Why do I need a content calendar?

Are you currently running any social media accounts, writing blogs, or planning marketing campaigns? If you’re creating content, but aren’t using a content calendar, you could be missing out on the many benefits.

What is a content calendar?

Content calendars (editorial calendars) are defined as written schedules of when, where, and what content you plan to publish. Whether you work on a team or individually, a content calendar will help you track content creation workflows and monitor publishing dates. Content calendars can include the following, but you can adapt them to fit your needs.

Why should I use a content calendar?

Having a content calendar will help you stay organised. Being responsible for multiple sources of content can take up a lot of time every day. Content calendars allow you to plan ahead of time, schedule in advance, avoid multitasking, and note down all your creative content ideas. Some social media planning tools even allow you to schedule posts ahead of time, so even on those busy days, you know your content will be going out.

Keeping a content calendar will reduce the number of mistakes and typos in your content. It gives you more time to fact-check and reread before the content is due to go out. They are the best way to prevent everything, from mildly embarrassing mistakes to a high-key content crisis.

Content calendars make it easier to post consistently. Sticking to a regular schedule is important because it helps build a relationship with your followers, as they know what to expect. For example, if you are a podcaster and you post a new episode every Wednesday, your fans expect to listen to your podcast on a Wednesday.

When your content is scheduled or planned ahead of time, you don’t need to worry about creating and sending out content on your days off. Your days off are free from work! No more logging onto LinkedIn on Christmas Day to send out a “Merry Christmas” post.

Lastly, content calendars make it easier to track your metrics and see what's been working and what hasn’t. Your analytics have a lot of insights for you. Once studied and analysed, you can get back to creating more of the content with the best results.

How to make a content calendar?

The four steps to creating a content calendar:

1. Audit your current content/social platforms

• Find out what content/campaigns/posts are performing the best (most likes, opens, clicks, etc)

• Establish goals and KPIs for all platforms/types of marketing material

• Create personas for your target audience

• Who is responsible for what (e.g. Derek is responsible for all email marketing)

2. Choose your platforms and content

• Email marketing platforms

• Social media platforms

• Blogging platforms

• Video marketing platforms

• Brand collaboration and influencer marketing

• Pay-per-click (PPC)

3. Decide what needs to be included in your content calendar

• Platform

• Type of content

• Date and time

• Copy

• Visuals

• Link/CTA

• The associated campaign

• Geo-targeting

• Paid or organic?

• Budget details

• Approved?

• Status

4. Invite your team to review, and use their feedback to improve

Once you know what is going to be included in your content calendar, ask your team to review and give their feedback. They may have some good ideas you can add in. If it's a team content calendar, it’s important to make sure it serves everyone’s needs.

5. Create the content calendar using your chosen method

There are many different content calendar templates out there, paid and free. Have a look around and see which one best suit your and your team's needs. My personal favourite is HubSpot's free content calendar template, which I have personalised to create a content calendar for a business.

Alternatively, you can create your own using excel or Notion. I have used one of Notion’s templates to create a few different content calendars. I found that a lot easier than using excel, as I’m already using Notion for planning and keeping organised.

Have a look around and see which one best suits your and your team's needs.