topic: content planning
Friends, social media content planning is one of the more tedious aspects of our job. Real talk, I used to pledge never to use a content calendar. I wanted whimsey and spontaneity in my content. Is that so bad?
Then the reality of marketing hit me in the head like an anvil falling from the sky. Now, it’s a pet peeve of mine when I hear others saying they don’t content plan.
Luckily, Hubspot just published a useful piece on the tools and templates that help you plan your social media content right.
First, here’s why you need to start if you aren’t content planning yet.
- It frees up your time by planning weeks or months ahead. And avoids the constant scramble for things to post.
- Customize content for each platform instead of spamming everyone with the same info everywhere. WUPHF didn’t become a thing for a reason.
- Track performance. Need we say more here?
- Improve efficiency. Hubspot notes, “72% of B2B marketers attribute the success (which has increased annually) of their content to the development of a formal content strategy.”
Okay now to the good stuff. Here are the tools you can use to easily plan your content.
- Trello. It’s super effective for team collab.
- Microsoft Excel. It can be customized to your team’s priorities.
- Evernote. This note-taking app features hourly up to yearly logs, which make tracking published content a breeze.
- Google Drive. (Calendar, Sheets, or Docs) Use the Calendar to keep tabs editorial and social content. Sheets to schedule, track performance, and assign tasks. While, Docs can help you collab on copy.
BTW Hubspot gives specific examples on how to set up a calendar on each tool, and calendar templates to get you started. Smash the button to get more.
