As business owners, we are always concerned with how to consistently create engaging and relevant content for potential and current customers. Creating new content that will effectively communicate the brand’s message and stay relevant in the minds of the target audience can be a challenging task.
However, as challenging as this is, a content calendar may be the solution you are looking for. Most individuals ponder why they should develop a content calendar for a blog or their company, but they are unaware of how a content calendar fosters creativity and minimises error throughout the content development process.
Content calendars are designed to help you organise all content formats: blog posts, social media posts, ebooks, videos, infographics, email newsletters, etc. Content calendars help you stay organised and productive, manage your content-creating process, focus on deadlines, and keep your entire team updated with upcoming or latest projects.
If you’re having some confusion about how to create this calendar, keep reading.
Table of Contents
5 Steps to Create a Content Calendar
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Define the type of content you will create
To create a content calendar, you need to determine what type of content you want to publish. Content types that are considered include Blog posts (long- and short-form), podcasts, Social media posts, Newsletters, Infographics, Videos, and Ebooks. The type of content you decide to publish determines your engagement rate. It is important to consider your target audience while defining the content type.
After defining your content type, add your content. It can be as simple as writing down the topics you want to cover or as complex as writing an outline for your social media posts or blog post series based on the topics you have identified.
Another thing is to know what kind of posts work best for your audience and build a schedule around those topics. For example, if you have a lot of readers who love guides and how-to posts, then plan out your next few blogs or posts based on that strategy and publish regularly throughout the year. The main aim is to ensure your target audience relates to the specific content you create.
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Schedule the publication dates for your posts
Once you have determined what you plan to publish, it is time to schedule the publication dates of each post on your content calendar. This will help you stay organized and stay on track with publishing new content regularly. Decide how much time you want between each piece of content publication (for example, 1 week or 4 weeks).
Evaluate your target audience’s consumption patterns and online activities, then schedule your posts at specific dates and times to match theirs. Look for a good balance between your posting time and don’t overwhelm your audience with too much content.
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Choose an appropriate calendar format that works for you
Choose a platform that offers the right features to help you create a content calendar. Some tools offer different integrations, so you need to consider these integrations to see which best suits your workflow needs.
These content calendar platforms make it easier for you to create a content calendar that is less challenging.
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Establish a workflow
To create a content calendar, you need to establish an effective workflow. Spell out the details that will be included in your content calendar — communication processes, important dates, content creation roles, and other critical elements.
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Track your performance metrics
Tracking performance metrics such as social shares, likes, and comments helps you measure how successful your posts are in generating leads, increasing traffic, and growing your audience over time so that you know when it is time for a new strategy or approach next month or quarter.
Read also: Top 6 Analytics Tools to Track Your Business Growth
Tools to Create a Content Calendar
While it is easy to use a pen and diary, you need tools to create a content calendar. These tools help you create a successful and effective content calendar for your business.
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Google sheets
Google Sheets is a spreadsheet that can be used to create a content calendar. With Google sheets, you can share the document with team members or colleagues.
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Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a social media management tool that also offers several features to create a content calendar. With the calendar, you can create and plan posts, find fresh content by generating hashtags, locations, or keyword streams, and rapidly move and reschedule content as needed.
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Coschedule free marketing calendar
Coschedule free marketing calendar offers features to create a content calendar for content teams. The calendar helps you efficiently organize and manage your content.
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Semrush
Semrush is a content marketing platform that allows you to plan and schedule your content. One of the benefits of Semrush is its focus on Search Engine Optimisation(SEO).
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Socialpilot
The social media calendar from SocialPilot offers daily, weekly, and monthly views in addition to re-sharing options.
Read also: 15 Essential Saas Tools To Boost Your Productivity as an Entrepreneur
Content Calendar Templates
It can be a challenging task to draft a content calendar, but there are frameworks to help you organize your content and stay on track. These templates are a good starting point to boost content efficiency.
There are lots of content calendar templates available online. You just need to pick one that fits you and your content strategy. Pick the one that is easy on the eyes and also aligns with the type of content you want to create.
Here are three templates to consider:
These templates offer different features like that of click up which offers a simple interface that makes it easy to drag and drop files.
Wrapping Up
While there are many ways to create a content calendar, the truth is that there’s no one correct way. Every content creator has different objectives and needs, so each will often have to tweak the process a bit to find the best solution for their purposes. Whatever you do, create an effective content calendar that helps you attain your objectives.
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About Author
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Alimot Akinsanya is an experienced content writer. She creates high-quality, compelling, engaging, relatable, and research-backed long-form content for individuals and businesses. She believes in the power of words to communicate effectively with audiences.
She is a devoted lover of personal development, mental health, self-awareness, and social inclusion.
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