A content calendar is a useful tool for planning and organizing your content marketing strategy. But sometimes, unexpected changes can disrupt your schedule and force you to adjust your content calendar. How can you deal with these situations without losing your momentum and consistency? Here are some tips to help you adapt your content calendar for unexpected changes.
The first thing you need to do when you face an unexpected change is to assess how it affects your content goals, audience, and resources. For example, if there is a sudden shift in market trends, customer needs, or industry regulations, you may need to update or postpone some of your planned content to align with the new reality. Or, if there is a technical issue, a staff shortage, or a personal emergency, you may need to reduce or reschedule some of your content production or distribution tasks. By assessing the impact, you can prioritize your content activities and decide what to keep, change, or cancel.
The next thing you need to do is to communicate with your content team and stakeholders about the unexpected change and how it affects your content calendar. You need to inform them about the new deadlines, responsibilities, and expectations, and get their feedback and input. You also need to update your content calendar tool, whether it is a spreadsheet, a software, or a platform, and make sure everyone has access to the latest version. By communicating with your team, you can ensure everyone is on the same page and avoid confusion and conflict.
The third thing you need to do is to be flexible and creative with your content creation and distribution. You may need to adjust your content format, length, tone, or channel to suit the new situation. For example, if you have less time or resources, you may opt for shorter, simpler, or repurposed content, such as infographics, podcasts, or social media posts. Or, if you have more opportunities or challenges, you may experiment with different types of content, such as webinars, ebooks, or case studies. By being flexible and creative, you can make the most of your content potential and reach your audience effectively.
The fourth thing you need to do is to monitor and measure your content performance and feedback after you adjust your content calendar. You need to track how your content is performing in terms of traffic, engagement, conversion, and retention, and how your audience is responding to your content in terms of comments, reviews, or ratings. You also need to compare your results with your original goals and expectations, and identify any gaps or opportunities. By monitoring and measuring, you can evaluate your content strategy and improve your future content decisions.
The fifth thing you need to do is to learn and improve from your experience of adjusting your content calendar for unexpected changes. You need to analyze what worked and what didn't, and what you can do better next time. You also need to document your process and outcomes, and share your insights and best practices with your team and stakeholders. By learning and improving, you can enhance your content skills and knowledge, and prepare yourself for any future changes.
Review the project after it's finished. Come back and look at each stage, workflow, and action. Maybe there is something to be learnt. So ensuring all team members get a voice and can freely speak, also ensures that future projects could go smoother.
You shouldn’t have to adjust your content calendar if flexibility is built into it from the beginning. Take a lesson from engineering sprints and plan for “unplanned” projects. Start out with a monthly calendar that reflects 80% content creation capacity utilization and leaves 20% of capacity open for unplanned projects and forward-looking strategy & planning. Do this for a couple of cycles and adjust percentages to reflect your organization’s needs.