7 Reasons you should have a content calendar to optimize your social media
Have you ever thought to yourself, “I should post on social today but I can’t post another photo of my steaming hot coffee in my favorite mug with the words ‘no coffee, no worky’ again?”
We have all been there. Running a business is hard and there are so many things we need to accomplish in a day. We know we need to post on our social media platforms to get the engagement to grow our business but there is only so much time and creativity left in a day. Unless we have a sale or a new item, the posts are few and far between, not our greatest work, or non-existent.
One of the best ways to get around the social media fatigue that can plague a small business owner is by planning our social media posts in advance. Not only will this help us avoid the fatigue, but it will help us optimize our social media accounts to work for us and allow us to enjoy that steaming cup of hot coffee. So here are seven reasons you should have a social media content calendar.
1. You can strategize
Planning your social media content will force you to strategize. When you plan your social posts a month or even six months in advance, you will need to think ahead to that time. What inventory will you be featuring, what specials will you be running, what products or services will you be featuring? What free content will you be featuring or marketing? Once your content calendar has been implemented and consistent social marketing has been put out there, you can look back and see what has worked for you in the past. You can even reuse high performing content that you know will get you results.
2. You will start to be consistent
There are a couple of ways to have consistency here. First, by batch posting and preplanning, you can make sure to keep your graphics, branding, and messaging all look and feel similar. Second, the rule of seven says the average consumer needs to see your brand seven times before they will buy from you. You should be using more than just social media to speak to your ideal customer but being consistent on your social media accounts can get you started on those seven interactions.
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3. Once your creative hat is on, you will be able to brainstorm
Once you get started planning out those posts, you can get those creative juices flowing. Sometimes that hardest part of creating content can be getting started and staying focused. Planning time in your busy schedule to sit down and focus on getting your social presence in good shape, you know that you won’t have to rush it and can look for those things about your business that are unique and that you want to feature. By batching this process, you can get in the zone and ultimately save time.
4. You won’t miss out on key dates and opportunities
Have you ever logged into your social media account and noticed it was National Fitness Day (which is a real thing and is May 2nd this year), and here you are in your gym with nothing posted on your social media platforms? Ouch, that feels like a missed opportunity to engage with your current followers and find new followers. When you create a content calendar, you can plan for those national days or make your own “day” by planning a post on your Fitness Fridays or whatever else trips your trigger. Here is a link to a site that lists the national days for you to get started finding the some of the days you can create a post around: https://nationaldaycalendar.com/
5. You can do your work in batches rather than one at a time
Once you have your strategy and your creative juices are flowing, you can get down and dirty and get those posts created. Take some time when you don’t have a million phone calls or kids asking for the password to your phone. Once your posts are created, there are many systems to help you schedule your social posts. That way you aren’t rushing to your computer so you won’t miss out on posting a photo of you with your secretary on Administrative Professionals’ Day. See number 6 for help on how to schedule your posts in advance.
6. You can schedule them in advance
There are so many systems out there ranging from free to subscription-based plans with a fee that you can use to pre-schedule your social media posts, including Facebook’s own Creator Studio. The Creator Studio will not give you all of the bells and whistles of some others listed but you can use it to schedule your Facebook and Instagram posts along with seeing some basic results from your posts, for free. You can manage your posts, reuse posts, and answer messages from Facebook and Instagram right in one place. If you are just beginning at this whole social media optimization, Facebook Creator Studio is a good place to start. If you are looking for help with keywords, analytics, hashtags, and other features to help you get your post seen, I have listed some of my favorites for your reading pleasure.
7. You will be/feel organized
Feeling organized and being organized are two different things but I think both very important and here is why, I think that if you feel like you have your social media bases covered, you can free your mind up to do the other things that you need to do to make your business succeed. Having a business can be stressful so taking time to make a content calendar may seem trivial but the overall benefits can be bigger than you think. This process doesn’t have to be hard. Check out our free All(n) template for starting a content calendar to optimize your social media. If you still feel overwhelmed, call, email, or message us and we will help you get those social media accounts rolling in the engagement.
This process doesn’t have to be hard.
Check out our free All(n) template for starting a content calendar to optimize your social media.
