Social media seems to be a necessary evil when it comes to business, especially if you rely heavily on the Internet to generate warm leads.
With all of the various social media applications available, it can be a challenge to manage them.
That's where a social media calendar becomes a handy tool to plan and schedule what to share and when.
So here are six steps to creating a social media calendar.
1.
Select which social media applications you plan to use.
This is a fairly easy decision to make.
If you are just getting started, go with the ones you are currently using.
Top choices include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.
2.
Determine how often you want to post.
Look at the frequency of posts from colleagues and competitors.
3.
Create your posts.
Review what others are posting on social media, especially those in your line of work.
Some common themes include:
Make one post the title, and the other ones can be a short statement from the article.
Populate your calendar.
Use a calendar template in Word or use a week-at-a-glance format.
Vary the types and topics of posts.
If you are posting, say three times a day, do one post to:
Load your posts onto the World Wide Web.
Or delegate to your virtual assistant to take care of loading them up for timed release.
If you do choose the DIY approach, social media management tools, like Hootsuite or Buffer, allow you to pre-load posts for timed releases.
6.
Track your activity.
Once your calendar is live, keep an eye on how things are going.
Gauge website traffic, forwards/retweets, blog responses, opt in sign ups, inquiries made via your contact page, etc.
to determine how your messages are being received.
With all of the various social media applications available, it can be a challenge to manage them.
That's where a social media calendar becomes a handy tool to plan and schedule what to share and when.
So here are six steps to creating a social media calendar.
1.
Select which social media applications you plan to use.
This is a fairly easy decision to make.
If you are just getting started, go with the ones you are currently using.
Top choices include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.
2.
Determine how often you want to post.
Look at the frequency of posts from colleagues and competitors.
3.
Create your posts.
Review what others are posting on social media, especially those in your line of work.
Some common themes include:
- Promote some aspect about your services with a link back to your website
- Educate by pulling a line from a blog or article and linking it back to your website
Make one post the title, and the other ones can be a short statement from the article.
- Inspire with notable quotes, a line from a book, article, movie or song, giving credit to the source
- Inform followers of what you are working on or what you recommend reading or seeing; better yet, pull a short statement from a client testimonial and link it back to your website
- Engage your audience by asking a question or soliciting an opinion
Populate your calendar.
Use a calendar template in Word or use a week-at-a-glance format.
Vary the types and topics of posts.
If you are posting, say three times a day, do one post to:
- Promote or educate
- Inspire
- Inform or engage
Load your posts onto the World Wide Web.
Or delegate to your virtual assistant to take care of loading them up for timed release.
If you do choose the DIY approach, social media management tools, like Hootsuite or Buffer, allow you to pre-load posts for timed releases.
6.
Track your activity.
Once your calendar is live, keep an eye on how things are going.
Gauge website traffic, forwards/retweets, blog responses, opt in sign ups, inquiries made via your contact page, etc.
to determine how your messages are being received.
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