The core of any conversation is content whether it be in person, through social media, marketing materials or other client communication. You can avoid feeling overwhelmed by utilizing an Editorial Calendar to identify content which will provide your clients and prospects with solutions to their needs and a solid content marketing strategy for your firm. Your Editorial Calendar will aide you in your efforts via the following points:
- Ensure your content is aligned with your overall marketing goals
- Enable you to focus on the needs of your target market
- Help you inspire, engage and connect with your audience
- Provide consistency on each of your marketing platforms
- Allow you various tracking and measuring methods
What Content Should We Publish? It’s easy to become overwhelmed when thinking about all of the content you can provide to your audience. Before choosing your content, you must know and understand your target market by identifying their needs and then providing content to appeal to your market’s interests. This is where your Editorial Calendar will provide you with a strategy and increase your productivity. When choosing content to publish, use this list to help prepare your strategy:
- Review your business and marketing goals
- Focus on your firm’s products, services, areas of expertise and industry keywords to develop a baseline of articles, blogs and research papers you can write about and publish – Examples – Retirement Planning, Estate Planning, Social Security, Taxes, etc.
- Identify the unique needs of your clients and prospects and provide solutions with your publications
Remember, you don’t have to write all of the content yourself. Spice up your publications by incorporating guest posts from industry experts, summaries or lists of related blog posts or news articles written by others and infographics.
Frequency of Posting and Publishing As you create your Editorial Calendar, be realistic. Your company may not have the resources to publish new content on a daily basis, however, do establish a goal to publish new content on a regular basis. Don’t forget the cardinal rule, quality over quantity. Keep in mind that the more content you provide your search results and traffic to your website will increase.
What to Include In Your Editorial Calendar When creating your Editorial Calendar, include the following key components which will provide you with solid content strategy:
- Target audiences
- Monthly and weekly themes
- Company events (seminars, webinars and client gatherings)
- Titles for blogs or whitepapers
- Supporting images and/or videos
- Publishing deadlines
Choosing an Editorial Calendar There are several Editorial Calendars you can find and download online. The key is to find one that works best for your firm. You can also create your own Editorial Calendar. Choose from the online options or contact Ironstone to assist you with an Editorial Calendar and the components.
Google – Google Docs is a free Editorial Calendar allowing you to track types of content you want to create, delegate team assignments, identify keywords and assign publication dates.
SocialCast – Allows you to create products, assign tasks, track progress and collaborate. Pricing starts at around $3.00 per user per month.
WordPress – This Editorial Calendar extension will lay out your blog post ideas in calendar form. You can then edit your blogs and make scheduling changes right inside the calendar.
Utilizing an Editorial Calendar will provide you with a content guide and allow you to have fun rather than becoming overwhelmed. If you have questions on creating an Editorial Calendar, contact Ironstone or leave us a comment.