What do cross-country road trips, wedding speeches, and social media marketing have in common? Planning. I can't help you with your road trip or wedding speech, but I have a solution for planning your next social media marketing campaign — using a social media calendar!
Most marketers now recognize that social media is integral to an effective inbound marketing strategy. With so many social networks available to us, it's crucial to stay organized and plan for when and what you will share on these platforms.
What is a social media calendar?
A social media calendar is a rundown of your upcoming posts organized by date and time. A social media calendar can be a spreadsheet, digital calendar, or interactive dashboard.
To get the most value out of your social media calendar, it may include the following:
The date and time a post will go live
The social media account or network will go live on
Materials that will be included, such as copy, hashtags, links, and graphics
How to Create a Social Media Calendar
To create an effective social media calendar, you should:
1. Conduct a social media audit.
A social media audit assesses your social media presence, accounts, and engagement so you can see what's working, what's not, and where improvements need to be made. To learn how to conduct a social media audit.
2. Choose your social media channels and the content you'll post.
After conducting a social
