The Ultimate Guide To Making A Social Media Calendar

Social Media calendars could be the unsung hero and tool marketers can use to organize their workflow and elevate their business. Everyone and their mothers know the power of calendars, whether we are in the office or at home, we use them every day to have a better understanding of what the months will bring, and they allow us to plan ahead so there’s no misunderstanding of what needs to be done. Brand managers and digital marketers use a specific type of calendar to prepare the individual posts that must be made on a given day. In this article, I will discuss the benefits that a social media calendar can bring, how to create one, and show an example of a social media calendar I have personally made. Creating a social media calendar does not have to be arduous. I want to demonstrate to you here that social media calendars can be a fun and creative experience. 

So, how does a Social media calendar work, and more importantly, what is the benefit of having one? In its most basic form, a social media calendar is a way to schedule and plan out all the posts a brand manager will be posting on social media for the brand. There are many reasons as to why brand managers may do this, such as allowing you, as a brand manager, to create posts that are relevant to the target audience you are trying to reach. There may be content that may be time-sensitive and could become irrelevant if posted too late. For instance, if a brand manager wanted to highlight “National Cancer Awareness Day”, it would be crucial to post about it on November 7th.  If your company is celebrating a 10-year anniversary or is spotlighting an upcoming event, Social Media calendars make sure the brand manager never misses out on the important details that could otherwise split through the cracks. Besides that, Roopco (a communications agency in Cleveland), in their article titled 5 Key Benefits of a Social Media Content Calendar, also explores another vital reason for the importance of Social Media Calendars, that is it allows for posts to be vetted and checked carefully before they go out. In their article, they explain that “Copy-editing text, fact-checking information and even vetting a post through relevant departments within your company (e.g., legal team) are much easier to accomplish when you can do so days or weeks in advance”. Overal,l an effective Social Media Calendar can keep you organized, make sure your posts are relevant, and can also work to make sure your posts are quality and effective to your audience. 

Creating a Social Media calendar is surprisingly simple, there are many free templates you can find on the internet. For example, here is one created by Hootsuite. You’ll need access to spreadsheet software such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel (both have free options that you can find online). Hootsuite which is a social media managing tool, explains in their article titled “Social media calendar: Free template + our team’s real process”, that although different teams and companies schedule differently, they ascribed to the idea that they should plan weekly since they “can plan out larger social media campaigns while still being able to quickly jump on trends before their popularity runs out. Memes and trends can change rapidly throughout the weeks, so it’s important to strike while the iron’s hot. So, for the sake of this article, I will only be explaining how to do a 5-day weekly view of a typical social media calendar. A good Social Media calendar template should have a few distinct yet important features. For one, a brand manager should be able to categorize where each post lands in the content bucket. According to teachable.com, content buckets “are categories of information that brands and creators use to organize their content. Each bucket is different, but they should all relate back to the overall brand message. Examples of content buckets include if your posts are educational, inspirational, or if they are entertainment. Beyond the content bucket, they should also be able to categorize what type of post they are making. Examples of types of posts you could make include: Instagram carousel post, an Instagram story, an X thread, or a TikTok. You should also be able to link your post to a place where you or a superior could see it before it goes live. A good way to do this is by uploading your post to a Google Drive and then putting that link onto your calendar. Here is a link to an example of a Social Media calendar I did using Hootsuite’s free and easy-to-use template. I created a mock-up of example posts I could make for my own personal social media sites. 

Overall, creating a Social Media Calendar is a great way for a brand manager to stay on message for their brand. It can organize the workflow of a brand manager and create a more enjoyable experience. Social Media Calendars are a great tool that a brand manager can use every day to take their brand to the next level.

Work Cited

“10 Examples of Content Buckets and How to Use Them.” 10 Examples of Content Buckets and How to Use Them, teachable.com/blog/content-buckets. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

“5 Reasons You Need a Social Media Content Calendar.” Roopco, 14 Nov. 2023, roopco.com/5-reasons-you-need-a-social-media-content-calendar/.

“Create a Social Media Calendar.” Coursera, www.coursera.org/learn/from-likes-to-leads/supplement/d2WiE/create-a-social-media-calendar. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

MicKey, Kelly. “5 Big Reasons Why You Need a Social Media Content Calendar -.” Hinge Marketing, 12 Feb. 2023, hingemarketing.com/blog/story/5-big-reasons-why-you-need-a-social-media-content-calendar#:~:text=Using%20a%20social%20media%20content,write%20content%20for%20social%20posts.

Riswick, Trish. “Social Media Calendar: Free Template + Our Team’s Real Process.” Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard, 6 Jan. 2025, blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-calendar/#Why_do_you_need_a_social_media_calendar.