Once your business recognizes how important it is to have a digital presence, you can’t leave it to chance. It’s essential to create an effective digital marketing strategy. Content plays a big role, but it can’t just be thrown out there. It is important to publish relevant content on a regular basis.
What is an editorial calendar?
Think of it as a road map to get you to the goals you set. An editorial calendar allows you to organize thoughts over a month, quarter or year. You and your team can then see the big picture of your digital marketing strategy.
Content can be divided into appropriate segments and scheduled to be effectively pushed out when it will best be received. Consistent material can be created for blogs, ebooks, different social media platforms, newsletters, and other media.
It may seem like busywork, but it is critical. The Content Marketing Institute says, “many organizations fail to see ROI from their content marketing because they don’t create a plan for getting everything done.” Without an editorial calendar, a digital marketing strategy can become something different for each individual stakeholder working on various parts. Efforts might be duplicated or discrepancies could occur. With an editorial calendar, a coordinated effort keeps everyone on track, ideas tie together, tasks get accomplished and goals are achieved.
How to create an editorial calendar
Start with a strong digital marketing strategy. This will help you define just what is needed. Then, begin to plan out the big things first. For example, holidays, major project launches, and known industry “seasons” should be considered.
Think about the biggest concerns your target audience will have. Anticipate ways to address these concerns at various times of the year. You may even consider sticking with themes that can be utilized across all media. Doing this will make it easier to break down tasks into weekly and daily goals and deadlines.
Making the editorial calendar work for you
With a good digital marketing strategy and comprehensive editorial calendar, businesses can get great results. It is important, however, to keep an open mind, be flexible and allow for some fluidity with your calendar. Often breaking news or world events can influence the best-laid plans. Set up strategies that allow for ways to address and incorporate issues that come up unexpectedly.
Still need some help creating an editorial calendar to plan out your overall marketing strategy? Let us work with you, define your goals and get you to where you want to be. Just give us a call and we can assist.
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