Using a content calendar to manage your message across multiple channels is a lot like juggling; as you add more channels to your marketing mix, things can get a little… out of hand. Strategic planning and coordinated scheduling can help you stay organized, drive big results for your business, and keep you from dropping the ball.
Content that works well together is coordinated and cohesive. It broadcasts your communications across multiple channels seamlessly, while remaining on-message and on-brand.
So how do you do that?
Create a Content Calendar
The most important thing you can do to coordinate your messaging is to develop a content calendar.
Using Excel or Google Sheets is an easy (and free!) way to start. Use these programs to generate a template to plan and record what, when, and where you will broadcast your message.
Your content calendar will become your main tool for planning your ideas, allowing you to view your content on a macro scale. Does your messaging revolve around a particular theme for the month? Are you trying to tell a story through multiple social media updates? Your content calendar will help you regulate the feel, flow, and thematic elements of your posts.
Take Advantage of Free Tools
Now that you’ve created a content calendar, you have a plan for your marketing communications. But if you’re broadcasting across multiple channels, you’ll quickly realize that uploading, posting and updating your content on each platform is a time-consuming job!
The good news is that there’s a myriad of tools available for you to download, which allow you to post across platforms simultaneously. HootSuite, Sprout Social, LaterApp, etc. are just a few examples of popular content management tools.
The trick is to pick one or two tools that fit your needs and stick with them.
Stay Flexible
Once you’ve created a content calendar, and used some neat new tools to schedule and automate your content, you’re good to go, right!?
Wrong!
Creating cohesive content requires tinkering. Leave some wiggle room to add or delete a post or two. This also leaves you in a position to respond to social media emergencies that may arise.
Now, go blow everyone away with your awesome content juggling skills.
