How To Create A Social Media Content Plan

admin January 28, 2023July 19, 2023 Business, content writing, Digital Marketing, social media content plan

Create social media content plans that increase user engagement, grow followers, and generate revenue for your business. For most of us, social media is a fun way to chat with friends, re-share memes, and kill time at the end of a long day. Things that seem simple, like posting articles, sharing photos, and publishing content, become complicated in business. In contrast to passive social media use, marketing requires planning and strategy.

So if you’re used to sharing content on an urge or having trouble finding topics for social media content in the first place, a social media content calendar is for you. A social media content plan can help you develop strategic content, post it consistently, and get tangible results.

The method is as follows.

First of all, why create a social media content plan?

You may be used to creating all your posts directly in the social app. This doesn’t require planning but can be much less effective than developing a strategy. A content calendar is a must when creating compelling themes and engaging content.

With the social media content calendar, you can:

Plan your topics. Take time to research topics and content ideas that resonate with your audience.
Plan your post. To help your audience trust your posts, establish a publishing frequency for your content so that algorithms will show your content more often.
Measure the results. In-app analytics lets you see how your posts are performing. As you plan your social content calendar, you can use these insights to develop new ideas or reuse content already working.
Balance evergreen and trending content. Prioritize evergreen content that can publish timely content and remains relevant over time.
Predict future events. You can plan your content to increase your brand exposure if your business has upcoming events or updates.
Store your digital assets. Not only can you create social content in bulk, but you also have a library of creative assets that you can access when you need them.
Watch hashtags. Create an ongoing list of popular hashtags to use in future posts—no need to search for new hashtags every time.

What to insert in your social content calendar

The easiest form, the social content calendar, overviews forthcoming social media content, organized by platform and date. Organize content resources, manage campaigns, and set schedules. With that in the head, here are a few things to include in your social media calendar.

Platform – The social media channel you post on.
Date/Time – The date and time the content will be published.
Creative Assets – Images, links, captions, videos, hashtags, etc., for each post.
Social media calendars come in many different formats. This includes Google Sheets, online planners, content marketing software, and more.

Whatever you choose, the calendar will help you arrange your posts and plan when your next piece of content will be published.

Also Read: Event Business Strategy: Things To Consider When Creating Your Plan

Generate a social media content plan in 6 steps

Creating a social media calendar is relatively easy. It all relies on the complication of what you want to publish, how often, and how many accounts do you have. Here are some simple steps to create a social content plan from scratch.

1) Check your social media account inventory.

The first step is to know all your existing social media accounts and their corresponding login information. This is necessary because before we can start scheduling content, we must ensure that we have administrative access to all accounts. We recommend creating a spreadsheet to record the following:

Active profile.
Scammers or inactive profiles.
Account username or email address and password.
Business Profile and Personal Profile.
The target audience for each profile.
Who manages the profile (e.g., you, team members, Wikipedia page creators, etc.).
Outdated information that needs updating.

You may find outdated accounts or profiles that need login credentials. You can delete old accounts, recover passwords, update old information, and create new profiles. After that, you’ll need to identify which accounts should be managed and added to your social media posting calendar.

2) Use a content plan template or tool.

Having systems and tools at your disposal makes it easier to organize your social content calendar. This can be as easy as a spreadsheet or as sturdy as a software application like Hootsuite.

Content planning spreadsheet

I like using Google Sheets for planning social content. It’s easier and less hassle than using software tools. Easily insert content topics, publication dates, content items, and more. You can find many free Google Sheets social media calendar templates online or create your own.

Social media scheduling tools

There are also various social media planning and scheduling tools. Some are free, while others require a paid subscription. Most offer free trials, so you can try the features before you buy. Some of the most popular social media scheduling tools include:

Buffer.
Hoot suite.
Sprout Social.
Zoho.

We recommend testing to see what works best for you and your team. Your business may require particular features, more robust platform management, etc. The key is choosing a system that facilitates content creation, scheduling, and publishing.

3) Create a content matrix

Whether you choose software or spreadsheet, the next step is to establish your social media content. This is a plan for what content to publish and where and when to post it. Deciding what content to post is essential to any social media plan. A successful social media strategy depends on coming up with compelling content ideas. Content marketing doesn’t have to be boring. Instead, think of a creative theme that appeals to your audience’s interest and keeps them engaged with your brand.

4) Content organization and planning

Once you have the right mix of content topics and ideas, enter them into your content calendar. If you’re using a spreadsheet, make sure it contains basic details.

Platform (Facebook).
Profile (Facebook.com/wikipedia page creators).
Governance (team member posting the content).
Link to visionary assets.
Publish date.
Time
Copy ( hashtags).
Visuals ( photo, video, meme, gif, etc.).

But overall, the best time to post on social media is Tuesday to Thursday at 9:00 or 10:00 for them. As you continue your social strategy, monitoring analytics to see when users are viewing and corresponding with your content is vital. This helps us decide when to post content in the future. Social media scheduling tools allow you to schedule when to post content to each platform while monitoring performance automatically.

5) Track Social Media Analytics

Performance data influence the effectiveness of your social media strategy. It would be best if you tracked which content works best, which posts get the most engagement, and which content drives conversions for your business. This data will help inform our future content strategy and release schedule. This should be continuous optimization and planning, not a “set and forget” strategy. Most social media platforms include their version of analytics. There are also third-force software tools that track performance. As a result, we have a wealth of data to draw social insights. Here are some of the key metrics we track:

Likes.
Clicks.
Comments.
Shares.
Brand mentions.
Profile visits.
Followers.
Reach.
Impressions.
Traffic.

Over time, you’ll better understand what content resonates best with your audience, the best time to post, and what content types drive conversions and sales.

6) Listen to your audience.

Social media analytics provide a wealth of insight into the types of content your audience engages with the most. But sometimes, getting content ideas and feedback from your followers is excellent, as only some social tools help you generate your content ideas. Across your content calendar, you should schedule posts asking your audience what they want to view. For example, you can ask questions such as:

“What questions do you have about [topic]?”
“What problem do you most need help with right now?”
“What topics should I post more about?”
“Do you have any questions about our team/brand?”

These questions are a great way to determine your audience’s interest and generate new content ideas. You can also get feedback on existing content. This can help you modify your strategy or separate certain content types from your matrix. Remember, social media content material advertising and marketing are all approximately retaining your target market engaged. So be organized for what they need, what they conflict with, and what statistics they need to peer in your channel. “What trending topics are you interested in right now?”