A calendar is just a calendar. You know, dates, when to post to your social media. It is actually an organized list of when to put up marketing content. Lots of marketing people swear by a good one, but it is not the same as some grand plan. Some people seem to think they are the same thing. It seems a content calendar is some magical cheat code to endless website traffic. It is just not. It also does not ensure that the content that you are creating is of high quality. Okay, so what is a content strategy then? And how is it different from this calendar thing?
Planning Beyond Just Dates
A content strategy is a big, bigger plan. It is knowing stuff before you do it. What do the people want with their problems? What makes the company special? In what ways can you make it useful for each? A strategy is thinking more of a goal and how all that content helps get there. It is a more high-level focus.
In a calendar, you input times on what post to upload. But it doesn’t make anyone care about the brand. It does not matter how consistent content is if nobody cares about it. A strong strategy guides the calendar. The strategy decides which content matters, gets created, and then puts it on Instagram, YouTube, or wherever.
Connecting Calendar to Goals
The calendar follows goals from a strategy – driving sales, higher website traffic, or more engagement on social pages. Without well-defined targets on key parameters, it is easy to make posts that will not connect with people. Content creators need analytics, reports, and audience feedback to inform calendar and strategy.
Knowing what kind of content to place is how a calendar drives results. You may be trying to get more people over to YouTube to watch your videos; if that is the case, make a point to create engaging content, post it consistently, and grow your audience; that would be your best bet. YouTube, when properly used, allows you to present very specific and pointed advertisements to a specific target audience. A content strategy would help you in doing so.
The Real “Secret Sauce”
Think of the content strategy and calendar combo as the kitchen and recipe. The strategy is the recipe. It lists all the ingredients and how to cook it. The calendar only tells you to make something at noon and then again at 5 PM. The best companies do it this way. They have a high plan. Then, they have the day-to-day calendar to organize and make it all happen smoothly. Also, companies that do this will continue to grow their business.
Too many companies jump into making fancy graphics before asking, “Why should this content exist?” The companies will make content that gets ignored since it has no point to begin with. They follow schedules instead of working to help targeted users. A really easy way to avoid this is to ask this- Do all the posts speak to the audience and provide value for the time spent viewing? An honest answer is better than pushing out social posts for the algorithm. It looks more genuine when someone cares and speaks to the audience. The people see from a mile away.
Strategy’s Shape-Shifting Powers
Good content strategy won’t remain the same over time. Market trends shift so much and suddenly. Strategy also needs to change and be reconsidered at constant rates. Calendar keeps posting old stuff from weeks ago. With a strategy that keeps current, messages will continue to become relevant and people’s interests, giving far much chance of becoming noticed.
It also needs to adapt based on data. The calendar shows what was posted. The strategy looks like it makes no difference. The strategy uses stats to work next time. It sees what gets shares, what gets clicks, and also what gets ignored fully. It will plan based on those new facts, making the content much closer to making an actual result at this moment.
What Comes Before Strategy?
Also important is to think about what comes even above the strategy for planning. The high objective of any effort in any company must still fit the mission overall. The brand overall has to be on the message here.
Making stuff about cats just because it is popular doesn’t make real sense for the law firm. Does not fit target demo, brand, or messaging. Should go even higher before asking what high posts we want to make. This makes a strong strategy in the long run.
Conclusion
Content strategy and calendars are not the opposite. Need both. Real good strategy is worth nothing if plans never happen. If you only follow the exact schedule, you are wasting resources on contents that get no attention. Work to set well strategy and use that calendar as a tool to finally reach those objectives.
