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There’s no way you can maintain a consistent social media presence without a dated plan. Sorry if this sounds discouraging, and let us explain.

First of all, you definitely have other things to do. Content creation and editing, marketing plans, negotiations, SEO, backlinks, all that stuff. And even if you don’t do it all yourself (which you shouldn’t, there are great professionals for each), you have to be updated on the progress. It’s basic knowledge management.

Second, you may have these incredible ideas and even note them somewhere, but they may get lost. Thus, you’ll have an adequate profile without the brilliance your brain would provide if you had a plan. It’s wise to let it out and leave it on paper, in a calendar app, in Google Sheets, anywhere you want. You’ll refer to the outline whenever needed without having to remember everything.

Third, the focus is everything. Did you know that holding too much information at once will make you confused? It’s proven, look it up. That’s why they say multitasking isn’t good for productivity.

Still think an SNS calendar isn’t essential? Let us show you the best techniques and recommendations that will leave you focused on the core activity.

It’s a really long intro, but we wanted to get you interested and actually try some of the following. Let’s go!

Check and Audit Your Social Media Situation

If you do routine checks for typos and picture lags and think the audit is done, we have news. There are many more things you can check to improve your brand situation on social. The first thing to do in any project is to define the A-spot. This is the situation you are in at the moment.

Whatever it is, it’s OK. By defining the A-spot, you’ll know which direction to move in, adjusting the content calendar and providing the best for the audience. As a result, ROI is expected to reach the maximum (if the content is good, of course).

Here are the things to look after:

• Imposters of your brand and/or old accounts people can mistake for the main one;
• Your password, two-factor authentication, connected mobile numbers;
• Goals for every platform and how the progress is going;
• Posts that get the most attention and those with fewer likes. You can do the analysis later to adjust your tactics;
• Target audience metrics;
• Account managers and their performance;
• Budget for the promotion of every account;
• Fails and gaps for further analysis;
• Feedback from the audience.

Interlink the Plan with SEO and Backlink Mentions

Social media isn’t only about useful information and brand awareness. Eventually, you want to get leads and convert them. That’s why interlink your SNS plan with SEO and backlink outline for the month.

The latter is one of the best ways for:

• Brand reputation establishment and maintenance;
• Increasing brand awareness;
• Promoting your goods and products;
• Monetize your social media project.

In every plan, there has to be an explanation and additional info in case you need assistance, especially if this is your first plan.

Generally, you would refer to several plans and try to combine them on the go. Why not unite them at the very beginning?

Make It Easy to Use the Calendar

As you build one for, say, a month, the amount of work seems enormous. Without proper navigation, there won’t be that much use from the calendar. All you will be allowed to do is manage everyday content posting and browse by date.

Make sure you can systemize the plan according to:

• The platform (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.);
• The type of content (a post, a story, an IGTV, a tweet, an SEO article (more here), etc.);
• Whether it’s promotional or informative (so you can see the ratio);
• Brands and bloggers you promote/that promote you for money;
• A manager responsible for the content;
• Links to assets (publication drafts, visuals, etc.);
• Purpose of the post.

You can add more or delete the unnecessary points, of course.

The best way is to have a column for every point above and a Search and/or Sort feature. Most apps have these. Google Sheets is very convenient for such plans, but if you have a special app for that, it’s OK. Just make sure it’s safe and you can limit access to the file.

Link It to Content Depository

Have a database with content drafts, visuals, notes, brand contacts, and everything else needed for a proper content plan in a database. Use Google Drive, Dropbox, or any other secure cloud.

Many beginners make mistakes by hosting all those files on their phones or laptops. While having a copy is amazing, it will be difficult to link the materials with the calendar.

Isn’t it easier to have everything in one file? Just link to whatever text or visual information you need for a story, post, tweet, etc. in the calendar.

Pros of cloud storages:

• They offer a lot of space;
• You can access them from any device;
• Offline viewing is available in many options;
• It’s easy to get a link to any file and post it as a hyperlink in the calendar.

Include Specific Metrics to Post at the Best Time, on the Best Day

Every platform has the best time and day to post material for the most attention from the audience. For example, HubSpot has information of the most suitable timings for Instagram posts. Here’s a chart mentioned there by Sprout Social:

Img cr: Sprout Social

There’s also data for Twitter and Facebook, but there’s info online on other social media as well.

These are estimates because different people have different lives, there are holidays when everyone’s off their phones, etc.

However, if you have a chance to boost content for free just by choosing dates, why not use it?

In the calendar, you can use colors to mark days. Then, if you want to make an adjustment, you’ll see what date to move a promotional story or post to easily. Why do you need it?

Because life is unexpected. Say, you have a fully promotional day with the final stage of your funnel where the product or service will be introduced. If just before that something happens in the world that will be all over the news, people won’t pay much attention. Your efforts and time may be wasted. Let’s avoid that at all costs.

It’s better to make that day free to discuss the problem, comfort people, or make a statement.

The First Draft Doesn’t Have to Be Ideal

While working in marketing, we’re sure you know that every specialist has their own tactics and needs. This is the brilliance of the industry. So, the practices above, nudges from credible experts, etc. may work perfectly for one but seem too inconvenient for another marketer.

Create your calendar and see how it works. During the first couple of weeks, you’ll notice the difficulties, gaps, etc. that can be easily adjusted on the spot or in the next month’s sheet.

Shift categories, use color or text, link to assets in the same file, or create another one. It’s all up to you. After several months, you will have a perfect template that works the best for your marketing methods and the project.