by Jolita Abromaityte
When it comes to social media, many business owners often get overwhelmed - what do I post? when do I post? how often do I post? The overwhelm often leads to panic and the result - no post comes out. It happens once, it happens twice and before you know it, no content has been posted for a month. If you find yourself in this situation, then the content calendar is your solution!
It sounds scary, it sounds like a huge commitment, but we can guarantee you, once you start working on one, it’ll soon become a part of your routine and will make your life so much easier!
So let’s delve a bit deeper into why you need a social media editorial calendar.
Having an online presence on social media is important because it allows you to show off your products and services, your expertise, communicate with your current and future customers and educate them, share important news and quite frankly to show you’re in business (even if you’re updating your social channels infrequently, it’s likely you’ll be updating them more often than your website, so it’s an easy way to remind your prospects about you and to assure them your business is there for them).
Maintaining a social media calendar also takes the pressure off you, because you can plan your posts ahead, which means you no longer need to desperately search the internet for what uninspiring post to do next. And how about grammar errors or incomplete thought when you post in a rush?
Now that you have an idea why an editorial calendar is important, here are a few things to keep in mind when creating your own.
Be consistent.
Yes, posting often can overwhelm you, but consistency is extremely important if you want to gather a group of loyal customers or future prospects. Building trust takes time and although social media is not necessarily a sales channel (although it can absolutely be one), rather an extension of your marketing, consistency will go a long way. And don’t worry, it doesn’t mean you have to post 3 times a day. All it means is creating a frequency that works for you and sticking to it. It’s better to post 2 times a week consistently than 3 times a day once or twice and then no posts for a month.
Take advantage of trends and holidays.
When you create your content calendar, you’ll always take into account the major holidays in that particular month or week, depending on how long in advance you’re planning. That will help you to prepare a good quality post with your product or service mention. I.e. you can put together some helpful information for the upcoming Back To School Season and subtly mention your product, which will ensure you don’t have a last-minute panic and won’t come off too salesy. Worried that planning your content in advance will make you sound irrelevant? Absolutely not. Firstly, when creating your posts be mindful of the time of the year you’re posting, the season, important events or promotions taking place, secondly, you are the boss of your calendar, so if things change, you can always adjust your post to fit the current climate or simply replace it with something else. I.e. a few months ago you might have been planning your restaurant’s 3 year anniversary party, but due to coronavirus you are only limited to a delivery service. Adjust your post from “come celebrate with us” to “join us in virtual celebrations” and host an online party.
See a topic trending that’s relevant to your business? Don’t be afraid to adjust your post to fit the trend. Let’s say “masks are mandatory” trending. Think how can you be relevant? I.e. let’s say you’re in a beauty business, promote your beauty salon as a safe environment for your customers to visit, perhaps even think of stocking up on branded face masks to sell to your customers. This will not only be a great safety measure, but also a free marketing opportunity, for when they walk into a supermarket wearing your branded face covering.
Share good quality visuals.
Planning what to post means you have to think not only about the wording but also about the accompanying visuals. Ideally, you’ll have your own professional product shots and if not - don’t worry! There are tons of websites offering free good quality images, available for commercial use. There’s really no excuse to share blurry and badly lit shots, because not only they don’t do any justice for representing your business, but it’s also very unlikely that people will get inspired and want to buy from you. As a rule of thumb, think before you settle on the image - if you saw it on someone’s feed, would you like it? Would you want to buy it? If you are not sure, ask for a second opinion, run it by your colleague, a friend or a spouse. Don’t forget that your social media is a representation of your business, so what and how you say will help those who don’t know you personally to form an opinion about you / your business.
Schedule your posts.
Don’t think that just because you’re sharing updates on your social media consistently you have to devote time on a daily basis for posting. Take advantage of scheduling tools that allow you to schedule posts in advance. Any social media scheduling platforms from Hootsuite to Buffer, Hopper and many others will do the trick. You just need to experiment with a few and find the one that you like the most. Many of them will have free plans, but even if they don’t, it’s so worth investing in a basic paid plan. Just don’t let it become your money hole, make an effort to actually use it. And with all that new found time you can now devote 10 minutes a day to engage with your community! But that’s a whole different topic and we’ll be sharing it with you soon!
Need help with putting together a social media posting calendar for your business? We’re here to help! Get in touch via the form and let’s get you social!