HOW TO CREATE YOUR 2023 SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT CALENDAR

Next year is here, which means next thing we know, we’re halfway into February and still can’t remember what social media strategy was. Something about posting constantly and having a trackable plan?

Social media calendars and plans are pretty stressful, especially when the rest of your company is waiting. But there’s no better time than now. With even a little awareness of what effective posting & content looks like, you can easily begin preparing and putting into action a year of success and come out a social media ninja… or at least getting that feeling we all enjoy.

Mindset Matters

Social media for me can be a lot like a new recipe to cook. It seems far more complicated than it is. But following the steps right with a little bit of intuition and a good apatite leaves us wondering why we thought it was so hard in the first place. Then we realize we went so long avoiding learning how to cook your new favorite dish that you now know how to cook for the rest of your life.?

UNLIKE cooking recipes, social media does change. However, the disciplines that contribute to success stay much the same. Here’s what you need to know to create the ultimate 2023 social media content calendar!

What is a social media content calendar and why do I need one?

A content calendar is a place where all your ideas, writings, posts hangout before they launch on to your profiles. It becomes your home base for content, goals, metrics, and networking tracking.?

Applying your content to a time-bound calendar both allows you to plan and give yourself time to ensure each post reflects the full desired value. Your Content Calendar also help apply best content practices and organize your content into topic pillars ensuring you are speaking to the right people, and at every stage of the buyer’s cycle.

Using your social media content calendar tool, your once random posts turn into something much more intentional. You can begin to speak deeper into your brand and values through structured writing sessions.

Though there are a plethora of great platforms that help organize this process, building your own content calendar home base helps better take ownership and create the organizational vision that fits you best.?

Capture Inspiration and Build Momentum… Everyday!

As Peter de Vries has said, “I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning.” One of the primary rolls of a content calendar is to give yourself an organized space to write consistently. The content Calendar is 90% discipline and 10% strategy. It provides accountability and a committed mindset to develop writing skills for social media?

Instead of going on when you have the extra time in the week, take time to commit 20 min each day to write posts. Use the category pillars to guide and draw inspiration.

You’ll find more ways to reach your target audience, develop your campaign and strategies when you have a library of post, writings and ideas in your library.

Structure Makes Creativity Easy

One of the biggest blocks to get started writing consistent content is the lack of a starting point. One way to help always keep your mind ready to engage, learn and share is by creating a page in your content calendar that all sources of inspiration might come from. This can look like a list of your favorite people, or blogs or companies that help inspire you to write.

In music school, I often found the top jazz musicians could always name dozens of other jazz artists. They would know each track and who played on them, why they were significant. They became first and foremost students of listening. Then they applied what they heard into their own musical vocabulary. Social Media is much the same. Take a page to develop a list of companies and content writers that you appreciate. You can go a step further and keep notes on what you learn from their style.

Engagement!? So, when’s the wedding?

Your content will be read by a variety of people. It’s impossible to write for everyone all at one time and usually leaves us writing for no one in particular. But don’t fret, content pillars are here to save the day! Though there are many ways to divide a content strategy. One effective way is to build columns around each stage of a follower’s journey.

Come together, right now! (The Beatles)

(50%) The first column should be writing to attract and engage with people outside your existing group. Content in this category often looks at what the world and your surrounding community is talking about. Writing content in this category is best effective when we go out and engage with others content and contribute positive to the discussions happening. The trick here is to find topics that you as a writer genuinely enjoy, have a reason to speak about, not just NY Times.

Practical strategies can involve writing a post (bring value) and then focusing on sharing your perspective with others posting on the same topic. You can go a step further and link your main post in the comment when it naturally fits.

S.T.A.Y (Interstellar)

(25%) The second column is likely what we already do naturally, share consultative and high value insights into your existing community. Writing about the topics and questions surrounding your company, product or service, while not directly talking just about yourself is key in this stage.

Sell Me Candy (Rihanna)

(25%) This column is to write to the people that actively are interested in you and what you have to offer. Values you hold, your story of how you got to where you are, what makes your company and perspective different and unique.

Bringing it all Together

Content can be difficult, and a fully organized content calendar might not come together by day one. Bringing together discipline, structure and creative flow is your first step towards intentional and effective writing. Quality comes through consistency and consistency comes through a motivated and disciplined mindset.

1. Start with writing down why you want to build a content calendar and what you will achieve by following the full year.
2. Research what your peers are doing and write down a list of your top 10 accounts you want to learn from (give space for notes).
3. Write out what topics inspire you to write and why.
4. Structure 5 posts for each category of the customer journey.
5. Dedicate time every day to write and track your progress.

Celebrate!!!

At this point, bring what you’ve learned and built into your own content calendar and structure it based on how you best flow. Then watch the growth happen!

Next things you’ll know, you’ll be a content king and enjoying every step of the way!