Building a social media calendar every month can be creatively draining and time-consuming. At Romega, we have a few processes and resources we rely on to create each client’s social media calendar. There are a few things to consider – and that’s just as you’re just coming up with ideas!
If you’re confused about what kinds of posts your small business needs every month, here’s what Romega prioritizes in order to streamline a monthly social media calendar.
1. Stay Timely
It may sound obvious, but every month there are national holidays, local events, and even seasonal sales that will be necessary to address. Failing to do so could make you seem out of touch with your customers and the current, local climate. Our team uses NationalDayCalendar.com as an easy reference! Generally speaking, you can also Google for national holidays and then specifically search “Your Town + events”
After filling in these important dates, think about how your brand specifically relates to these holidays or events. How can your business celebrate these moments in a way that benefits your followers OR reaches new customers by showing off what your business is all about?
https://www.facebook.com/mathistrailersandequipmentsales/photos/a.1550017508602238/2777507799186530/
Let’s get even more specific: You’re coming to the end of November and Christmas is coming up. Will you have a related sale or perhaps you have the perfect gift suggestion? Be sure to include this in your post planning! Our own team celebrated Romega’s 12 Days of Christmas last year, a giveaway series spotlighting products and services from our clients! This allowed us to grow our following and engagement while keeping with a Christmas theme AND giving back to our community.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6JbDpHpb_b/
PRO TIP: Put your social media accounts to use! Look at what similar businesses are doing for that holiday to get ideas.
2. Highlight Your Brand
As you seek to relate to and inspire your customers to do business with you, you can do this in several ways. Ultimately, you want to give them more and more reason to trust you and like you, so that when they are ready to do business, they do so with you.
Here are a few examples of posts that create trust and likeability:
Staff Spotlights
Show off the faces behind your business! Not only does this give you an opportunity to show off your company culture and values, but for each skill set of your employees, you’re advertising a service or opportunity potential customers can find at your business. What’s not to love?
https://www.facebook.com/CarneyFamilyDental/photos/a.1350646791711013/2998176063624736/
Company Story
Here’s a chance to show off your mission. What drives you to go to work every morning? Looping your customers in on this conversation helps make the brand personal and relatable.
https://www.facebook.com/brotherletmebeyourshelter/photos/a.126238845781798/153041029768246/?type=3&theater
Giveaways!
This is one of the best ways to quickly increase your page’s reach and engagement. People love giveaways, and will gladly share them and tag friends, increasing your exposure and reflecting positively on your business! Remember our Romega 12 Days of Giveaways post? Between November and December, our engagement increased by 128.57%. Those kinds of numbers don’t come easy without a forward-thinking social media plan!
3. Show Off Your Success
When a potential customer comes to your social media page and sees a customer shout-out or review, they come away knowing that you’ve created a level of trust with others. Not only does this convey a sense of expertise, but this is also a way for you to take advantage of user-generated content.
Start by checking your Google and Facebook reviews. Create a graphic using your branding, like colors and fonts, and thank them for leaving a review. Also, check your tagged posts! if someone has tagged you, be sure to repost what they shared and give them a shout-out! (Note: you might want to ask for permission first!)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CFpVq85o2da/
Remember the idea of showing off your expertise? It’s also great to throw in an educational post highlighting work you’ve done, or work that represents your business well. This tells potential customers that you’re an expert in your field, and shows good faith by giving some of that expertise away for free.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3109823215763083
4. Bonus Tip: Don’t Go Overboard
Here’s one of the biggest problems we see in a lackluster social feed: Their entire feed is full of sales material, and not much else. Only about 1 in every 3-4 posts should be a direct sales call to action. You don’t want to come off as annoying or salesy all the time.
Here’s an important note: this is different from linking a product in a post! If you do sell your product on your website or on Facebook or Instagram shopping, it’s ok to link that product in the post. That way, people who are interested can easily buy it if they want, and they won’t be turned away by a sales-focused post.
Planning a social media calendar doesn’t have to be stressful every month. Use our formula to know what to post and feel confident in your social strategy single month! Or, if you just don’t have the bandwidth, tell us what you hope to accomplish with a social media calendar. We can’t wait to help!
