It’s 2018, so whether you are a local community bank, a retirement home, or a Fortune 500 company, your business should be creating and sharing content via social media platforms. I know, the thought of posting to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Snapchat can be terrifying to someone who knows little about social media. Don’t worry! There are a few tips and tricks that can make posting social content just a tad bit easier for everyone. First things first, don’t just jump right in. Before you log into Facebook and stare at that blinking cursor, take a moment to sit down and put a strategy in place. No matter what type of business you own there is always something to post about, it just takes a little time to figure out what is best for your business.

Creating a content calendar should be your first step. A social media content calendar will help you plan and organize your content across all social media platforms. It can help you organize posts by date, time, and platform. Here are a few ways utilizing a detailed social content calendar can benefit your company:

1. Time– Trust me on this one. Social content calendars allow you to plan and schedule quality posts ahead of time. This way you are not scrambling last minute to find good content to share with your followers.
2. Consistency– Organizing your posts by platform and content help make your posts more consistent. You never want to overload one social site with content and forget about another.
3. Organization– Did something come up that you’d like to post last minute? With a content calendar, you can see everything that is scheduled to run, preventing you from posting two posts on the same platform at nearly the exact same time!
4. Visual Direction– Seeing everything laid out in front of you on a content calendar can help you see missing gaps in content. Looking at the big picture will help you to post better quality content.
5. Staying on Track– Getting off track or behind schedule can be easy in the world of social media. Having a content calendar that details what is being posted, when, and to what platforms can make a huge difference.
6. Connecting to your Audience– Planning out social content while thinking about your audience and the type of engagement you hope to receive from a post can help you to better connect with your followers.

There you have it! Take your time, put on your creative cap, and start planning. Next thing you know, you’ll have a detailed and organized social content calendar that will benefit your business long term!

-Shannon Moore, Marketing Intern

Plaid Swan is a full-service
marketing communications firm,
providing national media services to
many companies across the United States.