10 Steps to Creating a Strategic Content Calendar in 2017

10 Steps to Creating a Strategic Content Calendar in 2017

March 2017

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1: Identify Your Target AudienceYou might as well be writing for the wind if you’re writing without an audience in mind. These are the people who WANT to read what you have to say, so find them and tailor everything specifically for them. Are they predominantly male or female? What age range are you working with? There are many groups and sub-groups out there, each with different preferences. Before you do anything else, identify your target audience and WRITE FOR THEM.

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2: Figure out What Content Resonates with Your Audience and Fits Your BrandWhat’s your audience most likely going to respond to? In other words, what’s going to attract them to your content and compel them to keep coming back? If you completed the previous step, what resonates with them should already align with your brand. If not, then then go back and find an audience because there’s no point in writing content that doesn’t align with your brand. Simply put, it’s a moot point. ©2016 AUMCORE. PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL.


3: Set a Timeline and Decide How Often to Post…but most importantly, BE CONSISTENT!One of your goals is to build traction with your audience. Neither too few nor too many posts is good. Find a middle ground that allows you to be a constant presence on your audience’s mind without being a nuisance. Get a feel for your industry and how frequently your competitors post (and where). Which days get the highest engagement? What about the times in a day? Once you find this out, set a timeline and move on to step 4.



4: Determine Where to Publish Your ContentThere’s a good number of outlets you can make use of to publish your content. You have your website (if you have one), other relevant websites in your industry, and an array of social media channels waiting to be used. Building off the last step, which of these channels works best for your industry? While Instagram works wonderfully well for a fashion brand, it’ll probably do poorly for an accounting firm. The same goes for other social media channels such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and many more. Utilize most or all of them, but reserve the most energy for the one that works best.


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5: Write! Write! Write!It’s finally time to write! As you’ve most likely heard, content is king. If you haven’t, here it is: content is king. Your content is what’s going to keep your audience coming back, so write posts that are both engaging and entertaining. Try different things out like photos, videos, designs, infographics, quotes, etc. and see what your audience likes the most. Once you have this information, write, write, and write some more.



6: Start Publishing!What comes after writing? That’s right, publishing! Schedule your publishing and make sure to set (and meet) goals. Not only does this ease pressures because you have an approximate timeline to work with, but adding routine to your publishing allows you to better focus.



7: Promote Your Content on Social Media PlatformsOnce you start publishing, it’s time to promote your posts. This means linking them on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. This is also a good way of reaching those who don’t subscribe to your website or those who do a Google search on a topic that matches what you wrote about. As such, remember to use keywords in your post and its description that potential readers can find you with.



8: Repurpose Old Content and/or Syndicate on Third-Party SitesThis step is twofold. First, you can repurpose content by turning a post into an infographic, making a video that covers what you wrote about (bonus points if you do a live video —> very hot nowadays), or anything else that entails repurposing in some way. Similarly, you can repurpose content by syndicating it on a third-party website. Ideally, this website’s audience should be your audience as well (no point in writing for a tech site if you’re a fashion brand), and should be larger than yours (you want to benefit from their broader reach).



9: Keep Abreast of Breaking News/Stories & Add Them to the CalendarThe news waits for no one. If an industry related story breaks, you can bet your competitors will be there to cover it. Don’t fall behind or let your audience turn to your them; be the one they look to for any and all coverage.



10: Keep Your Content Calendar FullMore of a suggestion than a step, this one is VERY important. The last thing you want is to run out of content mid-month and lose the traction you’ve been building with your audience. This is why the previous step is to incorporate trending topics to your calendar; you want to have something in place, a fail-safe of sorts, to write about that your audience will benefit from. You can also have guest writers post for you when you don’t have anything to say (it happens). This will add some variety to your site/blog and will encourage them to return the favor and let you guest post for them.



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The content of this presentation is proprietary and confidential. Content contains concepts and work performed for multiple Brands (including confidential client names) and is not to be shared or disclosed without prior authorization.

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10 Steps to Creating a Strategic Content Calendar in 2017