Calendars. Editorial. Content. What’s with all the calendars?
For those of us in the know, we’ve likely been using an editorial calendar for years. This handy tool helps us plan, manage and balance marketing and communications collateral. This might also be true for my personal life. I’ve got a thorough electronic calendar full of reminders, birthdays, client meetings, due dates and more.
For those working in the journalism field - articles, web content and blogs, we use an editorial calendar to plan out the blog post’s main theme, potential research that needs to be conducted and a publish date. Editorial calendars are used in the journalism field but have made the leap over to web content, and marketing and communications fields.
Editorial Calendars
While there is sometimes overlap between content and editorial calendars, I typically use an editorial calendar for all types of content except for social media. When planning social media, I typically use a content calendar. A discussion on content calendars follows this section on editorial calendars.
This tool is one of my favourites because it gives me a snap shot of a moment in time but is flexible enough to plan for additional months. I also love it because I love the ability to plan. I am a planner. Most of our content work are pieces that are researched, planned and scheduled in advance.
As someone who works on creating, updating and reviewing website content, having a strategy and plan in place for updating content is ideal. Often this means being able to plan outwards and know the type of content being published. We might not know the details, but we may know that in September, we’re planning on launching a new program, which requires a new webpage and supporting social media content. From there, it is up to us and the client to work together and ensure the content is ready and waiting to be published.
Another example is revising content. Using an editorial calendar helps me determine who is responsible for revising each section of content, their approval, changes we’ve made and deadlines.
Unplanned, Urgent Content Changes
Sometimes ad-hoc or urgent content may need to be published. This happens sometimes. Organizations and businesses may announce changes without much time to plan. Typically this is a rare occurrence. Flexibility can help ensure urgent content changes happen quickly.
Content Calendars
Personally, I don’t know where I’d be without my content calendar. After careful planning, research and reviewing the data previously, my content calendar helps me map out the upcoming months, weeks and days of content.
Colour coded content calendars help me take a quick glance to see if I’m covering a variety of different topics. For social media clients, I use a content calendar to plan out:
Content themes - like programs, thank you, observances, and timely notices
Post types - such as long form video, reels, photos, links and reminders
Use of hashtags
Links to use
Third party organizations or businesses that should be tagged,
Conditional formatting which highlights the status of the content - in development, in progress, scheduled, engaged with.
Yes, I am a nerd and love colour coding. Editorial and content calendars can also be used to track analytics and metrics. They’re a great way to look back at the month or year previously and see what changes had been made. They can also advise what content changes lay ahead. The use of editorial and content calendars are incredibly handy tools to help with the planning, creation, and updating process.
Productivity Software
While software like Excel or Google Sheets can be used to create calendars, other types of software can also be used. Software like Microsoft Project, Asana, and Trello are also tools used to create, categorize, and store content, including social media content. Most software also allows for collaboration between users, which is helpful if subject-matter experts should be reviewing content.
Many of my clients love the idea of a content calendar but aren’t quite sure where to start. When consulted, I often recommend starting in Excel or Google Sheets. The information used in these calendars can take a short time to set up, but then you’re set for the calendar year. Copying content back and forth between sheets is easy.
For content development, one of the tools I use is Asana. With an option to view the content development process as a calendar, this project management tool has a lot of customized features.
“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”
This is one of my very favourite quotes. I love deadlines. I’m also a realist and know that sometimes deadlines are missed for a variety of reasons. Let’s work together. Use the contact us button to reach us.