Content Calendars, the How and Why!

If you're a marketer who has run content campaigns before, you know how difficult it can be to keep track of everything. There's so much work that goes into publishing one piece of content.

It can be difficult to remember all the details, especially if you're working with a team. A content calendar provides a simple way to plan, organize, and communicate with your team.

Why create a content calendar?

You've heard of editorial calendars and may already use one for your business. A content calendar is similar but more comprehensive. An editorial calendar organizes blog posts by date and time. A content calendar does that and more.

What does a social media content calendar include?

A content calendar will include the following for each post:

• type of post (photo, video, link, etc.)
• date/time scheduled to be posted
• message/text included in post 
• copy for headline/description (if link is part of post)
• link (if link is part of post)
• network(s) it’s being posted to
• 
  

A content calendar can help you:

1. Generate ideas

2. Plan ahead

3. Avoid missing deadlines

4. Reuse content across channels

5. Stay organized and on track

6. Monitor results

You should always have a general plan of where your company is headed in terms of blog posts, social media posts or other types of content. This helps you lay out the overall goals for your brand, so you can get laser focused on providing value and staying true to your brand.

It's never too early to start planning for the year ahead. Many of us create content calendars each month that outline the topics we'll cover in our upcoming blog posts, eBooks, white papers, webinars and other content assets. Having a content calendar can help you eliminate last minute scrambling when the time comes to publish each new piece of content.