How to Create a Content Calendar (...and why you should)
Do you constantly feel like you’re scrambling to put a post together?
Do you always feel like you’re forgetting important holidays that you should be creating content around?
Do you want to finally start to feel like you’re ahead of the game instead of sweating every day trying to get new content out?
There is ONE strategy that can solve those problems for you: creating a content calendar.
What exactly is a content calendar?
A content calendar is pretty much exactly what it sounds like — a schedule (we recommend a monthly schedule!) that outlines the type of content you will create, what platforms your content will go live on, and what topics you will cover for the month.
When you’re always operating a month forward you’re able to prepare for upcoming holidays well ahead of time and you’ll have the foresight to plan any business’ promotions/events/offerings and create content around them to increase conversion rates!
Why are content calendars helpful?
If you’ve had the goal to post consistently, and each month you consistently fail to reach that goal, a content calendar will help.
The whole purpose of creating this schedule is to keep you organized, help you plan ahead, and keep you from missing important dates that matter to the success of your business.
For example: If your company creates eco-friendly, compostable greeting cards and you let Earth Day pass by without creating a well-thought-out post that highlights your offering AND celebrates Earth Day you’ve just missed out on a huge selling opportunity!
A content calendar helps you mitigate the risk of missing out on opportunities like that!
How do you create a content calendar?
It may seem like a daunting task to come up with a month’s worth of content, but we promise the benefits will far outweigh the time it takes to put this schedule together!
Here are a few key things to keep in mind as you start to plan ahead:
Establish how often you want to post, and what’s reasonable for you to keep up with month after month. Consistency is key, so you need to create a sustainable schedule!
Look up any upcoming holidays and Instagram holidays (like National Dog Day) that you might want to participate in, or that are particularly relevant to your business. You can find calendars like that here and here.
What promotions do you plan on running in the next month? Do you have any special offers, new products, or new services launching? You’ll want to prepare content around these things ahead of time to support your launch!
Have you established content buckets for your business? Your monthly content calendar should include at least one post for every content bucket!
Is there room for the unexpected to pop up? Inevitably, something will throw a wrench in your carefully curated system, so make sure that your content schedule is nimble enough to be fully prepared for the unexpected.
Do you like to collaborate with other brands or content creators to boost your reach? Factor those days into your schedule and make sure that the people/companies you’re collaborating with are fully aware of the dates you have in mind! Organization is key — for everyone!
Always be sure to include a few “evergreen” posts in your content calendar — these are the kind of posts that aren’t focused around timely events or specific dates — evergreen posts can be used at any time! These are great to get you out of a jam if you have to shuffle content around to make room for a more timely post.
When it comes to social media, consistency, and sustainability are key and a content calendar can help you create a posting schedule that is sustainable and that you can remain consistent with!
Maggie Peikon
Maggie is a Senior Content Creator and Editor at AMR Digital. When she’s not crafting content for clients, she can be found hiking with her pup, Finley, checking out Denver’s best vegan restaurants, and working on her garden. She’s currently planning her next SUP adventure and plotting how to become a goat mom.