Content Calendar Development
Creating and publishing content to the web is now a fundamental marketing activity to attract prospects, engage clients, and increase search engine rankings. From blogging, to social media, to drip campaigns, the most efficient way to produce this content is to have a plan in advance. Creating a content calendar is the most straightforward way to develop that plan.
A content calendar provides you a guide to the content you will create several months in advance. The calendar can be made in a document or spreadsheets – select topics for future blog posts or newsletter articles and plan them out month by month. Remember, you don’t have to stick strictly to the calendar if another good idea presents itself. It’s meant more as a guideline to help ensure your content is posted regularly. Best practices are ever evolving, but if you are not making blog posts once a month and other social media posts at least weekly, you are missing an opportunity to build your audience.
Not sure what topics to talk about in your blog? Consider the personas of your clients and prospects. What are they interested in reading and watching about your company and industry? The best topics will revolve around information that the reader can put into action quickly or will educate them at a fundamental level about your industry. Your content calendar should include the month, the day or week to be published, what the topic is, who is writing it, and when it is due to be complete.
If you need inspiration, consider these areas for blog topics:
- Cover industry events like trade shows and conferences
- Answer frequently asked questions
- Create how-to articles on how to perform a service themselves, maintain their products or get the most value from your company
- Highlight new products, updates in your business or industry news
- Feature new product launches
- Report company news and announcements
Produce content in many different formats as possible, since your prospects and customers are likely to “consume” information differently. Some prefer to read, and some may prefer short videos or audio; some may like serious, pieces that are more details, and some may enjoy humorous content. Different formats may also be more suitable to the different stages in the buying cycle. Consider these forms of content for repurposing your blog content and posting them where your prospects are likely spending time:
- Facebook, Google +, LinkedIn posts
- Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram posts
- Tweets
- White papers
- Case Studies
- ebooks
- Videos
- Infographics
- Charts
Blogs are a part of search engine optimization (SEO) strategies because they provide a way for your business to add fresh content to your website while incorporating keywords, like “Marketing Eureka CA.” When you decide in advance what the topics will be and when it will publish, we call this a content calendar.
In addition to website content, there are other places to publish your content. If you have social media accounts for your business, you can break these blog posts up into bite-size chunks for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and more. You can also adapt your posts into video scripts for posting on YouTube and Vimeo. Even if you only update your blog once or twice per month, you should be able to regularly write social media posts by repurposing these posts. Remember to respond to comments you receive from readers – this will encourage more engagement with your content.