How to Plan a Social Media Calendar
Posting consistently is a planning problem, not a creativity problem. How to plan a month of content in one sitting, for any platform.
Decide your content mix first
Before planning individual posts, decide the types of content you will rotate: for most small businesses that is something like helpful tips, behind the scenes, customer stories, and offers. Three to five types is plenty.
The mix does the deciding for you. Monday is a tip, Wednesday is behind the scenes, Friday is a customer story. You are never staring at a blank calendar wondering what to post, only filling in a known slot.
Batch a month in one session
Set aside two hours at the start of each month. Fill every slot in your calendar with a one-line post idea, then write the actual posts for week one. Writing ideas and writing posts are different modes, and separating them makes both faster.
Keep a running idea bank for anything that occurs to you mid-month. Next month's planning session starts half-full.
Review what worked, monthly
At month end, note your five best-performing posts and make more content like them. This ten-minute review compounds; after six months your calendar is built from proven ideas rather than guesses.
Our 12-Month Social Media Content Calendar comes with the mix, the slots, and a year of prompts already structured, if you would rather start there.