{"id":223711,"date":"2024-06-11T17:43:43","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T17:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dragonflyeditorial.com\/?p=223711"},"modified":"2024-06-20T13:10:22","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T13:10:22","slug":"how-to-create-a-content-calendar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dragonflyeditorial.com\/how-to-create-a-content-calendar\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Create a Content Calendar"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Without a clear content marketing plan, your posts can feel scattershot and disorganized. But with one, your key messages ring clear.<\/p>\n
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That was the case for one of our clients, a communications and printing company. While they were knowledgeable about the \u201cshoulds\u201d of good marketing, it took a content calendar for them to finally lose the label of \u201ccobbler\u2019s child\u201d (you know, the one who never has any shoes?) and gave them the framework to start communicating with their customers in a regular cadence. That simple four-week formula laid the foundation for a multi-channel content marketing campaign. <\/p>\n
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Ready to effectively create well-planned, engaging content to boost your business? Start by aligning content with a centralized content calendar.<\/p>\n
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Like its name suggests, a content calendar offers a year-long or monthly view of your company\u2019s content goals, including topics for timely online articles and engaging social media posts.<\/p>\n
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Content calendars help fine-tune your marketing by forcing you to identify your key messaging goals for the year. They also help ensure you\u2019re covering key topics while making each post timely and engaging.<\/p>\n
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Using a content calendar doesn\u2019t have to be intimidating, especially if you break it down into these essential steps:<\/p>\n
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1.<\/strong> Define your objectives.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Are you hoping to attract new customers? Retain existing ones? Boost your name recognition within a given industry? Perhaps all of the above. Each of these goals is possible with an effective content campaign.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Knowing your immediate and long-term business goals helps you identify and prioritize key talking points, so you can develop social and web-based content to capitalize on them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2.<\/strong> Start with calendar-driven topics.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Create content around annual or seasonal topics of interest for each month of the year. CPA firms might publish a series of Q&A blogs on common tax-filing questions in March and early April, for example. College prep advisors might explain the pros\/cons of applying Early Decision in their August and September TikToks. Garden centers could post YouTube videos about the best ways to fertilize backyards in May, while plumbers\u2019 December Instagram feeds might highlight strategies to keep pipes from freezing. You get the idea. For our printing client, who did a lot of work for nonprofit organizations, fall appeals letters were one timely focal point. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The point is, once you start looking carefully at the calendar, some content topics pop up naturally \u2014 since they\u2019re the types of questions or challenges people face each year around that time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3.<\/strong> Fill in with evergreen issues.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Next, complete any gaps in your calendar by assigning blog or social posts on topics that are useful any time of year. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stuck for ideas? Consider addressing topics that:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4.<\/strong> Understand your channels.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Finally, the posts you create for your website shouldn\u2019t be copied and pasted verbatim to your social media channels.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Effective content strategy understands that the \u201cvoice\u201d of your content should shift across your online presence, particularly when it comes to deciding what tone to take on each social media platform.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n While LinkedIn tends to be more formal, posts to TikTok and Instagram can be more casual and fun, for instance. If you\u2019re feeling unsure about whether your tone is the right fit, take time to explore trending feeds on each platform to identify approaches that seem to work best there.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n After a few months of calendar-driven content creation, conduct an audit to see how your posts are performing. Take note of what topics seem to be connecting with your customers \u2014 and which ones aren\u2019t, in terms of clicks and views.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Use this data to fine-tune your messaging for upcoming calendar topics and scheduled social posts. This approach helps you keep readers engaged and highlights your company\u2019s skills to the broadest possible audience.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dragonfly writers are skilled in both content writing<\/a> and content strategy<\/a>. Whether you need a helping hand from time to time or someone to take the reins of your content creation, we can help. Contact us<\/a> to learn more.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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Evaluating effectiveness<\/h3>\n
Still not sure where to start?<\/h3>\n
About the Author<\/h3>\n