Social Media Content Calendar Best Practices and Template

So, you decided to start your social media journey for your business, congrats! But what’s next? You might find yourself stuck, trying to figure out what your next move is or where you need to begin. We’re here to help!

The best way to get started is to create a social media content calendar with either Excel, Google Sheets, or any version that works best for you. Using a content calendar will keep you organized and on track.

Here are a few tips to get started:

1. Organize your calendar by including a column for date, posting time, caption, image description – feel free to customize as you determine what works best fits for you. Once you have created the ideal calendar, save it as a template and use it as needed. Download our free template here.

2. Create different tabs on the worksheet for each platform. This will allow you to customize the content based on the platform (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.). It is a best practice to not use the same content for each platform. Social media content should be tailored to your audience and fit the dynamics of the platform. Bonus tip: If you are creating a sheet for Twitter, add a column for the word count.

3. Leave room for ‘in the moment” content. Allow yourself wiggle room in your content calendar for posts that are timely or relevant. You can highlight the row to identify these posts separate from those that you may want to schedule.

4. Mark the posts that you have already scheduled, have been posted or you need to go back and post. You can do this by highlighting the cells in different colors or by creating columns you can check off as you go along. This will help you stay on top of any posting you may need to do later. If you have other team members that may look at the calendar, it will also keep them up to date about the content going out.

Creating an efficient content calendar is all about creating one that you are comfortable using and will keep you on a schedule. Being consistent with a calendar will bring you one step closer to becoming a social media specialist.