As a creative person you can find inspiration at any time. To keep up with these sparks of creativity, you've probably made a habit of writing down your thoughts in your note-taking app. While this is an excellent method for tracking your revelations, it may not be the most efficient way to plan your content or develop a marketing or content strategy.
Whether it's blog content or social media posts for your various platforms, finding the right planning method can make or break your consistency (which, of course, dramatically impacts your long-term success).
What is a content calendar, and why is it important?
Simply put, a content calendar is a handy tool that helps you plan and execute content for your business. Many creators often create “on the fly” without setting up processes and proper planning.
A content calendar alleviates some of the pain points (and in some cases anxiety) that creators may experience from time to time when it comes to posting and publishing content. To get you started on creating and publishing content like a pro, we've rounded up a few helpful tools. good to know; many of these tools are free or cheap!
01 Google Sheets (completely free)
When in doubt, Google always has a tool for navigating the digisphere seamlessly, especially if you're a creator or business owner. In case you don't know Google Sheets; it's an easy-to-use, "cloud-based" version of Microsoft Excel that lets you create spreadsheets and access them from anywhere (as long as you have internet access). It might not be the sexiest way to create a content calendar, but it gets the job done and allows you to make updates along the way if you need to. Sheets is also versatile for any type of project management; blog posts, social posts, or even emails.
Pro Tip: You can search within Google Sheets or Google for templates!
02 Asana (from €0)
De drag and dropfeature of Asana is what makes their content scheduling so appealing. So you can set each platform as a separate project (ie blog, Instagram, Twitter). From there you can plan individual content by creating “tasks”. If you take the time to delve into Asana, you will understand how beneficial it is.
03 Canva (free of €11,99/month with Pro plan)
If you're not a wiz in Adobe Suite, chances are you've used Canva before. Not only is this platform a user-friendly alternative to Photoshop, but it also has a built-in content scheduler. You can create content on Canva and then schedule it directly on your selected platforms such as Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn. This makes Canva a great option for both content creation and content planning!
04 Monday.com (free for individuals)
If you're working with a team (even if it's a small team), visibility on content planning, execution, and delivery is super important. Monday allows you to do just that. Even if you don't have a team right now, Monday is worth looking into if you want to expand in the future. Not only can you color-code the type of content you're working on, but you can also create different boards to keep all your business projects separate. So ideal!
05 Planoly (free up to 30 messages per month)
Creating content for Instagram is all about making your feed look aesthetically pleasing, even at a glance. Planoly allows you to schedule your feed in a grid format. It can also automatically post content to Instagram up to hashtags and copies in your captions. If you sometimes forget to post your great content on IG when you're busy, Planoly will do it for you.
Is creating a content calendar on your to-do list? If so, let us know if you plan on using any of the tools we've mentioned here! We just like to hear. Please do not hesitate to contact us for questions and/or suggestions.