Editorial calendars can assist your business in generating and organizing content that is shared across social channels. These calendars allow you to pre-select topics for engagement with your audience as well as gain perspective on how to successfully position your business on social within your industry. You can tailor the size of your editorial calendar according to your business’ needs, whether it is weekly or monthly, and utilize it as a tool to coordinate promotional events, engage with customers and support your overall business goals on your social platforms.
Where to focus editorial content
Editorial creation should center itself around any major promotions taking place for your business during that time period. Posts prior to the announcement should generate excitement that can be carried through the release and beyond. Whether you are releasing a new version for your business’ mobile app or are a restaurant sharing your newest menu items, utilizing your social audience through an editorial calendar allows you to better promote your business news to the individuals who are most interested in it.
Creating a successful editorial calendar will require you to brainstorm ideas and topics. Your content should consider what aspects of your business garner the most excitement from your customers; it must relate to not only your brand or industry, but it must also be interesting and relevant to your readers. Your goal in creating content is for people to interact with it, share it, and respond positively.
Posts that pose questions customers can respond to or that can generate discussions are ideal. Creating themed days for posting can also assist in generating interest amongst customers, and lead to reader loyalty by offering some consistency in your posts.
The easiest way to format a calendar is by using Microsoft Excel. Typically, the calendar should include a column for each of the following:
- Post Date
- Social Channel Name (Individual columns should be assigned for each social platform)
- Image Attachment
- Notes Section
Brainstorming can begin by analyzing events that appear on a typical yearly calendar. However, be sure to limit your chosen events to those that are appropriate to your industry.
Once you have outlined and written the content, you are ready to implement the final component of your calendar. Decide how each post will be formatted, whether there will be a picture used or if it will have an attached link. These details should be determined prior to completing the editorial calendar to make posting quick and efficient.
This calendar is your guide, but it is not set in stone; you should be flexible in case circumstances change and posts need to be adjusted. The calendar is a place to be creative and have fun by engaging with customers. Explore different themed posts and posting approaches to find the one that connects best with your audience and is most successful in engaging them.
The editorial calendar is the backbone for engaging on your social platforms. Take time and effort to develop it in order to take full advantage of your content marketing opportunities.