The Benefits of Social Media Content Calendars

     With my experience in pageantry, I've learned how to create social media content calendars. I've created countdown calendars that schedule posts focused on various aspects I want to showcase leading up to a competition. In these cases, the posts are getting my brand, mission, and values across to the judges clearly. By outlining my content in advance, I can ensure that each detail is covered and posted in an order that makes sense. Similarly, I've also used these content calendars to schedule my posts. As a busy college student, it can be difficult to find time to draft each post. I've learned that firsthand this spring as I'm balancing my courses, rehearsals for Hello, Dolly, and nationals prep. Going into the Miss Teen Volunteer America pageant, we've all been given social media calendars to promote the organizations and our personal brands. Instead of drafting each post on the day it's set to post, I've worked to draft, proof, and schedule them in advance. By doing this I'm able to ensure I'm posting at the right times, no post is missing, and the content I write is well written rather than done in a rush. Those are just two ways I've already learned how to use social media content calendars, but through the reading I've learned that there's more strategy involved than I typically use. 

    One of the first points detailed about a social media content strategy is how you can vary your content types. I have experience primarily in regular Instagram posts and reels, but I never thought about how other content forms could play a role in the number of interactions I receive. For my pageant I had to have an S.E.R.V.E. Initiative which is essentially a platform or issue I'm passionate about. I established Triple Threat: Accessibility, Involvement, and Awareness in the Arts where I advocate for accessible arts opportunities across the state. With this concept of using a combination of informational posts and eye-catching posts, I'm already thinking of new social media strategies. Oftentimes, I share about sensory friendly performances, professional development workshops, and other accessible arts opportunities, but by adding articles, infographics, or testimonials I might deepen the connection with my followers. While the concept of varying your content might seem obvious to some, the way it was presented prompted me to think of how it could directly impact my work.

     Additionally, I found the term tuning to be a new concept. Even though I've edited the cover images of reels, I've never completely altered posts based on analytics. Understanding the algorithm can help increase your reach and interactions, so going forward I want to start learning how to use the algorithm to my advantage. In my podcast, last week, I interviewed my friend, Mia Fritsch-Anderson, where she shared how she's used her knowledge of the algorithm to garner over 33.9k followers. One of her points in our discussion was how quickly the analytics will change. Where one day the evening was the optimal posting time, the next day the optimal time could be in the morning. Constantly checking the statistics of content performances and researching your competition are becoming more necessary to stay relevant on social media. So, while I will continue scheduling my posts in advance, I'm going to start altering their post times based on the optimal posting times from the week before.