A social media content calendar you can copy and fill in.
A content calendar turns social media from a daily scramble into a plan. This template gives you the columns to copy, three content pillars to organize ideas, a sample week and a monthly routine, so you always know what is going out and why.
- Plan around three or four content pillars, not around daily inspiration.
- Copy the template's columns into a spreadsheet and fill a month at a time.
- Review what worked at the end of each month and let it shape the next.
5 min readPublished By Domeq Solutions
Why use a content calendar?
Without a plan, posting depends on mood and free time. Weeks pass in silence, then three posts go out at once. A calendar spreads the work out, lets you prepare posts and graphics ahead and shows whether your content has a balance of purposes.
It also protects quality. Posts written the night before tend to be rushed. A calendar gives you time to write, design and check each one.
A calendar does not make content good. It makes room to make it good.
What are content pillars?
Content pillars are three or four themes that every post falls under. They keep your profile coherent and they stop the question 'what should we post today?' from coming up every day.
Choose pillars that match what your audience needs and what your business knows. A typical set for a service business teaches something, shows the work, shows the people and invites a conversation.
Four pillars that suit most small businesses.
Teach
Tips, how-tos and answers to the questions customers ask.
Show
Your work, process and results you are permitted to share.
Know us
The team, the way you work and the values behind it.
Invite
Offers, announcements and questions that start a conversation.
What does the template look like?
Copy these columns into a spreadsheet, with one row for each post. Keeping the status column up to date is what makes the calendar useful: at a glance, you can see what is ready, what is waiting and what is late.
Eight columns to copy, with a sample row.
| Aspect | Column | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Date and time | Tue 10:00 | Tuesday morning |
| 2 | Platform | Where it will appear | |
| 3 | Pillar | Teach, Show, Know us or Invite | Teach |
| 4 | Topic | The one idea of the post | Three checks before a website goes live |
| 5 | Format | Image, carousel, video or text | Carousel |
| 6 | Copy | The caption, ready to paste | Written and reviewed |
| 7 | Visual and link | The file and the page it points to | Carousel file, launch checklist article |
| 8 | Status | Idea, written, designed, approved, posted | Approved |
Add a ninth column for the result, such as likes, comments and clicks, if you want to review performance.
What does a sample week look like?
A small business can keep a steady presence with three posts a week. This sample shows how the pillars rotate so that no two posts in a row do the same job. Adjust the days to when your audience is most likely to be online.
Three posts in a week, one pillar each.
Tuesday: Teach
A short, practical tip or a carousel that answers a common customer question.
Thursday: Show
A piece of recent work, with a line on the problem it solved.
Saturday: Know us or Invite
A look behind the scenes, or a question that invites replies.
What is a good monthly routine?
Work in monthly cycles. Plan the month ahead, make the content in batches and review at the end. Batching writing and design on set days is faster than producing one post at a time.
A monthly routine in six steps.
- Last week of the month: look at what worked and what did not
- List the month's dates, launches and events
- Fill the calendar with topics across the pillars
- Write the captions in one sitting
- Design the graphics together so they look consistent
- Schedule the posts, and keep time free to reply to comments
How do you keep a calendar going?
Plan less than you think you can do. A calendar that is too ambitious is abandoned in the second week. Leave a few open slots for news and for ideas that come up on the day.
Tag the links in your posts with the UTM link builder so Google Analytics shows which posts bring visits. Reuse well. One article can become a carousel, a short text post and a quote graphic. See the social media myths that waste time, and the LinkedIn company page checklist for the professional network.
If the calendar is the part you cannot keep up, Domeq plans and runs content under Social Media Marketing, including Instagram management, and designs the posts under Graphic Design.
A monthly content cycle.
Review
See what worked last month.
Plan
Fill the calendar across the pillars.
Write
Draft the captions in one sitting.
Design
Make the graphics together.
Schedule
Queue posts and leave room to reply.
Repeat
Return to review at month's end.
Questions, answered.
What is a social media content calendar?
It is a schedule, usually a spreadsheet, that lists what you will post, where, when and in what format. It also tracks the status of each post from idea to published.
How far ahead should I plan social media content?
A month at a time works well for most small businesses. It is long enough to batch the work and short enough to adapt to news and results.
How many times a week should a small business post?
As often as you can keep up with good quality. Three posts a week is a workable rhythm for many small businesses. Regularity matters more than volume.
What are content pillars in social media?
They are the three or four themes that all your posts fall under, such as teaching, showing your work, showing your team and inviting conversation. They keep your content coherent.
Which tool is best for a content calendar?
A spreadsheet is enough to begin with. Move to a scheduling tool when the number of posts and platforms makes a spreadsheet slow.
Should I post the same content on every platform?
Reuse the idea, not the exact post. Each platform has its own format and audience, so adjust the length, tone and visual to suit it.
Can Domeq manage my social media content?
Yes. Domeq runs Social Media Marketing, including Instagram account management, and LinkedIn marketing as a retainer, and designs the Instagram posts and LinkedIn graphics.
Keep reading.
More guides on the same topic, and on the ones around it.
- Six Social Media Myths That Waste a Business's TimeSix social media myths that waste a business's time, from needing every platform to chasing followers, and what is true instead.Social Media Marketing
- Instagram Business Profile Setup: A Step-by-Step GuideHow to set up an Instagram business profile: switch to a professional account, write the bio, pick a profile picture, add a link and plan the first posts.Social Media Marketing
- LinkedIn Company Page Checklist: Build a Page People TrustA LinkedIn company page checklist for B2B businesses: the profile, the banner, the about text, the first posts and the habits that keep the page active.LinkedIn Marketing
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