Social Media Content Calendars: A Realistic Framework for Small Business Owners 

As a small business owner, especially if you are just starting out your business, social media can be quite overwhelming.
It is madness. But there’s a method. 

First and foremost, it is essential to have a brand story. 

A comprehensive document with your brand literature is the holy book for your brand. This is where your strategy will stem from. 
If you are not entirely sure what a brand story entails, read: What Is A Brand Story 

Then build content pillars and content calendars. 

Content pillars are your long-term communication strategy north stars. These pillars should answer the goal of dialogue with your target audience. Content categories are the fleshed-out pillars. What you are actually going to communicate on an everyday basis, that’s what content categories are. 

You can read more about this step here: The 3E Social Media Strategy 

The second step of building content pillars and content categories is something you would want to standardise.
The processes should be standardized.
Content creation is where you get creative. The content categories you devise will require content creation – graphics, animations, videos, reels, photos – the list as dynamic as the changing social media algorithms. 

Here’s a calendar formula you could experiment with: 

Every Month – 

• Track the monthly social media growth vis a vis last month
• Evaluate your social media pillars
• Identify important days/festivals which may be relevant for the brand
• Plan the campaigns for the month in detail
• Slot content categories for certain days so creating the social media calendar becomes easy

Every Week –

• Track your social media metrics, post wise
• Slot a day to shoot content – photos and videos
• Schedule all your posts
• Competition and non-competition analysis – keep an eye on inspiring brands to see the kind of content they are publishing 

Every Day –

• Slot time for ORM
• Keep a check on social media trends 

Once a system is in place, your daily tasks will be reduced, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. 

If your business is growing and scaling, it might be time to hire a content agency.
Here’s why you should consider a micro-content agency: 6 Benefits Of Hiring A Micro Content Agency

Beyond The Panorama

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