A content plan is crucial for the success of your social media strategy. Overall, the main focus is to deliver high quality content and of value.
But, what content are you going to post?
How often are you going to post?
In which purposes?
These are the questions that many business owners formulate.
Yes, social media matters.
According to Statista, “As of January 2023, there were 5.16 billion internet users worldwide, which is 64.4 percent of the global population. Of this total, 4.76 billion, or 59.4 percent of the world’s population, were social media users.”
In this post, we are going to show you how to create a content plan for social media, so you can make a documented content plan, ready to implement it.
Let’s dive in.
What is a Content Plan
A content plan is a documented guide which defines what content you are going to publish, in which channels, when, and why you are doing so.
In fact, it’s the content strategy that will enable you to create, manage and execute your content plan of your business.
Related Content: Create Your Social Media Strategy In 2023: Step-by-step Guide
Benefits of a social media content plan
There are many benefits of having a content plan, and we can highlight the following:
1. It saves time
A content plan saves you time and makes you more efficient, since you have all your content organized with instructions.
2. It creates direction
You can understand the purpose of your content, and behave accordingly.
3. Brand consistency
It will keep your brand consistent, with a cohesive social media presence.
4. It’s measurable
As it’s documented, you can measure it and improve it, if necessary.
How to Create a Content Plan For Social Media
In order to create it, we have to take into consideration the strategy and the content plan.
Step # 1 – Determine your situation analysis
First, write a summary of your current situation, thinking about the internal and external factors that occur within or outside the organization.
Use the SWOT Analysis to help you out.
Then, perform a social media audit of all your social media channels and of your main competitors.
Data to gather:
- Number of followers
- Followers Growth
- Type of content
- Publishing time
- Frequency
- Content Performance: Reach, Engagement, etc.
- Use of social media ads
Describe the insights of the gathered data.
Step # 2 – Find out who’s your buyer persona
A buyer persona is a fictional character of the ideal customer based on real data.
To define it, you can use the following basis of segmentation:
- Geographic – Region, climate, population, etc.
- Demographic – Age, gender, ethnicity, education, occupation, income, etc.
- Psychographic – Values, attitudes and lifestyle.
- Behavioral – Usage rate, price sensitivity, brand loyalty, benefits sought, etc.
Hubspot has a free online software tool that you can use. Have fun!
Related Content: The Complete Guide To Creating a Customer Avatar
Step # 3 – Identify your content plan objectives, following SMART guidelines
What are your objectives? Not all content has the same objectives.
Explore the following social media content objectives, and see which ones fit in your social media main goal.
- Lead generation
- Increase revenue
- Drive traffic
- Nurture customers/fans
- Increase brand awareness
- Boost engagement
- Impressions
Make them SMART.
Step # 4 – Plan themes (categories) for your content
Plan themes for your content, with the following purposes:
- Educational content
- Entertainment content
- Inspirational content
- Valuable content
Step # 5- Choose the types of content
Keeping the main themes in mind, choose the types of content you will create:
- Memes
- Hacks
- Infographics
- Guides
- How-to
- FAQ’s
- Testimonials
Etc.
Step # 6 – Determine your social media channels
How can we determine in which social media channel we should have presence on?
- Be where your customers and potential customers are
- Be where you can keep a solid presence, with a strategy and a blueprint.
Step # 7 – Elaborate your content plan
It’s time to elaborate your blueprint with the following information:
- Publishing date
- Type of content
- Format
- Social Media Channel
- Frequency
- Purpose
- Text
- Call to action
Tools you can use:
- Trello
- Google Drive
- Spreadsheet
- Sproutsocial
- Hootsuite
Step # 8 – Analyze your social media metrics
Numbers tell the truth. So to improve your metrics, we should gather data first, and analyze it later.
Where can you find the data?
- In the same platforms: Analytics or Insights
- Google Analytics
- Iconosquare
Conclusion
Using this 8-step framework, you can create a social media content plan for your business.
Remember to start with a clear understanding of your current situation, and setting your social media objectives. From there, work on your themes and the type of content you can create, and the tools to schedule them. Finally, analyze your performance.