How to Create a Content Calendar by Isha Mehra

A content calendar is exactly what the name suggests–it’s a schedule outlining what content you’re publishing and when. Normally formatted like a regular calendar or a spreadsheet, this calendar helps you visualize how you’re distributing content across a specific timeframe. As such, it’s a great way to plan your content activity as you can easily make adjustments to fit your goals.

1. Decide on the Channels and Platforms to Focus on

Are you creating a content calendar just for your blog? Or do you want something that will help you plan your content for social media and guest publications? If you’re creating a calendar for your social media content, which platforms are you going to use?

Start by clearly defining the channels and platforms you’re going to focus on in your calendar. This will help you categorize your calendar items with appropriate labels, so they’re easier to keep track of.

2. Audit Your Existing Content Strategy

Next, take a look at the content you already have on your blog and social platforms. Find out what’s working and what’s not based on how people are engaging with it. This will give you an idea of the content topics, formats, and categories to focus on in your calendar.

Identify what types of content you need to create more of and which ones you should avoid in the future. Record these findings to guide your content ideation process. Make sure to also look for opportunities to update or repurpose your existing content.

For example, if there’s a blog post that received a lot of shares but now has outdated information, consider refreshing the information to make it more current. Or if you have a webinar video that saw a lot of engagement, consider turning it into a blog post or a short social media video.

3. Outline Your Main Content Categories

Based on your goals and the insights you gained from your audit, you should now have a clear idea of the content formats and categories you want to focus on. Make a note of all the content categories and formats to include in your calendar.

For example, for your website, let's say it is an influencer marketing agency in India you may decide to publish long-form blog posts on a regular basis, along with a few case studies and infographics every once in a while. And for your social media, you might decide to create more videos and original graphics as opposed to text content. In addition, you may even consider ramping up your email marketing efforts with weekly newsletters.

Besides those, you may also have additional categories to support an upcoming campaign. For example, you might want to publish a buyer’s guide for a new product that you’re releasing. Or you might run a seasonal campaign to publish guides like fall fashion ideas, holiday gift guides, or summer cookout essentials.

4. Plan Your Publishing Frequency and Timing

Another crucial step is to decide on the frequency at which you’ll publish your content. Decide if you want to update your blog with new content every day or at least once a week, for example. If you’re unsure of the right frequency for you, take inspiration from your competitors and see what’s working for them. How often are they publishing new blog posts? How many social media posts are they making per day?

Additionally, make sure to map out optimal post timings for both your blog articles and social media content. This will help you optimize your publishing schedule in a way that drives visibility and engagement. And if you plan your calendar with these timings in mind, you can even schedule your content to go out automatically at the right time. Take a look at your existing analytics reports to see which days of the week and which timings seem to work best with your audience.

5. Decide on Your Calendar Format/Template

The next step is to decide how to structure your content calendar. This highly depends on the tool that you’re using. For example, you can use Google Sheets, which is easy to customize with all the fields you need. Or you might want to use content planning tools that combine content calendar features with task management.

Trello, Asana, ContentCal, and CoSchedule are some popular options. These tools will all have a different way of formatting their content planning dashboards. But you’ll usually have the option to customize them based on your needs. For example, Trello lets you create multiple lists within each board. And under these lists, you can add cards that can be moved around as team members complete their tasks.

With CoSchedule, you have a calendar format with cards that you can move around and categorize as needed. This makes it very easy to see what you have scheduled for a certain day, which content category it belongs to, and who owns the task.

If you’re planning to use Google Sheets, there are plenty of free content calendar templates that can inspire your calendar structure. Make the most of them to get an idea Top Free Content Calendar Templates to Use in 2022 and Beyond of what format will work for your team and customize the fields according to your unique needs.

6. Add Your Calendar Items

Now you can get to the fun part–adding items to your calendar. Update your content calendar with ideas, topics, post details, deadlines, relevant links, and any other necessary information. Ideally, the calendar should have enough information to guide your content development, publishing, and distribution efforts.

Content Calendar: Organization Made Easy

With the right format and the right approach, a content calendar can make a huge difference in organizing your content marketing efforts. It helps you to remain consistent while ensuring that you don’t miss out on relevant moments and opportunities. Plus, it guides your content development efforts to align with your content marketing goals, making way for long-term growth.

Content Originally Posted On: https://influencermarketinghub.com/what-is-a-content-calendar-how-to-build-one/

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