Kudos to you! If you are reading this, you have successfully moved from posting one post at a time to planning your upcoming posting on an ordinary calendar. After that, you moved to using an online scheduler. If you are feeling comfortable with using most of the features of your scheduler, it’s time to get even more efficient!
Scheduling a month of posts at time will change your life for two reasons:
- It’s quicker. If you can find two to three hours of dedicated time each month, you can save hours each week.
- It leads to better results. If you plan all your posts at once by following the plan below, you will be sure to get your three main messages out (from your 3-2-1 Strategy). You should also be posting in a way that is generally accepted on a social platform (not too promotional, lots of variety, etc.) so you will gain and keep followers and get more engagement.
Open Your Scheduler
To do this monthly posting exercise, access your Scheduler. Some users like to print out the calendar and do the first part of this in pencil. Others prefer to just save ideas right into the scheduler and move them around as they proceed. Either way works fine.
It is important to go in this order as we have tested and perfected this system. The order given is due to priorities of posts and that some posts must be placed on a certain calendar day by definition.
As a reminder, we want to create and schedule 3 posts per week.
Add Product Posts
First let’s place our Message 1 – Product Posts. There should be one of these per week. Place them on one of your best days for posting. Monday can be a good default choice if you are not sure.
These posts are close to being an ad for your business but should sound softer than that. Social media is generally not the place for a “hard” sell.
Add Special Events Posts
Next, let’s think if there are any unique special events for your particular business this month. Examples are:
Will you launch a new product?
Are you reaching a milestone like your first $100,000 in sales or your 100th customer?
Are you holding a webinar or planning to go live on Facebook?
Are you introducing a new web site?
These are all opportunities to talk about your business without being as “salesy” as you were in your product posts.
They also are things that are “news” to your audience. They happen (usually) one time in the life of your company and you are reporting on it to your own audience. Let them know why they should care about this occasion.
Add National Holidays
Next add major national holidays like Labor Day or Halloween. Holidays can be a great chance to find more people than usual scrolling through their social feeds. They are usually in a good mood and therefore more open to learning new things. In other words, it’s a perfect time to get your post in front of them. This post should tie in to the holiday and only sell your product very indirectly.
Add Minor Holidays of Interest
Now add minor holidays of national interest. Google “national holidays” for a link to this month’s holidays. 90% of what you see at this site does not relate to your business at all. 10% does and can give you a different type of subject all together to post about.
For example, if you sell Western boots, the following national holidays could really extend the types of things your brand could post about:
- Go Texan Day
- Cowboy Day
- Coffee Day
- Dance Day
- Appreciate Country Music Day
For a list of holidays for each day of the month, try https://nationaltoday.com/national-day-calendar/. There are usually more of these days than you want to use in one month. Choose the best ones for your brand. 2-3 is usually a good number of minor holidays of interest to include in one month.
Add Graphic Posts
Next add at least one graphic post, preferably two. We use these for visual variety and to open up a new framework to post within. Go to Canva to create your graphic template and edit it with new information each time you use it. This is one post where want to look consistent from month to month.
It can be:
- A quote
- An encouragement
- An announcement
- A product benefit
Now step back and see where the gaps in your calendar are. Many of your days will be full, but you still have some openings here and there. This is where you will continue to communicate your Message 2 and 3. (Remember message one posts were done first and we don’t want to overdo those.)
Today you are just trying to at least put a topic in (or near) each of your spaces or to finish completely.
Add Message 2 and Message 3 Posts
The goal of Message 2 – Big Picture is to expand our audience’s interest in our product by providing valuable information about our industry. We are essentially trying to entertain or educate. Think of ideas to give your audience valuable and interesting information to keep them wanting to read more of your posts.
The goal of Message 3 – Get Personal is to build trust and a relationship with our audiences by sharing more personal information about our business or the people behind it. How can we help them get to know us and even inspire them with the information we provide?
This is where social media is truly different from other forms of communication and a place that a lot of small businesses may miss. Try topics like:
-Why did you go into this business?
-Why are you passionate about providing this product or service?
-Who is on your team?
-What does it look like behind the scenes at your business?
-What is your culture like?
-Do you support a charity?
Now all your extra spaces should have been filled up with message 2 and message 3 posts. Your calendar should have an idea written or saved into at least 13 spaces to stick with our 3 posts per week goal.
½ Way Done-Time to Fill in Post Details
Now with your next hour, find applicable photos and add your captions to your new posts.
You will find that when you write a number of posts at once, it is easier to maintain a flow to your feed. You remember what you previously posted about and are aware of what’s coming up. You can adjust your posts accordingly.
Final Considerations
If you were using a home made or printed calendar, move your items to your Scheduler.
Now look back at your schedule overall.
-How does it look?
Do the photos seem cohesive? Do you see some of your brand colors? Does it seem pleasant to look at or too busy? (If Instagram is your main platform, you will want to spend significant time on this step.)
-What messages do you see coming across?
You should see your product, your bigger picture and your personal information.
-Could your feed be seen as a magazine with interesting mini articles?
You should be seeing examples of educating, entertaining and inspiring your audience.
Proof your Posts
This is a really important step that is often overlooked due to time constraints.
Our Foolproof Posting Checklist should help you with this task. Download it from our website if you don’t have it already.
Schedule
Make your final changes and schedule your posts. Congratulations again! You are done for the month!!!
It probably took longer than usual this time, but with practice, you can have a month of posting done in two – three hours on a regular basis, depending on your business.
Next Steps
If you would like to discuss this topic further, join us in The Small Biz Builders, our private Facebook group. Share your experiences on creating A Month of Posts in an Afternoon and help us continue to improve our system so we can all post fast
