DO YOU USE A SOCIAL MEDIA CALENDAR?
Are you using a social media calendar to plan your content? Something that you can reference to make sure you’re not missing key events or not missing opportunities to position your business as part of wider conversations?
Planning and scheduling your social media is a trick that takes the weight and pressure out of the task of maintaining multiple social media channels. Admittedly, it’s a habit that I am still working on coaxing myself into but it’s one that I really know the value of. It’s important to remember though, that this process shouldn’t take the fun out of the spontenatity of social media, but it also doesn’t eradicate the need for interaction and real time connecting on each platform.
Planning and working to a schedule is about making sure opportunities aren’t missed. If there is an awareness day that has a significant relevance to your industry, by connecting content to this day, you position yourself as part of a wider conversation. You make yourself visible to others connecting via this awareness day. You show your relevance and that you are on the ball with the wider world.
Planning and working to a schedule means that you can create specific content or specific promotional incentives in line with the hooks that you find throughout the year. For example, if are an ethical or fairtrade brand, ‘Fairtrade Fortnight’ might provide opportunity for you to promote a discount on your products along with a competition, influencer collaboration or wider promotional activity.
You might think about looking for events, trade shows or cultural occasions to attend for the purposes of networking or creating content. There is a whole scope of hooks and ideas that can be offered up by a social media calendar.
Make it relevant. Make it interesting to your audience. Use these hooks as a way of connecting with and incentivising your audience.
Crumbs the Word did this so well with a post on Purple Day, even baking purple cupcakes especially to create this content which made the concept relevant, allowed her to show more of what she can do and was really well received by her audience. (https://www.crumbsthewordbakery.com/)
Life Coach, Roo Davies, used International Happiness Day as a hook for some content across her social media which worked perfectly as in many ways the work she does is about supporting clients in finding their happiness. (http://yourlifejourney.co.uk/)
Scheduling an element of this type content and using some of these hooks will take the pressure off on those days where you feel like you may not have a lot to say and it will ease the pressure of having to crowbar something onto your social media just for the sake of it.
The notion of ‘low hanging fruit’ is a very relevant concept in PR, especially in the DIY approach - you can build your confidence by nailing a couple of the more accessible opportunities before stepping it up a gear. Social media is similar; these hooks are low hanging fruit. Those that are relevant are easy ways to bring relevance and value into your content and promotional activity.
What do you think? Do you already use some of this content in your social media? Is it something you schedule in advance?
Each year I put together a comprehensive PR and Social Media Planner at 2019’s is already sitting at over 800 hooks, events, awareness days and more. Not only does it give you plenty of inspiration for social media, it also gives you practical guidance and tips on how to get the most out of the opportunities each month as well as introducing an element of forward planning for the media.
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The Planner is available on every tier of THE COLLECTIVE, so you can access the planner and all the other benefits of Tier 1, for £8.00 per month.
Despite being in April already, there are still around 670 key dates that could provide inspiration and PR/promotional hooks for you through the rest of 2019.
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