Creating and publishing content regularly is certainly no mean feat because it requires good organization. As a result, having a content calendar is essential.
Basically, a content calendar helps you manage all the content you expect to publish on any channel. Starting a content calendar may seem like a daunting task to most people, however, it’s doable.
This article details how to create and develop a content calendar and why it is integral to your content marketing efforts.
What is a content calendar?
A content calendar (editorial calendar) is a schedule of the content you’ve planned weeks or months in advance. To create one, you can use a spreadsheet, an actual calendar, or a variety of tools.
The purpose of a content calendar is to know when your content (e.g. blog, email, podcast, etc.) is expected to go live. Furthermore, you can specify the publication date and time, the author’s name, the date the content was assigned, and other factors that help you keep track of the details.
Benefits of using a content calendar in your company?
Have you ever tried to manage your content without a content calendar? I bet you didn’t find it easy. This is because you’re likely to lose track of deadlines very often.
However, with a content calendar, you are bound to achieve favorable results. Some of the benefits include;
- It makes you get a bird-eye view of your content strategy.
- It ensures you stay organized since all your content schedules are always planned ahead.
- The updates it provides simply mean it’s much easier to post content on a regular schedule.
- It allows you to plan ahead and meet your publication deadline; thus, creating content would be less stressful.
- You can easily spot gaps in content because you have all your content laid out in front of you.
- Prioritizing the right content is easier because it ensures you’re producing content that is relevant to your business.
How to create and develop a content calendar?
Highlighted below is a step-by-step guide on how to create and develop a content calendar:
Analyze existing content
The first step to take is to audit your existing content and find out what has worked and what hasn’t. You should continue with the successful content. In other words, identify the content that is generating more leads and build on that success.
Know the best content to pursue
Whether you are creating a content calendar for a blog post, email, or social media post, it’s essential to know exactly what type of content you are creating. It also includes a comprehensive understanding of how your audience is segmented and what types of content they’ll receive.
Conduct keyword research
Before filling out the content calendar, brainstorm and conduct keyword research to get ideas about the type of content to create.
For example, if you operate an e-commerce store that sells baby’s wear, perhaps you’d want to target keywords like “childcare and toddlers” in your blog posts.
Customize your calendar
Customizing your calendar to fit your needs is highly important. While a content calendar has different elements, a few common ones to add include:
- Editor
- Writer
- Deadline
- Copy
- Publish date
- Links to assets
- Platform
- Links to published post
Create a workflow
How often would you like to publish content? Who assigns and creates the content? How do you create ideas for new content?
Creating a process that accounts for each step will help answer these questions. In other words, you need to list how your company devises, creates, and distributes content.
Developing a content calendar may seem daunting; however, in a few steps, you can create one. This will reduce the stress involved in producing content and also enhance team collaboration.
