Building Your Social Media Content Calendar: The Ultimate Template

To succeed in social media marketing, organization is the name of the game. Enter the social media content calendar — it’s the best way to keep your posts consistent, engaging, and relevant.

What is a Social Media Content Calendar?

A social media content calendar is a tool for organizing the creation and distribution of social media posts. It helps you plan precisely what to share on each platform and when to post it so your content feels fresh and stays targeted — this is especially important if your brand has a presence on multiple platforms, each with its unique audience and ideal format.

Your One-and-Done Social Media Content Calendar Template

Here’s how this template works:

• Channel (Column A): These are all the social media channels your brand has a presence on — we’ve added a few to get you started, but feel free to add or remove them as applicable.

• Content Type (Column P): By highlighting your content themes in different colors, you ensure diverse posts in any given week. We’ve organized the content buckets by:

• Product: Introducing a new product line or spotlighting a bestseller

• Promotion: Driving excitement for a new sale or promotional offer

• Brand: Boosting brand awareness or sharing your brand's mission and values

• Engagement: Engaging with your followers via polls, questions, challenges, etc.

• Event/Holiday: Celebrating a holiday or event

• Post format: To keep your content production smooth, note the post format (e.g., an image, video, or infographic) in each cell.

We’ve added a few examples to week 1 — try to flesh out your calendar at least a month in advance, so you’re not scrambling to photograph, film, and write the visuals and copy you need every day.

Pro Tip: Beyond leveling up your organic social media efforts, don’t forget to dedicate the same attention to your paid social ads as well — having robust paid and organic strategies that work hand-in-hand is the key to any winning business. With paid social ads, you can target potential shoppers who are unfamiliar with your business, as well as those who have recently interacted with your organic content to keep your brand top-of-mind.

Remember: Just like with organic social media, you want to update paid social ads consistently to keep your target audience engaged while reducing the likelihood of ad fatigue.

A+ Social Media Content Awaits

With an organized social media content calendar, you can keep your eyes on the prize: turning followers into brand champions. 

Ready to bring your paid social media marketing ideas to life? Check out AdRoll’s automation builder — the ultimate way to manage and optimize top-notch ads across platforms. Get started today!

Learn more about the importance of paid + organic social media strategies in our resources below.

Last updated on November 14th, 2023.