As your marketing initiatives begin to grow, creating content can become a difficult task. One or two blog posts are easy to keep track of, but what if you started publishing five blog posts monthly, several webinars a quarter and a few social media posts a week? Would you be able to keep track of it all?
When done correctly, a content calendar can help you manage content; however, it’s of no use to you and your team if you don’t put it into action. Here are a few content planning tips to help you save time and work efficiently on your marketing efforts.
Sticking to the basics
Remember this: A content calendar is supposed to make your life easier, not harder. Adding too many layers to your content calendar can create confusion and uncertainty. Try to avoid complicating things by sticking to the basics. Simply put, your content calendar should help you and your team create, track and schedule content. If it doesn’t, you may want to rethink your approach and elicit feedback from your team on what you can do to improve the planning process.
Choosing the right software for your team
Choosing the right software for your team makes all the difference. With all the content calendar solutions to consider (e.g., Marketing Calendar by CoSchedule, Buffer, Hootsuite), it may be challenging to choose only one. Before selecting a solution, start by assessing your team’s needs. How many people need access to the calendar? What are your team’s goals for the content calendar? Understanding the functionality of the platforms you’re assessing is crucial to the success of your planning.
Customizing your calendar to fit the needs of your team members
While there are many templates and solutions you can use to track content in the pipeline, your content calendar should address the unique needs of your team. For instance, can your team members access it on the go? Does the content calendar increase productivity instead of stifling it? When team members look at your content calendar as a chore, they’re less likely to feel connected to the marketing goals and participate in brainstorming activities. Every company’s content development process is different, so what works for someone else in the industry may not work for you and your team members.
Decluttering your content calendar
Keeping track of content isn’t easy. You may have various content types (e.g., webinars, whitepapers, blog posts, videos) coming from several sources. One of the reasons why you have a content calendar is to help you stay organized and on top of what’s due and when. For example, your team may be developing webinars or other time-sensitive content. Knowing where content is in the development process helps with scheduling to ensure a steady flow of content is being pushed out to your audiences.
If you look at your content calendar and there’s too much going on, you may want to reconsider what you’re tracking. Are there too many columns? Would it be better to purchase software instead of using Google Sheets? Your content calendar should be simple yet easy on the eyes.
A content calendar should be helpful to you, and if it doesn’t make your life easier, you may be using the wrong solution. However, here’s some good news! Powered Services Pro has you covered when it comes to creating new and valuable content each month. We have some awesome content that will help you successfully fill up your content calendar.
