If you have a business or brand, chances are you have a social media presence. As ‘old school’ as you may like to be, the reality is that customers now all but demand that their favorite brands are active right across social media. But to truly reap the business benefits of social content development, you will need to do a lot better than throwing the occasional post up on Facebook. The most successful businesses in this day and age are those who harness the immense power of social media and plan their posts with military precision.
In this article we take a look at how you can use a digital planner to schedule your social media or blog content and why carefully-planned content makes for such a successful marketing boost.
Why Start a Social Media Content Planner or Blog Content Planner?
Did you know that 3.5 BILLION people are daily social media users? That’s roughly 45% of the world’s population. Social media is a global billboard where companies’ reach can soar from local to global. It’s not only worth getting onboard with - it’s worth investing some serious strategy in. Content that is made up ‘on the spot’ no longer cuts the mustard when you are competing with the seriously slick players of the social media world. But how exactly can a content planner help? Here’s 12 ways, to get you started:
1. Stay on top of your different channels
Not all social sites are created equal. What Twitter users live and breathe for, Facebookers will turn their noses up at. The diversity of these platforms calls for a plan so you always know what content will be going out across your suite of social channels. Enter: the content planner.
2. Free up time in your week
Sitting down to dribs and drabs of content creation may seem an efficient way of fitting social media marketing into your schedule, but getting into the right mindset actually takes a lot of time! It’s much more efficient to schedule some content creation time into your planner and sit down to draw up posts for the whole week, month, or even year.
3. Keep your posts regular
The best intentions mean nothing without a good dose of follow-through! Even if you make a mental pact to upload content every two days, you will quickly find those plans falling by the wayside without a written schedule to hold you to account. Pre-writing content and planning the Go-Live dates lets you relax knowing there will always be fresh content in front of your audience.
4. Save yourself with forethought
Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, content posted ‘on the fly’ will be just fine. But that hundredth time? That’s the time you’re tired, your kids are having a meltdown, the pizza’s on fire in the oven and you end up saying something you really shouldn't have. That one little mistake can be the death of your business and the end of your good reputation. The internet, we all know, is not a forgiving place and a blog content planner or social media planner could save you many tears. Writing well in advance, scheduling, then going back for a re-read prior to upload is a great way of catching your faux pas before the rest of the world sees it.
5. Reach for the social stars
‘Winging it’ might result in a couple of posts per week. But what if you planned things out? By putting pen or stylus to planner you can set an aspirational social media or blog schedule and then do your best to make it happen!
6. Acknowledge important dates
If you use your planner for one thing, use it for this: Noting and tracking important dates well before they take place. When it comes to planning social content, this means you can write tailored posts and schedule them on days that actually make sense! I’ve seen too many businesses post about “time to do your Christmas shopping” on Thanksgiving day itself. If you’re scheduling posts without paying attention to important dates in your calendar, it’s going to look odd or even thoughtless!
7. Track what works
A content planner is a great way of going back over your posts and assessing what worked well and what strategies need tweaking. Keep notes in your planner about your best-performing posts, number of views, number of Likes, etc, and use that information to inform the way you write future posts.
8. Get a bird’s eye view
Your social media and blog posts don’t occur in a vacuum. Each new post pairs up with the last to give your audience an overall impression of your brand and business. A social media content planner or blog content planner allows you to ‘zoom out’ and take a look at what you’re saying to your audience over the week, month, or year. By looking at the whole picture, you’ll be able to make adjustments if you notice trends that go against what your brand stands for.
9. Set goals
How many followers do you want on your Instagram page? Have you given much consideration to the rate of growth you’re hoping for? Sitting down with your planner and setting some goals for the year is a brilliant way of working some vision into your social media marketing.
10. Be in control
I might be biased, but here’s what I think: There’s very little in this world that you can’t manage better with a planner to hand! If you’re trying to gain a better sense of control over your business and marketing, then getting sorted with a content planner is the best step you’ll ever take.
The Right Digital Content Planner for Your Business
If you’re a brand or business owner and need to get some strategy behind your social media content or blog posts then starting a social content planner or blog content planner is a fantastic place to start. The BOSS personal planner is the perfect solution - offering a clean, sleek look and a whole load of features that content-planners love. Give it a try and see what I mean!