How to Create a Content Calendar

In just a few weeks, the big ball will drop, and we will be celebrating the beginning of yet another New Year. For many savvy communications professionals, that means creating a new content calendar for the coming year. A vital part of that process is reviewing your current content streams, evaluating hits and misses, and considering how to get more out of them.

Measuring Response

Evaluating ROI on communications efforts is not always a precise science. You can map engagement and response and connection, but it can be challenging to put exact dollar amounts on these items. Instead, see what’s growing fastest and where your most profitable responses are being generated. Two key questions to ask: “Am I generating a growing response from my main target audience, or are they falling away?” and “Which new audience should I invite to engage in the coming year?”

Quality of Data

In recent years, the “Big Data” push has been all about quantity of data, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore or undervalue the quality of your data. Checking the value and veracity of your current data sets is a good practice at the beginning of each year. Failing to do so can lead to making decisions (really assumptions) based on bad or outdated data. Clinging to that data can lead to falling consumer interest and audience disengagement… because they have moved on and you have not.

Nature of Influence

Connection is, considerably, about influence. If you are not an influencer, you cannot lead. And if you are not leading, you will not grow. The beginning of the year is a great time to evaluate the influencers you are connected with and depending on. Do they still have the influence you need in the markets you are trying to connect with? Are there others with whom you should establish connections? Invest some time in focusing on how to strengthen connections with the influencers you already know and making connections with new voices.

The Power of Story

When it comes to effective messaging, copy can work, content can work, and advertorials can work. But nothing works better, especially in today’s social media dominated marketplace of ideas, than good storytelling. It goes beyond the truism that people remember stories better. They also connect with stories more fully and share them more readily. Take some time to evaluate the stories your brand has shared over the past year. Take time to consider these questions: “where can we improve?” and “which audiences should we target for the coming year?”