Mastering Your Social Media Content Plan: Tips and Tools

Mastering the Art of Social Media Content Planning with Tips & Tricks

Social networks have become crucial to any successful marketing strategy in today's digital age. However, more than simply creating a social media content plan and using it to post content on social channels is required.

To truly stand out and connect with your audience, it's essential to have a well-crafted social media content plan driving toward brand awareness. A great social media content plan ensures that your brand or small business' message is consistently communicated.

Social platforms enable you to engage with your target audience and drive growth. In this article, I'll share some of the best practices and marketing tools to help you master the art of social media content planning and create a successful content strategy for your brand.

Why Create A Social Media Content Plan?

A content plan streamlines the work on the project, allows you to leverage a system, and, if you're anything like me, will reduce your stress levels. You no longer need to think about your social media goals for tomorrow.

Your concerns about what content you must create to drive the most engagement with your target audience or potential customers. You will have already planned out your suitable photos.

You'll have time to think over publications and letters in advance, and you will have time to harmoniously consider what content to distribute for next week or month, depending on how you want to batch your work. Creating a content plan allows space and the ability to plan and prepare focused time to accomplish the task.

The advantages of developing a digital marketing content plan include a more systematic and practical approach to delivering your creatives and brand to your online social community. You are able to prioritize what content you will share through your publications in the next week or month.

How to Breakdown Opportunities

Here are some challenges or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that you could review and curate content to address those opportunities

• Increase reach – develop materials, collections, and contests your audience finds helpful.

• Increase sales – discounts, freebies, or product &/or service reviews.

• Increase engagement – polls, riddles, and games.

• Increase loyalty – User-generated content (UGC), questions, and discounts for the second purchase, sharing social content.

• Improve reputation – reviews, news, and achievements of the company.

After considering which of these tasks fit best with your needs, distribute the necessary content throughout the duration of your content plan: primarily offer helpful knowledge with a sprinkling of selling to your new customers (it's best to keep the selling on your website and only use a call to action within your socials, more on that in another article), engaging with your community and asking them to participate with feedback that would help others in your community, and so on.

With the help of a content plan, you will achieve all the goals laid out in the list above. All it takes is laying out a structure and focus. Once you get a couple under your belt, you can reflect on what worked within your social platforms and what didn't.

With that very valuable knowledge, you can then iterate your new content as you go. Great work!!

What To Include In Your Social Content Calendar

It can be a simple calendar within Excel or a Google sheet or as sophisticated as a dedicated social software or platform. The main thing is that you come up with the right amount of content ideas, which are enough for a week or a month.

Associate images, develop carousels, educational content, or short videos, then add some copy or written content to support what you are looking to share. Finally, you publish your content to the desired social platforms.

What is helpful about overlaying your content planner with a calendar is that you can keep an eye on publishing specific content for specific days relevant to your business or brand.

For example, publishing something about sustainability on Earth Day or thanking Mom on Mother's Day – Thanking a vet on Veterans Day. Anyhow, you get the idea; it's nice not to be nose down in your business and to lift your head and be aware of what is also important to your community as well.

Create Your Social Media Content Plan In 7 Steps

1. Define your target audience & listen to them: Before creating any content, you must understand who you're creating it for. Consider factors such as age, location, interests, and behaviors of your target audience to create content that resonates with them.Listening to your target audience is critical to successful social media marketing. By actively monitoring and responding to your audience's feedback, you can gain valuable insights into their preferences, needs, and pain points. This information can help you create content that resonates with your audience and builds trust and credibility with your brand.

   Additionally, listening to your target audience can help you identify potential issues or negative sentiments towards your brand, allowing you to address them promptly and prevent them from escalating.

1. Set your goals: What do you hope to achieve with social media content? Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, or boost sales?Having clear goals in mind will help guide your content creation process.

1. Conduct a content audit: Take a look at your current social media presence and assess what's working and what's not. This will help you understand what kind of content your social media users engage with and what you should focus on in the future.Whether you are a social media novice or a seasoned pro, taking stock of your social media presence is always a good idea. Conducting a social media inventory is an excellent way to assess your current standing and determine your next steps.

   By evaluating your social media accounts, followers, content, and engagement levels, you can clearly understand what's working and what's not. This information can help you decide where to focus your efforts and resources as you advance.

1. Choose the right channels: Not all social media platforms are created equal. Consider which platforms your target audience is active on and focus your efforts there.

1. Create A Content Matrix: The content matrix is a table that doesn't contain specific topics. It has ideas, categories, and formats that help develop topics for the content plan.Creating a content mix is essential to any content strategy, ensuring your audience engages with various content types and formats. Mix your content formats and topics to keep your audience engaged and interested.

   For example, if you publish a blog post one week, you might follow it up with a video or podcast the next week. It's also important to incorporate different stages of the buyer's journey, from awareness to consideration to decision-making.

1. Create a Content Calendar: Plan your content in advance by creating a calendar. This will help you stay organized and ensure that you're regularly posting content that aligns with your goals.A content plan template can be a great way to organize your content creation process and ensure that you constantly update your social media channels with relevant and engaging content.

   To get started, choose a template–most popular social media platforms offer templates–that align with your goals and objectives, such as a monthly or quarterly content calendar.

   Then, identify the types of content you want to create, such as blog posts, videos, or social media posts, and the channels you will use to distribute them.

1. Measure and Adjust: Keep track of your results and adjust your content plan as needed. Use analytics to understand what's working and what's not, make changes to your strategy, find the best times to post, and adjust as needed to improve your results.Tracking your social media analytics is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of your social media strategy and making informed decisions to improve your content and engagement. To track your social media analytics, start by identifying the metrics that align with your goals, such as engagement rates, follower growth, click-through rates, and conversions.

   Most social media platforms offer built-in analytics tools, such as Facebook Insights and Twitter Analytics, that allow you to track these metrics and gain insights into your audience's behavior and preferences.

   You can also use third-party tools such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Google Analytics to track your social media metrics across multiple platforms in one place. More on social media publishing programs later.

Achieve More With Your Social Media Content

A willingness to innovate and adapt is critical to achieving more with your social media content. Social media platforms are constantly changing their algorithm and evolving how they share published content on their platforms. Staying up-to-date on the latest trends and features is essential.

This might mean experimenting with new content formats, such as reels on Instagram or audio on Twitter. Adopting new social media marketing tactics, such as influencer marketing or social commerce, to help support your brand. You can keep your content fresh and engaging by staying open to new ideas and approaches. Using such strategies will continue to drive growth and engagement for your socials.

A valuable tool to use is modeling. Look at successful accounts with an ideal audience within and outside your industry or niche. Keep a close eye on what they are doing, and model that behavior, leverage similar strategies. Don't copy them but keep an eye on what's working. Determine how to use a similar process or technique with your content.

Publish Like a Pro

A social media publishing platform can help streamline your social media management process. Leveraging these tools will save you time and effort while providing valuable information and analytics. This will help you track and improve your results over time.

Quick Synopsis of 5 Social Media Publishing Platforms

We'll provide a brief overview of the pros and cons of each platform. You can better understand what each platform offers and what to consider when deciding.

Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social, Later, and CoSchedule are some of the popular social media content publishing software available. Each platform offers unique features and integrations, making managing their social media presence easier for businesses and individuals.

Many of the programs have a free trial. We will share a link for each of them so you can have a look at each programs website. Most of the time, it's a couple of easy steps to sign up with your email account. Offering your email unlocks the ability to–most importantly–try them out.

• Hootsuite:
  • Pros: A large number of integrations, suitable for managing multiple social media accounts, and has a robust analytics platform.
  • Cons: It can be expensive for larger teams, and the user interface can overwhelm beginners.

• Buffer: 
  • Pros: Simple and easy to use, great for small teams and individuals, and has a strong focus on social media scheduling.
  • Cons: Limited analytics compared to other platforms and limited integrations with other tools.

• Sprout Social: 
  • Pros: Good for managing customer service and engagement, has a strong analytics platform and robust features.
  • Cons: It can be expensive, and the user interface can confuse beginners.

• Later: 
  • Pros: Great for managing Instagram, has a user-friendly interface and is affordable.
  • Cons: Limited features compared to other platforms and limited analytics.

• CoSchedule: 
  • Pros: Strongly focus on content planning and team collaboration and has a robust analytics platform.
  • Cons: It can be expensive and has a steep learning curve for beginners.

To determine which social media publishing platform best fits how you work and how you want to implement your social content strategy within its framework, it's essential to consider your goals, budget, team size, and the features and integrations each platform offers. I'll provide some tips and guidelines to help you make an informed decision.

16 Types of Social Media Content Available in 2023

Each type of content has its unique benefit, and it's about what resonates well in your community. Work through the list and see what you like and what you don't, or put your unique spin on how to produce your content. Ultimately, it's how you want to be seen and use social media best.

1. Video content: including short-form, long-form, and live videos.

1. Stories: ephemeral content that disappears after 24 hours, available on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat.

1. User-generated content (UGC): content created by your followers and fans.

1. Infographics: visual representations of data or information.

1. Interactive content: quizzes, polls, surveys, and contests that encourage engagement.

1. Memes: humorous images or videos that go viral and can be shared across social media.

1. Blog posts: long-form content across social media channels.

1. Podcasts: audio content on social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn.

1. Live streams: real-time content that allows you to engage with your audience in real-time.

1. Animated GIFs: short looping animations for humor, reactions, or information.

1. Product demos: video or image content showcasing your products or services in action.

1. Behind-the-scenes content: a peek into your company culture, day-to-day operations, and team members.

1. How-to guides: informative content that educates your audience on a particular topic or skill.

1. Quotes: motivational, inspirational, or thought-provoking quotes that resonate with your audience.

1. Personalized content: targeted content tailored to your audience's interests, demographics, and behaviors.

1. Carousels: A content series that shares a broader amount of content in a single post with visual support

Connect with Your target audience.

Social media content has become crucial to any successful digital business strategy. With millions of people engaging on social media platforms daily, businesses can reach and connect with their target audience in new and innovative ways. Audience engagement is the most effective way to build an online community to support your product or service. Offering helpful, inspiring, educational content is vital to building that community with the people who will support you by supporting them with the content they want. Ask questions, chat, and build a relationship with them; it's all anyone wants these days, to be seen and connect with another person out there in space. It's very powerful to make your people, customers, and followers feel you care and want to hear from them, not just receive their patronage.

Let's Connect!

At Corethos, we are ready to help you create high-quality, engaging social media content, effectively promote your brand, build relationships with your customers, and drive traffic and sales to your website.

Furthermore, our team can provide valuable insights into your consumer behavior, enabling your business to refine and optimize your marketing strategies for better results.

Contact us and turn your social media content into a powerful tool for your business, helping it stand out in a crowded marketplace and achieve your highest marketing goals.