MANAGING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITIES WITH AN EDITORIAL CALENDAR CAN HELP KEEP YOU ON TRACK
Just as the words you read can impact your day, so too, do the words you write. Whether you’re writing a status update on social media, a Tweet or a blog post, you need to give your words cohesion so that your readers and followers can appreciate the brand you’re trying to build.
One way to make certain that your use of social media enhances all of your marketing efforts, both online and off, you should take time to put together an editorial calendar. Just as research has shown that writing down your to-dos or even putting together a business plan can help you achieve your goals, an editorial calendar can help keep your presence on Facebook, other social media platforms and blogging front of mind with clients and potential clients.
While editorial calendars were originally designed for use with newspaper and magazine staffs as a way to not only write content but for advertisers to sell page space, they can easily transition to help you with your social media scheduling. An editorial calendar can be used to schedule posts for Pinterest, YouTube, Google+, your direct mail campaigns, blog writing as well as your email marketing campaigns. This handy tool serves multiple purposes and is more than worth your time to formulate.
Consider these benefits then make the investment of time it will take to draw up an editorial calendar:
- Hold yourself accountable. If you’ve taken the time to put together a calendar, you’ve already taken the first step and it makes follow through that much easier. If you have staff or contractors with whom you work, share a copy of the calendar with them so they can focus their efforts on your vision.
- An editorial calendar is a commitment. Putting a date/deadline to a task, typically helps you get it done.
- Cross it off. Imagine the feeling of accomplishment you’ll have when you look at your editorial calendar and can cross items off of the list.
- Planning your day/week/month/year becomes even easier. Big picture planning helps you with follow through.
- Creativity will soar. If you don’t have to sit down every day and wonder, “What am I going to write about” your creativity frees itself from that worry and allows you to simply create from the jumping off point that you’ve built.
- Don’t forget the trending topics. Don’t get so tied to your editorial calendar that you’re not flexible. Check trending topics, this is easy to do on Yahoo! news feeds or the trending topic feature through Twitter. If you’re an accountant and there are breaking news items in tax codes for example, work that into your daily updates or a blog post.
For many entrepreneurs, taking the time to pull together an editorial calendar will make facing the day and keeping your marketing plan on track much easier than staring at a blank slate on a daily basis. Remember, social media and blogging need to go hand-in-hand with your entire marketing plan as it needs to be a cohesive effort.
