The beauty of social media is in its perceived spontaneity. The real-time nature of social media platforms allows publishers to contribute to conversations as events and trends unfold around them. Social media is always on, and social media influencers are expected to also put forth an always on social approach. It’s always exciting when a publisher can be in the moment and post content that resonates with social media users at the exact time that they are already thinking and talking about certain subject matters. An element of impulsiveness is what keeps social media exciting.

However, to successfully run social media accounts that are simultaneously of-the-moment and also offer longevity, publishers have to find the perfect balance of spontaneous and premeditated content. Publishers would go crazy if they tried to constantly live up the demands of producing on-trend content. There are too many topics of conversation happening in the online world all at once for anyone or brand to effectively add unique insights in a quality manner. If publishers approached social media in a completely reactive way, they would all, inevitably, suffer from burnout. The best way to create and curate engaging and relevant social accounts is to proactively schedule content that can be infused with timely, spur-of-the-moment posts.

You will create your best content, and subsequently, maximize the performance of your social accounts, if you create (and maintain) a social media content calendar to anchor your activity. A content calendar is one of the best tools for managing your creative process every step of the way. 

Establish Goals – Perhaps you were able to increase your click rate last month by tweeting every day. After seeing that incremental success, you may decide that you want to double or triple your tweets. Increasing the quantity of your posts can feel daunting, and after a few days or so, you may lose steam. But if those additional tweets are baked into your content calendar in advance, it’s much easier to edit, schedule and track in accordance with your goals.

Publish Consistently – The state of today’s internet demands  a constant flow of content. If publishers do not create and distribute original pieces on a regular basis, their authority and, most likely, readership, will fall. While digital magazine and large-scale blogs may consistently publish every hour, smaller publishers may find that it’s more manageable to release just one or two pieces of high-quality content per day. It’s important for publishers to find a formula that works for them.

Schedule in Advance – No one wants to be tied to their screens at all hours of the day. However, it’s also important that other aspects of life do not hinder the distribution of content. Building a well-rounded content calendar allows publishers the freedom to schedule social posts ahead of time through platforms like Hootsuite or Sprout Social. In addition to helping publishers preserve their sanities, scheduling in advance also ensures that prime posting windows are not missed due to last-minute events.

Track Performance – What is the point in spending so much time and energy perfecting tweets and Facebook posts if they do not elicit any views or clicks? All digital publishers should prioritize performance tracking of all of their social posts. The success or, lack thereof, of individual posts provides important insights into audience behaviors and responses to content. Comparing the performance of a singular post to the overall content calendar may help publishers better understand ideal publishing times.

From growing followers and increasing traffic, to finding more productive working habits, the benefits of social calendars are innumerable. There’s not one right way to create and manage a social calendar. Some publishers prefer to leave a few openings for potential timely posts, whereas others prefer to fully bake out their calendars and assess the placement of timely posts if and when they arise. Additionally, some publishers create calendars on a quarterly basis, where as others are more comfortable planning their content from month to month. Finding the right content calendar structure for you may take some experimentation and trial and error.  

There are a number of tools available to help publishers organize their content into a manageable calendar, including: Basecamp, WordPress Editorial Plug-In, Google Calendar.

Do you have a preferred tool or system for managing your social content? Leave us a note in the comments section below!