Optimizing Social Media Presence and Marketing Through the Use of Content Calendars
As the world shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals turned to social media for interaction and connection. Businesses have always played a crucial role in fostering connection in communities across the globe, and now they must adjust to continue to promote valuable messages, engagement, and hope online. Social media marketing strategies, such as content calendars, have allowed small businesses to adapt to the digital landscape and provide a way for businesses to succeed across various platforms.
Adapting Social Media Use
As the pandemic swept the world, businesses faced challenges that caused them to adapt their social media presence as e-commerce and media consumption intensified. Across the internet, countless businesses have adjusted their social media marketing tactics to align with new patterns and trends. According to Harvard Business Review, social media marketing budgets have intensified from 13.3% in February 2020 to 23.2% in June 2020, a 74% increase.
Moreover, companies have continued to adapt their businesses and social media use. For instance, fitness organizations, such as Modo Yoga NYC, Orangetheory, among others, now offer live online classes and accessible at-home workouts. Additionally, some businesses have used social media as a means to promote educational activities such as the Cincinnati Zoo, which provides at-home safari experiences.
Utilizing a Social Media Content Calendar
Due to an increase in social media use among consumers and businesses, social media marketing components such as organization, consistency, and connection have become increasingly important. An accessible method of managing social media content for businesses is through the implementation of a social media content calendar. Businesses can create social media calendars in various ways such as: physical planners, spreadsheets, or organizations like Sprout Social who offers subscription plans to produce content calendars for businesses.
In order to develop a content calendar, businesses must consider various platforms, content, schedules, and captions. First, businesses need to outline and establish their overall marketing strategy as well as their targeted audiences. From Instagram to Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn, a range of social media outlets exist, and businesses must determine which of the many platforms they want to focus on. Moreover, while crafting a content calendar, scheduled content as well as the subsequent captions are essential for success. Images, captions, links, and timing are all embedded within the physical calendar, providing businesses with the structure to schedule, organize, and oversee their social media presence.
There are numerous benefits to using social media content calendars that allow businesses to further promote their products and services online. For instance, intensified scheduling of content provides businesses with greater organization and time management. Additionally, social media content calendars allow businesses to create consistent content. As a result of this increase in content, businesses can further connect with their consumers through interaction and conversation. Lastly, content calendars also provide businesses with the structure to track performance and maintain both collaboration and visibility across departments.
Crafting Social Media Content
A critical aspect of content creation is the use of captions to accompany any visuals. In order to increase user engagement, captions should remain simple and focus on saying more with less, because many users prefer shorter captions. Additionally, including questions or calls to action, such as “click the link in bio” or “leave a comment” or “tag a friend,” can encourage interaction online.
In general, both content and captions act as avenues to foster connection with consumers by expressing significant messages while simultaneously promoting products and services. Resources, such as Canva, can be useful for companies and businesses to create engaging and interactive content.
As a social impact initiative, Rem and Company also offers free consulting services and resources to small businesses and nonprofits impacted by COVID-19. Our pro-bono consulting teams provide small businesses with the opportunity to identify and prioritize issues facing their business, propose innovative strategies, and facilitate execution. If you are a small business or nonprofit in need of assistance, learn more about how we can help.