each tool has its own set of features, benefits, and limitations. When choosing a social media calendar tool, it’s important to consider your business’s needs and budget. Don’t just settle for the first one you find. Armed with the right tools, you can effectively plan and manage your social media activities, reach your marketing goals, and grow your business.

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FAQs

1. What are the elements of a social media calendar?

A social media calendar is a pre-planned schedule of posts that helps you to be consistent on social media platforms. An effective social media calendar may include:

• A clear list of important events, both internal (e.g. company meetings) and external (e.g. holidays and national awareness days), that you want to promote on your official social profiles.
• A list of specific content types, such as images, videos, hashtags, and links that you will use across platforms.
• The duration of each piece of content you will post and the time and frequency of posting them.

2. How do I plan monthly social media content?

To plan content on a monthly basis, follow these steps:

• Determine your goals for the month: Whether it’s to increase engagement or drive specific traffic, set goals that are measurable and specific for your business.
• Define your audience: Knowing your audience on social media will ensure that your content resonates with them.
• Decide on the type of content you want to post: Do you want to publish product photos or share educational posts? Check what your competitors are posting to get inspiration.
• Create a content calendar: Create a calendar that details what content will be shared when, and on which platform. Then, schedule your posts ahead of time.

3. How often should I post on social media?

Consistency is a key part of an effective social media strategy. The frequency at which you post on social media depends on your target audience and their preferences. Posting too frequently can overwhelm or annoy your audience, but posting too infrequently can result in low engagement and a reduction of your organic reach. On average, brands often post one to two times/day on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. However, for some platforms, such as Twitter or TikTok, it’s possible to post more frequently without negatively affecting engagement.

4. How do I measure the success of my social media campaigns?

To measure the success of your social media campaigns, there are different social media KPIs you should track, including:

• Engagement rates: the percentage of users who interact with your content. It includes likes, comments, and shares.
• Reach: the number of people that see your content.
• Conversion rates: the percentage of users who complete a desired goal, such as filling out a form or purchasing a product.
• Click-through rates: the percentage of people who click on your post and go to your website.
• Follower growth: Check how many new followers you gain after a social media campaign.