Are you tired of trying to create content on the fly and never knowing what tomorrow brings? If so, you need a content marketing calendar.
A content marketing calendar is exactly what it sounds like: a calendar that lists what topics you’re covering and when for the upcoming weeks and months.
The simplest calendars might only show a due date, a to-be-published date and a summary of the topic to be covered.
More intensive calendars could show all of the above, plus the names of the people responsible for each step of creation, what platforms the content should be published on, links to the posts and accompanying social media images and any other relevant information that could be helpful to the marketing team.
You can even use your calendar to break down content creation into different steps. For example, if you generally release one blog post per week, you might designate Monday as a writing day. Wednesday could be an editing day. And Friday would be slated to create any social media posts and/or graphics to accompany the blog that will post next week.
Whether you’re doing all of these tasks yourself or assigning different tasks to other team members, a content marketing calendar keeps everyone on track.
Some businesses use an Excel spreadsheet to create their calendars; others prefer specialized software like Hootsuite, CoSchedule or HubSpot. What you use to create your calendar is up to you — but most important is having one in the first place.
Here’s why.
Benefits of a Content Marketing Calendar
A Higher Level of Consistency
If you want to stay front and center in your audience’s minds (and their social media algorithms), then a consistent posting schedule is an absolute must. And consistency is much easier when you’ve already laid everything out in front of you.
A content calendar allows you to map out your content as far in advance as you’d like. This ensures you won’t fall into the “out of ideas at the last minute” trap that so often leads to rushed, subpar posts.
Better Alignment With Business Objectives
If your content isn’t directly supporting your business goals, why are you creating it in the first place?
By mapping out your content in advance, you’re able to see the big picture and make more strategic decisions as to what gets posted and when. This ensures everything you create gets you closer to the business objectives you’re trying to achieve.
More Efficient Use of Resources
When each team member knows what every one of their teammates is doing, everyone can be more productive.
A content marketing calendar lays everything out in black and white. Everyone can see at a glance what’s coming down the pike and act accordingly without a bunch of time wasted on back-and-forth discussions about who’s responsible for what.
A Built-In Content Bank
A content marketing calendar isn’t just useful for looking forward. You can use it to look back, too.
You can view your calendar to find a high-performing piece of evergreen content to fill in on a slow week. Or you can use it to jog your memory about what sort of things you published this time last year. Or you can even find older content that could be tuned up or expanded upon. Point is: Calendars can be plenty useful, even when they’re in the rear-view.
What’s on Your Schedule This Week?
To be successful with content marketing, you need to have a proper plan in place. A content marketing calendar is just what you need to maintain consistency, ensure you’re aligning with current business objectives, allocate your resources efficiently, and help you out in a pinch!
Do you need some help creating your next marketing brief? Mischa Communications has plenty of experience in that area. Put us on your calendar!