Every aspect of a business needs a plan, whether a business development plan, a branding plan, or, in this case, a content plan. Just like you wouldn’t want to live without a calendar or clock, you definitely don’t want to run your content strategy without a plan. Building a content calendar makes it easy to plan your content ahead, identify tasks to prioritise, and keep you aligned with the rest of the team. In this article, we will focus on how to create a content calendar, but first, what is it, and what are its benefits?

What is a Content Calendar?

A content calendar for small businesses serves as a roadmap for your content. It is a written schedule that visually represents all your planned content, including blog posts, social media posts, email campaigns, and more. It outlines when and where each piece of content will be published.  Content calendars also often include status updates, partnerships, design requests, keywords, and links to available content. 

Why is a content calendar important?

If your social media page is a personal account where you occasionally post your fine pictures, then you probably don’t need a plan or a content calendar. However, if you run a business and have the goal to grow your business through online presence and content marketing, then you need a content calendar. Here are some benefits of a content calendar for your small business:

Consistency: A content calendar helps you maintain a regular publishing schedule, building anticipation and trust with your audience. It ensures that all your content plans and tasks for your business happen. Without a content plan, you might forget things or publish less frequently, affecting your content marketing strategy. 

Deeper Audience Understanding: As you plan your content, you gain valuable insights into your target audience’s preferences, enabling you to tailor your messaging effectively.

Better Collaboration: A shared content calendar, or an editorial calendar, makes teamwork easy by ensuring everyone is aligned on content goals and priorities. If you have a team in charge of posting, writing, designing visual materials, or tracking marketing goals, having a calendar will ensure you’re on the same page. By planning your content in advance, you streamline the creation process, reduce last-minute rushes, and optimise resource allocation.

Data-Driven Decisions: By tracking the performance of your content, you can identify what works and what doesn’t, allowing you to refine your strategy.

In essence, a content calendar is a project management tool that helps you get a picture of your content plan and also track your strategy as well as the team involved in making it happen. A content calendar also makes it easier to create content that resonates with your audience, drives engagement, and achieves your business objectives.

Steps to Build a Content Calendar

There are some templates and tools online that you can use to build a content calendar. But in the meantime, follow these steps to build and create yours and to ensure you’re on the right track: 

Define Your Target Audience

Understanding your target audience is the foundation of effective content marketing. Who are you trying to reach with your content? What are their interests, pain points, and goals? The clearer your understanding of your audience, the better equipped you’ll be to create content that resonates.

Key questions to consider:

• Who is your ideal customer?
• What are their demographics (age, gender, location, income, etc.)?
• What are their interests and hobbies?
• What challenges are they facing?
• What are their goals?

By clearly defining your target audience, you can tailor your content to their specific needs and preferences, increasing the likelihood of engagement and conversions.

Choose Your Channels

Now that you have a clear picture of your target audience, it’s time to determine where to reach them. There are countless channels available, but it’s essential to focus on where your audience spends their time.

Key factors to consider:

• Audience preferences: Where does your target audience hang out online?
• Business goals: What do you hope to achieve with your content? Resources: 
• What channels can you realistically manage with your available time and budget?

Popular channels include:

• Social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest
• Blog: Your website
• Email marketing: Newsletters
• Video platforms: YouTube
• Podcasts

Remember, it’s better to focus on a few channels and do them well than spread yourself too thin. You can also refer to this blog post on how to pick the best channels for your business. 

Conduct an Audit of Your Channels

Before diving into content creation, it’s crucial to understand your current performance. Conducting an audit of your channels provides valuable insights into what’s working and what’s not.

Key areas to analyse:

• Audience behaviour: When are your followers most active? What content resonates with them?
• Content performance: Which posts or pieces of content generated the most engagement?
• Competitor analysis: What are your competitors doing well? How can you differentiate your content?

Understanding your channel performance allows you to make data-driven decisions when building your content calendar.

Brainstorm Content Ideas

With a clear understanding of your target audience and the channels they frequent, it’s time to start generating content ideas. This is where creativity meets strategy.

Brainstorming techniques:

• Keyword research: Identify relevant keywords and phrases to inspire content topics.
• Customer feedback: Pay attention to questions and concerns from your audience.
• Competitor analysis: See what content is performing well for your competitors.
• Content pillars: Develop overarching themes for your content.
• Content formats: Consider different content types like blog posts, videos, infographics, and social media posts.

Remember, your content should be valuable, relevant, and consistent with your brand’s voice.

Create the Calendar

With your content ideas in hand, it’s time to structure your content calendar. There are various ways to create a calendar, from simple spreadsheets to dedicated content management tools.

Essential elements to include:

• Content title: A clear and descriptive name for each piece of content.
• Content type: Specify the format (blog post, video, infographic, etc.).
• Date: Schedule when the content will be published.
• Keywords and hashtags: Identify relevant keywords and hashtags for SEO purposes.
• Channels: Determine where the content will be shared.
• Author/owner: Assign responsibility for creating the content.
• Status: Track the progress of each content piece (draft, in progress, published).
• Design requests: Outline any specific design needs.
• KPIs: Define key performance indicators to measure success.

• Call to action: Specify the desired action from your audience.
• Promotion plan: Outline how you will promote the content.
• Budget: Allocate resources for content creation and promotion.

Remember, the goal is to create a calendar that works for you and your team. Adapt it to fit your specific needs and preferences.

Set Timelines

Once your content calendar is populated with ideas, it’s crucial to establish realistic timelines for each piece. By setting clear deadlines, you’ll ensure that your content is produced and published on time.

 Consider factors like:

• Content complexity: How much time is needed for research, writing, design, and editing?
• Resource availability: Do you have the necessary team members and tools?
• Content format: Some formats require more time than others (e.g., videos vs. blog posts).

Tips for setting timelines:

•  Be realistic: Avoid overcommitting your team.
•  Build in buffer time: Unexpected challenges can arise.
•  Use project management tools: These can help you track progress and deadlines.

Keep Updating the Calendar

A content calendar is a living document. As your business evolves and your audience changes, so too should your content strategy. Regularly update your calendar to reflect new ideas, shifting priorities, and performance data.

Key reasons to update your calendar:

• New opportunities: Capitalize on emerging trends, industry news, or seasonal events.
• Performance insights: Adjust your content based on analytics and audience feedback.
• Shifting priorities: Align your content with evolving business goals.

Track Published Content

Tracking the performance of your published content is essential for refining your strategy and maximising results. By monitoring key metrics, you can identify what’s working and what’s not.

Key metrics to track:

•  Reach: How many people saw your content?
• Engagement: How did people interact with your content (likes, shares, comments)?
• Click-through rates: How many people clicked on links in your content?
• Conversions: Did your content generate leads or sales?

Tools to use:

• Google Analytics: Track website traffic and user behaviour.
• Social media analytics: Monitor performance on different platforms.
• Email marketing platforms: Measure open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.

By regularly analysing your content performance, you can make data-driven decisions to improve future content.

Wrapping Up

Now that you know how to create a content calendar, your business will have a structured approach to content creation, distribution, and measurement. 

You should also regularly review and refine your calendar to ensure it aligns with your overall marketing goals. Remember, content marketing is important for the growth of your business, and a content calendar strategy can help you boost your efforts.