Digital marketers have all sorts of tools at their disposal. Among them is the content calendar. Whether a digital marketing agency outsources content creation or chooses to include content marketing services in a client’s package, the content calendar is an important component in maximizing content for marketing purposes. You are about to learn why.
There is an old saying in digital marketing that ‘content is king’. It is absolutely true. The only way to interact with people online is through content. That content can be written posts. It can also be video, infographics, podcasts, and social media posts. Some of the most prolific content marketing services take advantage of every form of content simultaneously. How do they keep track of everything? With a content calendar.
Content Calendars: The Basics
The content calendar concept is not difficult to understand. Salt Lake City-based Webtek Digital Marketing explains the content calendar as a schedule outlining when content will be published, the type of content that will be utilized, and the main ideas and points the content will focus on. It is often laid out in a calendar format for easy visualization. That is really all there is to it.
The most basic of all content calendars would be an actual calendar hung on the wall. You would fill in information on each day you plan to publish new content. You might work 30 days out or choose a shorter span of 14 days; whatever works for you.
Why Content Creators Use Them
Now that you know what a content calendar is, you might be curious as to why content marketers and creators use them. First, understand that content marketing is the practice of using targeted content to get a marketing message in front of your audience. So it is more than just writing blog posts every now and again.
Here’s why content creators use them:
1. Better Organization
If your content creation needs involve writing one or two blog posts per month, you can keep track of what you are doing fairly easily. But professional content marketing services churn out content daily – and often for multiple clients. Keeping track of everything quickly becomes a nightmare.
A content calendar offers better organization. It offers a complete schedule so that creators can concentrate on creating. And with organization comes the ability to meet deadlines without the stress that often comes with creating content in volume.
2. Better Consistency
A content calendar helps creators be more consistent in everything from scheduling to topic selection. This is important because search engines appreciate consistency. A website that is updated consistently tends to rank higher on search engine results pages.
3. Better Alignment
For content marketing to work, content needs to be aligned with all the other marketing messages a company is working with. Creating a content calendar makes alignment easier. A calendar offers a visual representation that improves alignment across the entire marketing spectrum.
4. Better Ideas
The content creator’s arch enemy is writer’s block – or creativity block, if you prefer. Nothing is worse for a creator than to sit down and stare at the computer trying to come up with an idea. By creating a content calendar in advance, creators can come up with their ideas for the next calendar all at once, in one giant brainstorming session. When it comes time to actually create, they don’t have to think of ideas. They already have them.
Agencies offering paid content marketing services tend to use content calendars to do what they do better. You might want to think about using a content calendar yourself if you handle your own content marketing.
