Wondering how social media managers and savvy business owners stay on top of posting to multiple platforms without pulling their hair out?
You’re probably thinking, “I’m unsure of what to share next. How do I keep track of what
I already posted and what to post next? What exactly is a social media content calendar
and do I need one? “
First, take a deep breath. I’m going to break down all of this social media stuff into easy,
bite-sized chunks so you can create quality content for your followers and fans.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by social media, an editorial calendar or social media
content calendar will definitely help you stay on track and maintain consistency in your
messaging across all platforms and networks.
An editorial calendar will help you create quality content that engages followers by
helping you plan ahead.
But what exactly is an Editorial Calendar?
An editorial calendar is a planning document for creating content that will help you to
stay on track and stay organized.
I love how Sprout Content defines it:
“ The traditional editorial calendar is simply a schedule to keep track of stories and
articles from concept to development to publishing. Editorial calendars keep printing
schedules consistent so publications can make deadlines and plan for the best content
for their readers.” Via ~ Sprout Content.
For social media, where you might post multiple times each day on each platform, you
can use scheduling tools that also act as your social media content calendar.
Here’s a quick overview of the most popular scheduling tools for Social Media
and their pros and cons:
Planoly for Instagram : Wonder how the big brands and popular Instagrammers come
up with those pretty layouts that instantly hypnotize you into scrolling through their entire
feed? Planoly helps you plan out your Instagram posts ahead of time, visually...so you
can see if the next few photos you posted look good with the other photos on your feed before you post them. Because Instagram is so visual, it helps if your photos all have a
cohesive look. I just discovered this tool and I am already in love! As in, I spent a few
hours on it. They give you a free trial for 15 days and after that, it’s $7 per month. What I
really love about it is you can use it on an actual computer AND on your phone.
Hootsuite: This Social media management tool allows you to post to multiple
platforms (Facebook, Twitter, G+, even Instagram!) and schedule your posts ahead of
time if you wish. You can see all of your profiles on your dashboard after you connect
them. And you can manage multiple profiles. For example, if you have 5 Facebook
accounts, you can manage them all with a free account. If you have more than that, you
can join Hootsuite pro which lets you manage an unlimited number of accounts.
Tweetdeck : Like the name implies, this one is only for Twitter. Although you can
connect an unlimited number of Twitter accounts, you’ll need another tool if you want to
schedule to other platforms.
Buffer: This app allows you to manage and post to your Facebook (profiles and pages),
Twitter, LinkedIn (profiles and pages), Google+ and Pinterest. Not only is buffer free, but
you can see your social media engagement stats right in the app. Another thing I love
about Buffer is that instead of you having to pick and choose timeslots for everything,
they give you 4 default ones that you can change if you want to, so it saves a lot of time.
Buffer is pretty easy to use as well.
So that about sums up the most popular social media scheduling tools for now.
If liked this content, sign up for our free newsletter for more Social Media
Marketing tips.