We know, planning is not everyone\u2019s favorite \u2014 but sometimes, putting a little bit<\/em> of work into building a plan saves you a whole lot of work down the line. A social media calendar is the perfect example. It helps you organize your work, plan your content ahead and keep an always up-to-date bird\u2019s-eye view of your social strategy. <\/p>\n Keep reading for your complete guide to setting up a practical and powerful, easy-to-use social media calendar<\/strong>. We\u2019ve even included some free social media calendar templates<\/strong> to get you started!<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Bonus: Download our free, customizable social media calendar template<\/span><\/strong> to easily plan and schedule all your content in advance.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A social media calendar is a detailed overview of your upcoming social media posts, organized by date and time<\/strong>. It can take the form of a document, spreadsheet, or interactive dashboard.<\/p>\n Social marketers use content calendars to plan posts, manage campaigns, and review ongoing strategies.<\/p>\n Every entry in a social media calendar typically includes some combination of these elements:<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Create. Schedule. Publish. Engage. Measure. Win.<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFree 30-Day Trial<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t\t <\/span><\/p>\n Follow the steps below to create a lean and efficient social media content plan.<\/p>\n Before building your social media posting calendar, you need a clear picture of your existing social media accounts.<\/p>\n Use our free social media audit template<\/a> <\/strong>to create a precise, up-to-date record of:<\/p>\n As part of your audit, note how often you\u2019re currently posting on each social network. Look at your analytics<\/a> for any clues about how your posting frequency or time of posting impacts engagement and conversions.<\/p>\n Hot tip:<\/strong> Sign up for a 30-day free Hootsuite trial<\/a>, and use our all-in-one analytics dashboard to easily analyze your performance and track competitors in one spot.<\/p>\n Deciding what kinds of content to post is a key part of your social media strategy<\/a> \u2014 and an important step to building a social media calendar. There are a couple of standard marketing strategies for content mix that you can use to get started:<\/p>\n You\u2019ll also need to determine which social channels to use for which types of content. Some may not be necessary at all. The audit you completed in step 1 will help you determine which channels are the best fit for your business.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to schedule user-generated content<\/a> and curated content<\/a>. That way, you don\u2019t get too bogged down with hands-on content creation.<\/p>\n Your social media calendar won\u2019t look exactly like anyone else\u2019s. For example, a small business owner doing their own social posts will likely have a much simpler calendar than a large brand with a full social team.<\/p>\n Map out the information and functions that are most important to you. That way, you can get the most out of your social calendar.<\/p>\n Start with basic details, like:<\/p>\n You may also want to add more advanced info, like:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re just getting started, a simple spreadsheet works well. If you\u2019re looking for a more powerful solution, consider a social media management tool like Hootsuite. Hootsuite comes with an interactive calendar that:<\/p>\n An effective social calendar makes sense to everyone on your marketing team. Ask for feedback and ideas from stakeholders and your team to make sure it serves everyone\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n As you start to work with your calendar, evaluate how it feels to you, and ask the team to provide ongoing feedback. For example, if it feels onerous and finicky, maybe you want to dial back some of the detail. If it\u2019s not detailed enough, you may need to add a few columns.<\/p>\n Your calendar will probably continue to evolve as your business does \u2014 and that\u2019s okay!<\/p>\n We\u2019ve created two free social media content calendar templates for you to use as a basis for your own calendar. Just open the Google Sheets link, make a copy, and plan away.<\/p>\n The social media content calendar template linked above has room for the major platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and TikTok). But it\u2019s highly customizable, and you\u2019re free to make it your own with the channels that make sense for you.<\/p>\n Make sure to create a new tab for each month, and plan out your editorial content week by week.<\/p>\n Among the many helpful items in this calendar, don\u2019t miss the tab for evergreen content<\/a>. This is where you can keep track of blog posts or other content that always performs well on social, despite seasonality.<\/p>\n This template includes columns for you to track and schedule:<\/p>\n Use the editorial calendar template linked above to plan individual content assets. Think blog posts, videos, new research, etc. This is where you plan out the content that your social media efforts will be promoting.<\/p>\n The template is easy to use. Just create a new tab for each month, and plan your editorial content out week by week.<\/p>\n This social media editorial calendar template includes the following columns:<\/p>\n You may want to adapt your template to include other important information, like target keyword or content bucket.<\/p>\n A social media calendar lets you plan ahead, batch your work, avoid multitasking, and note down all your content ideas for later.<\/p>\n Social media planning calendar tools even allow you to schedule social media posts ahead of time<\/a>. That means your accounts can be active every day without you having to log into all your social platforms every hour on the hour.<\/p>\n The average internet user regularly uses 7.5 social media platforms<\/a>. For marketers managing multiple social media accounts, the number can be much higher. When you\u2019re managing multiple accounts<\/a>, getting organized is essential \u2014 and planning your content frees up time for more strategic work, which is often more fun anyway.<\/p>\n There is no hard and fast rule about how often you should post on social media. That said, there are some generally accepted best practices<\/a> to use as a baseline. The most important rule, no matter how often you decide to post, is to post on a consistent schedule.<\/p>\n Sticking to a regular schedule is important, so your followers and fans know what to expect. It\u2019s also a good way to make clever use of weekly hashtags like #MondayMotivation. (I prefer #MonsteraMonday, but that might not be for everyone.)<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CbGhYbrulxO\/<\/a><\/p>\n For a real-world example, take a look at the weekly content calendar for The Winnipeg Free Press<\/a>. Sure, this isn\u2019t a social media<\/em> content calendar, but it is<\/em> a weekly plan anchored by consistent content ideas.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Winnipeg Free Press<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Content frameworks like these give you one less thing to consider as you create your posts. Scheduling posts in advance allows you to stick to a schedule while ensuring you always have quality content ready to go.<\/p>\n Social media calendar tools also allow you to post at the best times for your audience, even if those times don\u2019t align with your core working hours. Which leads us to\u2026<\/p>\n When you create content and schedule it in advance, you can actually take time off. No logging into your work accounts on Thanksgiving, late at night, or early in the morning.<\/p>\n For busy social media managers, creating a social media calendar is an act of self-care.<\/p>\n Reminder to our community, check in on your mental health. Take a break away from your screens when you can \u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n \u2014 Hootsuite \ud83e\udd89 (@hootsuite) March 4, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Planning posts ahead of time allows you to check your work and build a safety net into your workflow. Everything\u2019s easier when you\u2019re not rushing to post.<\/p>\n A social media calendar \u2014 especially one with an approval process \u2014 is the best way to prevent everything from minor mistakes to social media crises<\/a>.<\/p>\n Social media production values have skyrocketed since the early days. Today, it\u2019s not unusual for a single post to have a whole social media team of creatives behind it.<\/p>\n Asking your team to drop everything for an emergency Instagram Reel won\u2019t win hearts or minds. It\u2019s not going to result in your best possible content or a cohesive account either.<\/p>\n A social media calendar helps you distribute resources and make sure your team has the breathing room to do their best work.<\/p>\n Following a long-term plan also allows you to craft content that supports your social media marketing goals and beyond.<\/p>\n Planning your content in a calendar forces you to keep an eye on what\u2019s happening in, well, the calendar. This means you\u2019re prepared for everything from Daylight Savings Time to the Super Bowl. (And everything else: We\u2019re looking at you, National Pizza Day.)<\/p>\n we know pineapples on pizza is controversial, but how about on final score graphics since it’s #nationalpizzaday<\/a>? \ud83d\ude05 pic.twitter.com\/AQ2P2P1J2v<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) February 10, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n We\u2019ve created a Google Calendar of holidays<\/a> you can use to frame social media posts. You can import it into your own Google Calendar to give your content planning a little extra relevance.<\/p>\n\n Let\u2019s take a look at the Charlotte Parent magazine\u2019s 2022 editorial calendar<\/a>. It shows how content themes and specific articles align with relevant events, like Mother\u2019s Day and Father\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Charlotte Parent<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Planning content in advance gives you time to think about partnership opportunities. Or to approach influencers<\/a> about working together on sponsored content.<\/p>\n It also makes it easier to coordinate your organic and paid content<\/a>, so you can make the most of your social advertising dollars<\/a>.<\/p>\n Influencers and bloggers usually have their own editorial content calendars. This is another opportunity to compare notes and find more partnership opportunities through content planning.<\/p>\n What gets scheduled gets done, and what gets measured gets improved.<\/p>\n Your social media analytics<\/a> are an informational goldmine. You can use those insights to improve lackluster results and produce more of your best content.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re using a social media marketing tool<\/a> like Hootsuite, you can use the built-in analytics tools to capture a complete picture of all<\/em> your social media efforts, so you don\u2019t have to check each platform individually.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Beautiful reports. Clear data. Actionable insights to help you grow faster.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart free 30-day trial<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n There are probably as many different social media content calendar tools as there are social media managers. These are our favorites.<\/p>\n Sure, Google Sheets isn\u2019t fancy. But this free, cloud-based spreadsheet tool certainly makes life easier. A simple Google Sheet is a good home for your social media calendar, especially if you use one (or both) of our templates as your starting point.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to share with team members and stakeholders, it\u2019s free, and it works.<\/p>\n We\u2019d never knock a spreadsheet. But if you\u2019re looking for an even simpler solution, Hootsuite Planner takes your social media content calendar to the next level.<\/p>\n You can use Hootsuite to draft, preview, schedule and publish<\/strong> all your social media posts. You can even use Hootsuite\u2019s Bulk Composer to schedule hundreds of posts across multiple social profiles.<\/p>\n Unlike a static spreadsheet, the social media calendar you can build with Hootsuite\u2019s Planner is flexible and interactive. If you want a post to go out at 3PM on Wednesday instead of 9AM on Saturday? Just drag and drop it to the new time slot, and you\u2019re good to go.<\/p>\n Hootsuite even suggests the best time to post<\/a> for each social media account.<\/p>\n Hootsuite supports scheduling to the following social networks. (Click on each link for more specific details on how to schedule content for each platform.)<\/p>\n Hootsuite has the added bonus of offering detailed analytics<\/strong> that help inform your social media scheduling, as well as powerful content creation tools<\/strong><\/a> (including an AI post writer).<\/p>\n You already know Canva is the design-savvy social media manager\u2019s best friend. The easy-to-use graphic design tool has revolutionized the way we create content, which is why we permanently added Canva to the Hootsuite dashboard. (No joke, there are Canva templates built right into Hootsuite Composer).<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Canva<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n But did you know that Canva Pro also includes a social media scheduler and planner? It currently comes with posting capabilities for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin. Within the Canva Pro dashboard, you can also track engagement, likes, clicks, impressions, and more to see how you\u2019re performing.<\/p>\n Although it\u2019s perhaps best known as a customer relationship management (CRM) platform, HubSpot also offers its own social media management software that may serve your needs.<\/p>\n Like many of the aforementioned tools, HubSpot\u2019s social media scheduler is designed to help you manage all your campaigns from one place. It allows you to publish content to LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and schedule your content to go live at the best possible time.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Hubspot<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Buffer is another social media scheduler that comes with tools to help you build your presence on social media. It allows you to schedule posts to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Mastodon. You can also use it to reply to comments on Facebook Pages and Instagram business accounts.<\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Buffer<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n When it comes to all-in-one platforms, Buffer is relatively light on features. It doesn\u2019t offer analytics for all platforms and doesn\u2019t come with any social listening capabilities. However, Buffer\u2019s user-friendly dashboard is simple and straightforward, making it great for social media managers who just want to get in, schedule, and get out.<\/p>\nWhat is a social media calendar?<\/span><\/h2>\n
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![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Inpost-CTA-Planner.png?ssl=1\"\/)
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t#1 Social Media Tool\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\nHow to create a social media calendar in 4 steps<\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Audit your social networks and content<\/h3>\n
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![\"Hootsuite's](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/NEW-Analytics-620x442.png?resize=620%2C442&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n2. Choose your social media channels and content mix<\/h3>\n
The social media rule of thirds<\/h4>\n
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![\"Content](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Social-media-calendar.png?resize=853%2C447&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\nThe 80-20 rule<\/h4>\n
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3. Decide what your social media calendar should include<\/h3>\n
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![\"Hootsuite](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Hootsuite-visual-planner-2-620x481.png?resize=620%2C481&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n4. Invite your team to review, and use their feedback to improve<\/h3>\n
Free social media calendar templates<\/span><\/h2>\n
Social media content calendar template<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/social-media-content-calendar-template-preview-620x469.png?resize=620%2C469&ssl=1\")
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Social media editorial calendar template<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/social-media-editorial-calendar-template-preview-620x192.png?resize=620%2C192&ssl=1\")
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8 benefits of using a social media calendar<\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Get organized and save time<\/h3>\n
2. Make it easier to post consistently<\/h3>\n
![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/social-media-calendar-2-620x528.png?resize=620%2C528&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n3. You can take a real vacation<\/h3>\n
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4. Reduce typos and avoid big mistakes<\/h3>\n
5. Make higher-quality content and cohesive campaigns<\/h3>\n
6. Time your content to important holidays and events<\/h3>\n
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![\"Charlotte](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/social-media-calendar-1.png?resize=484%2C746&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n7. Spot opportunities for partnerships or sponsored content<\/h3>\n
8. Track what works, and improve it<\/h3>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t#1 Analytics Tool for Growth\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\nSocial media content calendar tools for 2024<\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Google Sheets<\/a><\/h3>\n
2. Hootsuite<\/a><\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Best-time-to-publish-facebook-page-heat-maps-620x453.png?resize=620%2C453&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n3. Canva<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"Canva](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Canva-620x349.png?resize=620%2C349&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n4. HubSpot<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"Hubspot's](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Hubspot-620x363.png?resize=620%2C363&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n5. Buffer<\/a><\/h3>\n
![\"buffer](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Buffer-620x403.png?resize=620%2C403&ssl=1\")
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