How to use a Social Media Planner.

If you’re reading this because you just subscribed to my newsletter, the Administrator, thank you! I hope you downloaded your copy of the Social Media Planner. This post is to help you get the most out of your new tool. If you stumbled upon this while perusing the web, it’s so nice to have you here. Click here to access the social media planner template I put together. This is the same template I use to plan my Instagram. 

I enjoy putting together processes and tools to stay on top of tasks and meet deadlines. Planning for social media can fall back on my monthly to do list. It’s also a challenge to know what to put together and when to post. So, this planner came about as a way to keep my vision for Instagram focussed and to know what my next steps are. I choose themes every 3 months and plan posts monthly. Then every week I check off what’s been done. This process is what works for me but you should find a way that works best for you. You could fill out every page at once, every 3 months, 4 months, or plan content monthly, or weekly. It really depends on what feels good to you. 

The first page covers the entire year of content. There are columns for monthly themes, post ideas, and how many posts per week to aim for. There is also a row at the bottom to plan blog ideas for the month. This way, the blog and content can follow the same theme. This page is meant to be general. The content is a goal to aim for, it’s not meant to tie you down. Some months the theme and content will change entirely, based on current events, what’s happening in your life, or viral posts and challenges. Other months, your goals will be similar or the same as what you plotted here. 

I go by quarters, so every 3 months will have similar themes. For some reason I started in April and the year ends in March (using the fiscal calendar instead of the yearly calendar). Do whatever makes sense with your calendar. 

The monthly pages are where you will dive into the theme, choosing post ideas, images, and the type of post (reel, post, story). The theme will go in the top left corner. Then the content gets laid out weekly. Every day will have the name of the post, what will go in the post (ex: image of trees, photo of my desk), what the caption will be, and what kind of post it will be. I added a column to mark if it’s been put into my planning app and if it’s been posted. I’ll type scheduled or posted into the row called “posted.” I will refer back to the main page for the monthly themes and posts per week I aim for. 

Remember, this is a living document, it’s meant to grow and change with you and social media. Content may not be what you initially planned and that’s okay! Staying on top of trends and interacting with your followers is also important. But the main goal is to have a clear vision and a plan to reach or create that vision.

There you have it! I hope this helps you stay on top of your social media. If you’re still struggling, please reach out and we can talk about ways I can best support your goals.