How to Create (and Maintain) a Social Media Calendar for Your SMB

If you’re scrambling to decide what to post on Facebook and Instagram every day, it might be time to take a more strategic approach to your social media marketing efforts. Creating a dedicated social media content calendar can help small business owners stay organized, save time, and manage online content proactively across a variety of social networks.Whether you use a simple Word document, spreadsheet, or a sophisticated dashboard service, here are some key things to keep in mind when it comes to creating and maintaining a social media content calendar for your business.Plan aheadWhether you choose to work days, weeks, or months in advance, a social media content calendar will require you to draft and schedule all your upcoming content for each of your business’ active social channels. This means you’ll need to write out your caption copy with relevant links and hashtags, select supporting images and videos, and determine the exact date and time when your posts will go live — and on which platforms. Working ahead will help ensure you’re posting consistently and sharing a good mix of promotional sales-focused content and entertaining and engaging on-brand posts. In addition to your own creative assets, you may want to round-out your feed by incorporating a curated mix of photos, videos, or articles from other users.Monitor your content Creating a social media calendar for your business will not only encourage you to plan your content in advance, but will also help you to track your audience engagement levels more accurately. You may want to test out various content strategies by increasing or decreasing your post frequency, scheduling content at different times of day, and experimenting with unique hashtags. Utilize the built-in analytics on your business accounts to analyze how your posts perform to better determine what type of content resonates with your followers. By monitoring your social platforms closely, you can identify trends and patterns and tweak your content calendar based on proven results.Don’t set it and forget itEven if you schedule all of your social content for the month in advance, you still need to log into your social channels daily to ensure you’re engaging and building relationships with your customers. Community management is a daily duty, so don’t forget to check your accounts to answer questions, respond to follower comments, like and repost tagged content, and monitor any direct messages sent to your inbox.Use the right toolsIf your business has complex social media needs like various accounts or multiple team members, you may want to consider investing in social media management software tools like Sprout, Hootsuite, or Later. These sophisticated and convenient dashboard services allow users to draft and schedule posts across a variety of networks, and can also help to facilitate real-time community management and provide helpful recommendations on trending topics, keywords, and hashtags that can be incorporated into your calendar.Make room for spontaneityWhile it’s great to map out your social media content ahead of time, it’s equally important to be flexible in your approach. Social media platforms are designed to be engaging and responsive, after all. As a business owner, you also need to be willing to adjust your content if you see an opportunity to capitalize on a trending meme or create an of-the-moment post responding to a timely event.For small business owners, creating a social media calendar will keep you on task and ensure that you are putting out consistent and compelling content that aligns with your strategic marketing objectives.Feeling overwhelmed by managing your business’s social media presence? Yellow Pages Social Media Management Solution can help. Find out more by visiting Yellow Pages for Business, and connect with a Yellow Pages expert today by calling 1-877-553-6883.