The Value of a Content Calendar
With US Internet users spending 3X more time on blogs and Social Media than on e-mail, it is no wonder why now more than ever you need to utilize Social Media platforms to actively market your products and services. Understanding the importance of a content calendar is vital in your online campaign success.
Getting someone to ‘like’ your page on Facebook is only the first step. You need to engage those fans with consistent updates that appear in their News Feed. You can’t do this by posting at one specific time of day that works for your schedule. You need to be posting information at different times of day, multiple times per week. Keep in mind that of the 800+ million users of Facebook, 400 million check Facebook once/day and 200 million users are checking Facebook MORE than once per day. It is entirely possible that the customer you are trying to reach is NOT on Facebook at the exact time/day you are. Keeping up with a vigorous posting schedule is easy for a week or two, but the real winners on Facebook consistently post messages and engage fans on a regular basis. Consistency is the key to success to Facebook.
This is where a content calendar can assist you with your Social Media campaign. Planning your posts in advance will insure success on Facebook and other platforms. If your plan of attack for Facebook is ‘I’ll do it when I have time’, you will fail. Instead, sit down once per week or if you are really ambitious, once a month and pick out your photos, articles and videos that you want to share and either copy and paste them into a Word document or place them in a folder on your desktop so that when you are ready to post or tweet something you have immediate access and don’t have to sit and think up something to say. Social Media dashboards like Hootsuite will assist you with scheduling your posts in advance but requires a bit more knowledge about the tools available online.
Consistently posting to Facebook and engaging fans by asking for a comment or posting a great photo for them to share will expose your brand to their contacts within the ‘ticker’. The ticker can be found on the top right corner of your page. The more times you show up in the ticker the better. It’s that whole ‘word of mouth’ thing that Facebook provides – for free.
What should you post? If you are having a hard time coming up with topics or items to share I would suggest to start paying attention to some of your favorite brands. Or find someone in your field that is successful at Social Media marketing and do some of your own market research. As always, Brand Yourself can assist you and your business with your Social Media marketing efforts. If you have questions on how to get started please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information. Good luck and happy posting!
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