In the first part of this two part blog post on posting more efficiently we covered the discovery phase and how knowing what you’re posting and what you’re not can help you achieve a nice mix. Now let’s get down to filling in the blanks of your content calendar.
Why Your Chamber Needs a Content Calendar
Most chambers don’t think a content calendar is necessary because they just look to post 4-6 posts a day over several social media profiles. They can stack their posts in Buffer or Hootsuite and schedule them in advance. No reason to create a calendar.
But creating a calendar will help you spend less time on your content curation. Here’s how:
First ensure you have a content calendar that has all of your open slots listed. If you post Monday-Friday 5 times a day on Facebook, once on Instagram and 3 times on Twitter a day, create a spot for each profile, at each time, on each day. Think of them as content appointments.
Let’s assume you have some consistent content every week, maybe you post to a blog, maybe you receive content from another source, either way it’s content you know you will have every week. You don’t have to farm for it.
Stick that content into where you normally would post it on the calendar.
For example, if you post your blog post the day it goes live. How many times do you post it and across which platforms? If you’re only posting it once to Twitter, you’re not using it enough. Spread it out over 3-4 days posting at different times. Don’t do multiple posts to Instagram or LinkedIn but do so for Facebook and Twitter. Each time you post it, give it a different intro. You’d be surprised how different wording appeals to different people.
With one piece of content you should now have 3-4 Twitter spots filled over the next few days. Move onto your next piece and do the same. Rotate the times so the same piece of content is not always in the same time slot.
Continue with all of your given posts, now fill in the extra spaces with things from your members, spotlights on your town, etc.
Using a chamber content calendar accomplishes a number of things:
- Ensures you’re sharing a good mix of content types.
- Guarantees people who are logged in at the same time every day don’t see the same posts over and over.
- Maximizes the impact and reach of your content.
- Helps you recognize just how many event posts you’re doing.
You take a lot of time creating content, or obtaining it. Ensure you’re getting the maximum reach and use from it by plotting it out on a content calendar. If you’d like a free content calendar template, here’s a source for 8 free ones that you can tailor to your chamber needs.
