Social media channels need regular attention. Every day, teams look for original, relevant content for their own organisation and for clients. That is not always easy when a PR professional’s diary is already full.
A social media content calendar gives that work a structure. Planning ahead creates more time to think about what would be useful to the audience, instead of trying to invent a post at the last minute.
Balance frequency with quality
The first step is to decide how often you want to publish on each channel. Different platforms, audiences and objectives may call for different rhythms. A single fixed rule will not suit every account.
Ask what relevant information you can offer your followers. Publishing several times a day has little value if the posts do not contribute anything useful. Once you have agreed on a realistic frequency, you can plan content by day, week or month.
The calendar should help maintain quality, rather than turn posting into a quota to fill. A manageable plan also gives the team time to prepare images, gather information and obtain any necessary approvals.
Prepare for predictable moments
Many dates are known well in advance: themed days, major events, celebrations and seasonal milestones. They can provide starting points for relevant content.
When this article was first published in 2014, the Winter Olympics in Sochi and the approaching football World Cup in Brazil offered examples. A team could prepare material around likely sporting moments without knowing every result in advance.
The same planning principle applies more broadly. Prepare the parts you can anticipate, then check the facts and context before publishing. A planned post should never assume that an uncertain event has already happened.
Our article on timely angles and newsjacking explains how to choose moments that fit your brand.
Keep an overview of your content mix
A calendar makes it easy to see what you are sharing. Are you relying too heavily on one topic or format? Is there a useful balance of photographs, videos, articles and other material?
That overview helps create variety. It also encourages more considered ideas: thinking ahead about a sequence of posts often leads to better options than asking each morning what to publish that day.
Connect the calendar with your wider content marketing and PR plans, so that the different channels tell a consistent story.
Keep listening after the posts are planned
Time savings, regular publication and a varied content mix are useful benefits. But a calendar alone does not build an active community.
Keep paying attention to what followers share and how they respond. Questions, comments and unexpected developments may require a response that was not on the schedule. Some planned posts may also need to be changed or postponed.
The best approach combines preparation with active participation. Our social media team can help bring those elements together. Contact Progress Communications to discuss a practical content plan.
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