Top 7 Social Media Calendar Planning Tips

By Tracey Batacan

Some government organizations are beginning to tap into the potential of leveraging social media channels to amplify their brand, foster two-way communications with stakeholders as well as keep target audiences informed about organizational news. While these new media tools are a great resource, it does require some prep work in advance before publishing your first tweet, post, or image. 

Yet some people may hesitate at the thought of planning things out so far in advance. There is a way to jump into the foray of developing a social media calendar that is dynamic and flexible. Check out the quick tips. 

Top 7 Social Media Calendar Planning Tips

1. Research and document annual industry events that correlate to your agency’s mission.
2. Focus on expanding your stakeholder network to increase situational awareness about emerging trends that may influence messaging. 
3. Collaborate with a diverse team representing internal organizations to ensure that you have a more global view of your agency’s specific social media messaging goals. This will also prevent “group think” from happening. 
4. Map it out. Take the time to outline your 1-year social media messages calendar with primary and secondary messaging goals. 
5. Allow your social media calendar to incorporate the flexibility to add breaking news messages at the last-minute to show that you are keeping your finger on the pulse of news and information. 
6. Work with your branding team in advance to make sure that all of your social media channels have the same look and feel to promote the brand effectively. 
7. Lastly, measure your results. Check your social media analytics after each post to learn what works, how your messaging is viewed by target audiences and identify the need to make changes to your strategy based on verifiable results.

View the original blog on the Federal Communicators Network.