It’s January, and many content creators are in that slump, looking for interesting ideas worthy of a Facebook share. Publishers have been using them for years and for any brand wanting to reach and engage with their target market, you have to create content people actually want. Gone are the days of just posting an advert or creating a pretty landing page, hoping it will get you noticed.

Every content team, including the marketing team, should be using a content calendar as part of the content curation process.

Content calendars are great tools that can be used for mapping and monitoring your content that you create for your digital audience. They are used to define, plan, and manage the process of creating content; from the initial concept through to content development, publication, and content promotion. The benefit of using a calendar, rather than just a long list of content to be published, is that you can visualise how your content is distributed.

You can run multiple content calendars for social media, email, blogs, and more. Or, you can put them all in one place. I encourage my team to use Google docs so everyone can have access to the template. Sites like www.econsultancy.com and www.hubspot.com also offer free templates.

The main benefits of a content calendar are:

  • Identify upcoming content opportunities;
  • Improve the frequency of publishing;
  • Provide direction for your content team and copywriters;
  • Identify relevant topics to focus on;
  • Identify and serve up content of interest for your audience;
  • Define your content strategy; and
  • Manage the flow of content being created. 

Joe Pulizzi, author of Get Content Get Customers, says, "We actually want to create the minimum amount of content with the maximum amount of results (not just more content)."

Here's the kind of information you would need to include in your content calendar:

  • Topic – Brainstorm content that fits your brand persona. Make sure your topic ideas fit your target audience;
  • Idea/concept – You must identify the main focus of the piece;
  • Content type – Will it be video, podcast, text, or infographic?;
  • Distribution channel – Where will the piece be promoted (social media channels, third-party publications, paid media, etc); and
  • Sales/sponsorship opportunity – can you make money from the piece?

The important thing is that the process isn’t overcomplicated, but you need to make sure you and your team have as much information as they need. So stay on track for 2018 with a little planning.

For more information, visit www.kagisomedia.co.za.