Overview planning
Planning content for the year ahead in your industry is a strategic process that involves aligning your content strategy with your overall business goals. It can work best by splitting your business year into quarters. Write down, for example, all the trade shows that are occurring, special days of the year i.e Easter, Valentine's Day, product launch days, seasons, Christmas; the list can be endless. Content calendars are a great way of working out what you want to do with your social media pages and any blog ideas. It is there for you to see for the year and can help with motivation. Once you get some ideas on there, the floodgates will open and ideas will be flooding through.
Monthly planning
Planning your monthly content is a crucial aspect of maintaining a consistent and engaging online presence. Planning your blog, social media accounts, or any other digital marketing can help you stay organised and ensure that your content aligns with your goals. Start by writing a theme for each month and expand on that. Take into consideration your target audience's preferences, interests and behaviours.Tailor the content to meet their needs and expectations. Remember to refer back to your yearly planner.
Weekly planning
Use a content planner app to create your posts and schedule them for the week ahead. They allow you to add pictures and videos to go alongside your posts and also allow you to choose multiple platforms on which to post. Scheduling helps you save time, allowing you to focus on other areas of your business.
Content type ideas
Content ideas can vary widely depending on your audience, platform, and your niche. Here are some general content ideas that you can adapt based on your specific business:
Interviews/Profiles:
Feature interviews with experts or influential figures in your industry.
Profile success stories or case studies of your customers.
Inspirational quotes
Feature one a week on the same say, e.g. “#MondayMotivation”
Blogs
Can help grow online traffic
Helps to keep current customers engaged
Can potentially help grow demand and interest in your product/service
Increase your search engine optimisation
Poll
Polls are a great way of getting social media engagement
Can help you grow your following
Infographics
Infographics can be used to relay information in a colourful way, like product development, how-to’s, on trends, product information
Flashbacks
Flashbacks can be used to showcase how far you have come with your product/service
It helps to show the humanistic side of your business
Challenges/Contests:
Create a challenge or contest related to your niche and encourage your audience to participate
Plan different length challengers for example 3-day for quick wins 30 day challenge to change behaviours
Giveaways
Giveaways provide a great way of growing your following, giving you more opportunity of brand visibility
Think carefully what to give away. It should be something of value but that doesn’t cost you a lot for example a free consultation or access to your online course.
Q&A Sessions:
Host a live or recorded Q&A session where you answer questions from your audience.
Ask Me Anything about [a common problem your customers are facing or a product or service]
Remember to give value and to add a call to action for example download a cheat sheet from your website. This will allow you to build trust with your new potential customers
Reviews:
Review a book, product, service, or tool relevant to your audience.
Pros and Cons of a Product/Service or can be very good to increase engagement
Guest Posts:
Feature guest posts from experts or influencers in your field.
How-To Guides/Tutorials:
Create step-by-step guides or video tutorials on a specific skill or process related to your niche.
Beginner's Guide to [Topic]
Mastering [Skill] in [Number] Easy Steps
Hashtags
Hashtags serve various purposes across different online platforms. They help categorise and organise content by topic, making it easier for users to find and follow specific subjects. Users can search for and discover content related to specific hashtags, enhancing the discoverability of your posts.
Use at least three hashtags for each post:
One high-traffic hashtag, one industry hashtag and one related to the post. Remember that if you use a platform like Instagram you can have up to thirty hashtags. Create a document with all the different hashtags that you use for your business so it is easy to just copy and paste.
Examples of hashtags
Industry
Daily
#Monday Motivation
TIPS
Content Mix
Maintain a balance of content types, including images, videos, polls, blog posts, user-generated content and interactive content.
Hashtags
Use relevant and trending hashtags to increase discoverability.
Engagement
Respond promptly to comments, messages, and interactions.
Analytics
Regularly review analytics to understand what works and adjust your strategy accordingly.
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