Building a Content Calendar for Social Media

Wherever you look for small business marketing, content calendars, or social media how-tos, you’ll notice a common thread – content. Every article, whitepaper, blog, e-book and more will tell you that it’s all about content. You’ll read buzzwords such as “content is king” and “content strategy” and “social media content calendar.”

It’s because content is a truly integral part to any business growth strategy.

What tends to be complicated for most small businesses is where to begin and how to do it. Because we love small businesses, this article will break down how to develop your first content marketing calendar and where to start publishing.

Pick Your Channel

Social media is becoming more and more important in the small business world. And, it’s a great way to drive traffic to your website. Start by picking the channel with which you feel most comfortable. The most common are Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Whichever channel you choose, commit to that channel – no excuses. Download the app to your phone, schedule in your posts, add it to your calendar – do what you have to do to post. And don’t forget to respond.

Social media is a great way to improve your website’s credibility and customer service. Be sure to respond to any and all questions, comments and concerns that come your way through social media.

Have Something to Say

You should always have something to say about your business or your industry, otherwise why else would you be doing what you do?

The only surefire way to know what to say is to start with what you know and keep it simple. If you’re still at a pause for inspiration, go out and find some – talk to people, read books about your industry, ask questions.

It’s easiest to write down bullet points of ideas. You can then speckle these through social media later on or turn them into full-length blog posts.

Create Your Content Calendar

Once you get involved in social media, you’ll see how easy it is to create content. It can be as simple as linking to an article or as complex as doing a series of posts related to one topic. For example, Yola has monthly Website Makeover blog posts that we also share on social media.

Each week, spend some time to find out what you want to post. Look at industry articles, pictures, videos, anything you come across on a daily basis that you find interesting and relevant to your business. Then copy and paste it into a spreadsheet or document. Then at the end of each week, compile your content calendar and post throughout the week.