Start tracking your social media campaigns in your content calendar. It’s too late to start tracking metrics once your campaign is over!
You can make this prescriptive by having a dropdown list of predetermined campaign names. Or, if your campaigns are few and far between, simply copy and paste the names next to the corresponding content.
Pro tip: Align your campaign name with the campaign section of your UTM parameter for seamless tracking.
6. Image
Without imagery, your social media content calendar will become just another spreadsheet. Add a thumbnail-sized version of each image you’ll include in the published post.
This simple but comprehensive approach allows stakeholders to understand exactly what content is slotted for which day at a quick glance.
To make editing your images for each platform easier, check out this cheat sheet for ideal image dimensions on each platform.
How to Use a Social Media Calendar Template
- Complete a social media audit across all platforms.
- Pick the top 3-5 social media platforms you’ll use.
- Choose your social media content formats and post types.
- Create social media content templates, lazy hashtags, and lazy copy.
- Fill in your social media holidays, events, and campaigns.
- Determine a social media posting schedule.
- Set up UTM tracking.
- Schedule posts using a social media tool.
- Monitor your social media posts’ success metrics.
Regardless of which social media calendar template you go with, here are a few steps to follow when using one.
To expedite the process of creating a social media content calendar, download this free template that’s ready for you to fill out.
1. Complete a social media audit across all platforms.
Before creating a social media content calendar, complete a social media audit. Auditing your social media presence will help you decide how to move forward as you create your social media content calendar.
Ask yourself questions like:
- Which social media platforms are you on?
- Which platforms are you not on, but your competitors are?
- Which platforms get the most versus least engagement?
- Which content formats do you use most often and least often?
- Which types of posts get the most versus least engagement?
For example, you may be on TikTok, but maybe it’s the platform with the lowest ROI. That may mean it’s time to de-prioritize TikTok from your lineup and invest more time in a platform that’s getting better results.
Spend some time perusing your social media analytics to answer these questions. It’s essential to back your conclusions with data instead of a gut instinct.
Pro tip: Our social media report india telegram data template is an excellent way to keep track of your findings. It contains a variety of charts that will make it easy to organize and, in turn, review and analyze the data.
Download Now
Recommended Reads:
- How to Conduct A Social Media Audit
- How to Conduct an X Audit of Your Account
- The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Analytics
2. Pick the top 3-5 social media platforms you’ll use.
Don’t worry — you don’t need to be on ALL social media platforms to get a high social media ROI. Focus on where your target audience is and the platforms with the highest ROI. This will save your team effort and time, resulting in a much more manageable social media content calendar.
Your task: Choose the top three to five platforms that, based on your social media audit, yield the highest ROI for your business. This may include:
- YouTube
- X (previously Twitter)
- TikTok
- Tumblr
As you choose your platforms, you should also pay attention to trends and growing channels. Even if you’re a marketer at a small B2B business, it won’t hurt to test out a platform before all your competitors do.
Not sure where to start? Our Social Media Trends Report shares insights and benchmarks you can start setting off.
Download Now
Recommended Reads:
- The 5 Types of Social Media and Pros & Cons of Each
- Which Social Media Channels See the Most ROI?
- Social Media Platforms Marketers Should Watch
- The Fastest Growing Social Media Platforms
Pro tip: Remember that every social channel is different. The content you post on each one should appeal to the platform’s unique layout and users. Cross-posting the same video everywhere may be easy, but it’s not necessarily effective.
3. Choose your social media content formats and post types.
You’re now armed with your social media platforms to pursue, but what social media content types will you post? Some content formats are:
- User-generated content
- Text-based updates
- Short-form videos
- Horizontal video
- Infographics
- Live videos
- Carousels
- Images
Once you have your content format in mind, you need to decide what type of content you’ll share. Will you post informative, relatable, or funny content? Informative carousels perform really well on LinkedIn, but customer-centric content performs better on Instagram.
Variety gets the best results.
Try a mix of content types to maximize your ROI. It ensures that you’re serving content that serves different segments of your audience while increasing your reach.
For example, my mom is addicted to Instagram Reels. But the majority of her generation spends the most time engaging with images, photos, and infographics. Most businesses have outliers like my mom, so a diversified content ai assistant for email subject lines marketing strategy helps you meet varied preferences.
Pro tip: Account for your team’s resources. If you have dedicated social media managers who can create content in-house, you have more leeway with your choices. If you only have a team of one, consider what is most realistic regarding content creation, or try asking for a budget to hire a freelance content creator.
Recommended Reads:
- The Most Effective Types of Content on Social Media
- Social Media Content Ideas to Delight Customers
4. Create social media content templates, lazy hashtags, and lazy copy.
As you build out your content united kingdom cell number calendar (hopefully after downloading a free social media content calendar template!), remember that the purpose of your calendar is to make posting as easy as possible.
