A successful business takes time to build. You devote significant time and resources to developing, planning, and investing in your success. Why wouldn't you also commit to strategizing your marketing content calendar for the year ahead?
A well-planned content calendar is a cornerstone for successful and strategic digital marketing campaigns -- especially for small businesses.
Whether built broadly or drilled down to minute details, the content calendar is your campaign roadmap, guiding you through the intricate terrain of content creation, distribution, and engagement. Thoughtful planning and organization can help your business align marketing spend efforts with overarching goals, maintain consistency, and enhance overall effectiveness.
With a comprehensive marketing strategy in place, you won't find yourself scrambling at the last minute as you try to introduce new products and services or offer special deals.
The Foundation: 6 Questions to Ask Regarding Your Content Calendar
Starting a calendar can overwhelm small business owners with limited budget or space for a marketing team. That's where a content calendar strategist comes in, but you must make sure you find someone who understands how to drive your business across the digital landscape. Ask your strategist these six questions:
1. How can you help me with campaign themes and goals?
A good content calendar starts by outlining your marketing campaigns' overarching themes and goals. For instance, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, your themes may revolve around storytelling, behind-the-scenes glimpses, or customer testimonials. Share your goals and encourage the strategist to pitch ideas that support them.
2. What type of content do you recommend?
Your market research has already told you about your audience. Your next step requires diversifying your content to cater to different audience preferences. You're going to need more than a room full of hygge and warm feelings-- ask for a sales funnel that includes a mix of blog posts, videos, infographics, social media updates, and more to ensure your audience remains engaged across various platforms.
3. What can you plan for key dates and events?
Look for someone who can corporate essential dates and events relevant to your industry or target audience. Planning content around these dates can boost visibility and engagement, whether it's holidays, industry conferences, or product launches. If you point out key dates, your strategist will have ideas for promoting your business.
4. What schedule do you recommend for content distribution?
A good content strategist will define when and where each piece of content will be published. Aim for consistency. It's vital to building and retaining an audience, so your content calendar should establish a regular posting schedule based on optimal audience engagement days and times. Your strategist can set up pre-scheduled posts or show you how to post.
5. How can you help me target my audience segments?
Audience identification is just the beginning. You'll need someone who knows what keywords, platform, and style appeals to each segment. By understanding your audience's needs, preferences, and pain points, your strategist will create content that resonates and drives engagement.
6. How will I know if the content calendar is working?
Performance metrics determine success, and the quickest measure is conversions: sales. Integrate a system for tracking and analyzing the performance of your content. Monitor engagement, click-through rates, and conversions to refine your strategy over time.
Navigating Success with a Content Calendar
Your content calendar guides your business through the intricate paths of audience engagement and brand promotion -- like a compass pointing true north.
How do you start?
Many small business owners and entrepreneurs find meeting with a content calendar creator who can plan and organize content events helpful.
Expect your content calendar creator to:
- Take time to understand your mission, vision and brand.
- Identify significant calendar events and how they affect your business.
- Make recommendations for content themes, creation and distribution.
- Create, post and evaluate content as well as analyze its effectiveness.
Work style varies among content strategists. Some content creators want you to fill out a form outlining your needs and budget, while others like to meet virtually to learn more about business owner goals before developing a calendar proposal.
Many business owners ask us, "But what if things change?"
Then, your marketing plan will change, too. The streamlined content creation process empowers businesses to pivot in response to the dynamic demands of audience needs in the digital landscape.
In digital marketing, a well-crafted content calendar is the roadmap to success. Start planning your calendar soon to be ready for the new year!