Creating a content plan in advance is a great way to stay on track and ahead of all the tasks you have to do. By staying organised, you don’t risk losing consistency and engagement, and you can make the most of your content marketing strategy.
Follow this step-by-step process to produce your own quarterly content plan:
Measure Results from Last Quarter
Before deciding on your goals for next quarter, take a look at your existing results. Look at engagement, website traffic and social media growth. What is the information telling you? Make a not of it in an Excel spreadsheet or create a tracking sheet.
Set Some Content Goals
In order to make the most of the next quarter, set yourself some goals for what you want to achieve. Based on your results from the last quarter, ask yourself what target you want to hit in the next quarter. Do you want to increase engagement by 20%, or receive 50 new email subscribers? Try using a SMART objective to be as concise and accurate as possible.
Write Down Important Dates
What business events do you have in the next four months? This could involve campaigns, holidays, launches and promotions. Write them all down so you don’t forget. This will also help clear your mind! You can use my free content planner for this. To read more about why content planning is crucial read my blog Why Content Planning is Crucial
Assign Events to your Calendar
Slot these events into your calendar! This will give you a starting point to then move onto the most important part…
Create Content Topics
Preparing content prior to events is vital in order to set up the best launch/campaign possible. Educate people and signpost them to what they should do, for example, signing up to a webinar.
Ask yourself these important questions to further help your decision process:
- What could I teach my readers that will prepare them for the event?
- What do people want to know? What questions are customers and readers always asking me?
- What stories can I write about? Customer success stories? Tips or tools they can use? Industry news/updates?
Build Your Calendar!
Once you have all the information for your calendar, it’s time to build it! Include what you’re publishing on each channel every day/week and what time. Make sure the content is relevant to the particular event. For example, if your event is on the Thursday, make sure you start promoting it in a few weeks in advance!
Building a quarterly content plan will save you time in the long run. Keeping on track with your goals and content marketing strategy means that you don’t have to focus on tasks at the last minute, and preparing in advance leaves little room to go wrong. So, get brainstorming, start organising and smash your quarterly goals.
Download my free content planner to help you map out your content here
