So, you’ve decided you want to take the first steps to optimise your posting strategy and make a social media calendar. But, I hear you say, why should I make one? Surely that’s just more work for me in the long run?
Actually, that’s not the case!
Social media calendars are a great tool in any marketing arsenal. They may seem like a little extra work, but they actually do most of the legwork for you before you have to post on social media. Once they’re set up and running, they have many viable benefits. They can really help you get on your way to consistent posting and boosting your online engagement.
Here are seven benefits of utilising a social media calendar.
What are the Benefits?
There is a multitude of benefits to having and using a great social media calendar. Actually, when considered objectively, there aren’t actually any negatives to them! Well, apart from having to stay organised, on top of your work, and actively make some sort of an effort for success.
The benefits include:
1. Consistency
Having a dedicated social media calendar increases the consistency of your posting schedule. It makes it easier to meet deadlines because you can clearly see them coming up which encourages you to post quality content in a timely manner.
Post consistency is key to improving overall engagement on your social media posts. This is because posting each day strategically and consistently maximizes your organic reach. So social media calendars wield a dual benefit in this sense!
2. Organisation and Time Efficiency
A content calendar helps keep you organised and on top of your content and posts. It clearly shows the date, time, and content of the posts so you know everything you need to in order to meet the brief. Everything is stored and managed in one place; there’s no messing around or back and forth trying to get everything together.
It also saves time by collecting all the relevant information and content beforehand and showing you where the content is at every point in its lifecycle. Knowing the publication and production process means that you don’t need to worry about missing anything and can spend time on future content or other projects!
3. Bettering your content quality
It also increases consistency in the quality of your content. This is because you give yourself and your team the space needed to create the best content you can. You can create more customised content for each of your platforms without just spamming repeating posts on all socials. It also gives you the flexibility to try different and more adventurous things with your content.
4. Planning ahead and not missing out
Content and editorial calendars allow you to plan ahead with the bigger picture in mind. It means that you can create bigger thematic social media campaigns as you can keep track of any future posts, content, and deadlines. Planning ahead also means you don’t miss out on specific dates or holidays that you can take advantage of for your content.
5. Measuring your improvement
When you start tracking your content with a calendar, you should also track the performance of every new post you put up. It is vital to track what works, and improve it – otherwise, what’s the point! The calendar can help with this, as you can input post metrics into your calendar alongside the entry of the posted content. Therefore, you can use it to create a timeline of improvement and growth, see what isn’t working for you and facilitate change.
6. Reduces the risk of mistakes
Having different points of review and having all of your content visible in one space means you are less likely to make mistakes. There are more eyes on the content during the creation process, so a social media calendar—especially one with team member approvals built-in—is the best way to prevent a low-key embarrassment.
7. Accountability
Calendars and deadlines hold creators accountable. It gives them deadlines be met, but also opens communication to negotiate those deadlines. Especially if you are using collective documents that everyone involved can edit, it means that everyone can see whether you are communicating or on track or not.
Conclusion
The benefits of content calendars far outweigh any drawbacks. They keep you on track, motivated and organised, ensuring you’re ready to put out quality content and build your brand and online presence.
The best way to get started with social media calendars is to experiment. Ask yourself questions and find out what works for you. There is no perfect one way to use these calendars. So, as long as you find them useful, you’ll begin to reap the benefits.
To find more ways to optimise your social media strategy, contact us here at Floodmaker today.