How to Create a Social Media Marketing Calendar

Posted by David Terry on December 22, 2020

Are you tasked with managing your brand’s social media marketing strategy? Then no doubt you understand the challenge of juggling multiple accounts and creating unique posts all too well. 

There are many aspects of a successful social media marketing program. You need to manage your brand’s various accounts, produce content, set targets and then you have to analyze the performance - and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

To keep this under control, it’s important that you take the time to properly plan what it is you want to post, and when you want to post it. Most companies, however, are relying on a haphazard approach when it comes to social media marketing, posting content as and when they think of it.

In this blog, The Brit Agency is going to dive into how your social media marketing program will greatly benefit from the creation of a social media calendar, with some tips on how you can build one.

So, why should you use a social media calendar?

Creating a social media calendar sounds like a huge commitment, but believe us when we say it’s going to make your life far easier in the long run. It will also, no doubt, bring huge improvements to your social media marketing program.

Building a social media calendar will help you schedule your posts better across multiple accounts, consistently publish compelling content and make it far easier to analyze your social media performance.

Here’s a snapshot of the key reasons why your brand should create a social media calendar:

  • It helps you better spread your posts evenly across social platforms.
  • It empowers you to write compelling and well-researched content.
  • Improved organization saves you time in the long run.
  • It ensures you post consistently throughout each month.
  • It reduces the chance of human error and mistakes.
  • It makes it far easier to measure performance, track what works and improve your program moving forward.

How do you create a social media calendar?

Now we know some of the benefits that the creation of a calendar can bring to your social media marketing program, how exactly can your organization create one? We’ve designed a five-step processes to create the ultimate social media calendar:

#1 - Decide what content you want to promote

Your social media strategy should be specifically designed to enhance your overall Inbound Marketing program. Before you build your calendar, first think about the content that you want to publish across your social media channels. Plan your content around specific campaigns and marketing goals that you have during any given month. 

#2 - Set monthly SMART goals

To effectively measure the performance of your social media strategy you need to set monthly goals. This will help you to gain insightful insight into what’s working, which type of content is generating engagement and where you can make improvements. We like to use SMART goals as recommended by HubsSpot, which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. You can learn more about them here

#3 - Create you social media calendar

Now it’s time to create a calendar that works for your specific needs. This should be a spreadsheet that includes the content you want to share, which platforms you want to share that content on, what image you will use and when you want to share it. If you are looking for a social media content calendar template, HubSpot has a great one that you can download here. The download includes both a social media calendar template, as well as a user guide on how to effectively use it. 

#4 - Add your content to your calendar 

Once created, it’s time to add your content to the calendar! Your social media content should include a good mix of in-house content such as blogs, curated content from external sources, as well as commentary on fun/current events as long as it fits into your brand style guide. A good mixture of content will help you to position your brand as a leading authority on your subject matter of expertise. 

#5 - Post and measure your social media performance

Now you’ve planned your content, it’s time to go ahead and schedule your content for the month. Once you have done that, you can then go ahead and start measuring how your posts perform. Use insightful data to learn about which pieces of content resonate with your audience, what times work best for posting, and other analytics that will help inform your future social media marketing campaigns. 


Alternatively, for more information on social media marketing please do contact The Brit Agency. Our team of Inbound Marketing experts would be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Topics: Social Media