Enhance Your Marketing Efforts with a Content Calendar

By: williamjones
September 1, 2017

By: Craig Faulkner

Looking for the best possible marketing effort with the smallest time investment? One of the first steps you should take is to create—and follow—a comprehensive content calendar.

Using a content calendar can help you improve the quality and quantity of the leads your digital marketing efforts produce. It’s a tool for staying organized, taking control of your content strategies and engaging with your audiences.

To get started, check out a sample marketing calendar at fmgsuite.com/calendar-download. After downloading your calendar, your first task is to understand your content types.

Different content types will lend themselves to specific goals and uses. Blog posts, for example, are an excellent way to attract people who want to dive deeper on a subject, while social posts are useful for inviting prospects to take a small but immediate action.

As you develop your marketing goals, think about what you want each piece of content to accomplish. Then, make sure you have a clear idea of the necessary elements. For example, how many words is your ideal blog post? Do you know how to add links to your social posts?

Once you have a better understanding of your content, consider how often you’re posting it. When it comes to your marketing calendar, consistency is key. Whether you’re ready to post three times a week or only biweekly, sticking to a reliable cadence will help you build loyalty with your readers.

For example, you might designate a time to share weekly e-newsletters, weekly blogs and twice-weekly marketing emails. This cadence works well for some brands, but yours will likely differ depending on your content marketing bandwidth. Feel free to experiment with what works best.

And remember: Just getting your content out there is not enough [see sidebar]. You should also consistently review which content types yield the best results.

Craig Faulkner is founder & CEO of FMG Suite, which offers a complete inbound marketing solution for independent insurance agents.

Performance Review

The best way to figure out which content is achieving your goals is to define your key performance indicators (KPIs). In the beginning, your KPIs will most likely be common metrics like pageviews. But as you develop your content marketing plan, you’ll also want to measure the engagement actions your readers take.

Your content reviews should serve as a feedback loop that help you find your best marketing strategies, content types and cadences. Once you know which indicators you want to track, create calendar dates to sit down and review them. Make it a goal to readjust your content strategy slightly with every review. —C.F.