Photographers who work for magazines are familiar with editorial calendars.  They are used to plan future publishing activities, which are usually divided into themes. Having a calendar is useful not only for traditional media planning but also for all businesses.

Marketing, sales, human resources and any department connecting with the public will benefit from a structured, well-planned calendar. The way we promote and grow our businesses is changing. While social media offers new opportunities it should not replace what already works.  If a business is going to add social media to the mix then a social media editorial calendar — just like a good overall marketing plan — increases the odds of success.

A calendar helps people avoid reinventing the editorial wheel.  Once a plan is in place, the project becomes more about producing great content to fulfill the plan than wasting time or discontinuing the effort attempting to figure out what to do next.

Place someone you trust in charge of the calendar.  Use a good alert system to remind all participants of content deadlines or urgent actions. Plan all blog posts, podcasts and videos. Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms should include the theme of the day, week or month.

However, nothing is set in stone.

Scheduled themes based on the realities of your business routine. In most cases, weekly or monthly is the recommended frequency.  The key is consistency. There is nothing wrong with updating and changing a calendar.  We live in a continually changing world. New opportunities land at our feet every day.   Use the calendar as a guide — especially for those days you don’t know where to start.

The more people there are involved, the more important it is to maintain a calendar.  When I sit in corporate board rooms, I help  the company develop a calendar  before they post their first blog entry or Tweet.  One of my most important assignments when working with a company is to make sure the calendar is implemented and all participants do what they committed to do to make their social media plan a success.

Do you find yourself off track? Not sure what to do next? Overwhelmed at the prospect of having to create new ideas for years to come? A social media calendar is extremely helpful.

Rosh