A lot of the fun of being a social media content creator is the spontaneous posts, especially when they go viral! But (and you knew there was a ‘but’ coming) you can’t rely on off-the-cuff content if you’re looking to build a brand with long-term strength and growth.
Step One for managing your time well and just plain killing it on your channels in 2021? Create and maintain a content calendar!
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1. Download or Create – Then USE – A Template
There’s zillions of free downloadable content calendar templates, so find one that works the way your mind works (you know you best, after all!) and use it.
2. How Far In Advance Should You Plan?
It’s up to you, but most big influencers have the general groundwork for an entire calendar year laid out in advance. They update & make more detailed sections as the months go by, and sponsorships start coming in or trends start happening.
3. It’s All About That Data
If you want to know more about what your fans like, look at your channel analytics – anddddd, of course, your MagicLinks performance reports.
Figure out your:
- Most popular (views, comments, shares, likes) types of content across all your channels? Pranks? GRWMs? Vlogs? Challenges?
- Highest-grossing videos for ad revenue?
- Highest-grossing videos for MagicLink commissions?
- Times of day & days of the week are your fans most actively watching your content?
4. Set A Consistent Posting Schedule
We’re not saying you MUST UPLOAD THREE 20-MINUTE VIDEOS TO YOUTUBE PER WEEK AND DO FIVE TIKTOKS A DAY – please don’t, you’ll burn out! You should know, though, that uploading new content consistently triggers the algorithms of your channels’ platforms to rank your content higher in fans’ homepages and in searches.
Aiming to post a certain amount each week, and sticking to consistent days + times, also gets your fans keyed up to watch your next video – because they know when it’s coming!
5. What’s Your aEstHEtiC?
Your goal with photos & video thumbnails should always be to make your content immediately recognizable, so your fans instantly know it’s you and stop scrolling (hi, thumbstoppy!).
Key components of your brand aesthetic to consider:
- Color palette
- Filters
- Fonts
- Photography style
- Video titles/post captions
- Taglines
Put up an aesthetic vision/mood board, and always keep your key branding elements front and center in your mind when you’re creating content! We’re also big fans, around here, of setting intentions and placing crystals in our workspace. We featured tangerine quartz to the cover image of this post, for example, because it promotes joy, curiosity, and creativity – just what every influencer needs!
6. Maintain Consistent Messaging Across All Channels
Each social media platform has its own style and vibe, which attracts different users. That doesn’t mean, however, you should neglect your overall brand aesthetic + messaging on some networks. Get creative, and repurpose or create new content for each platform that ties into your overall brand!
7. Keep Video Types Consistent With the Time Of Year
Productivity, healthy living, and organization videos perform REALLY REALLY WELL from late December through early February. Why? Everyone’s trying to make their New Year’s Resolutions stick, and looking for inspiration & motivation to keep going. Makes sense, right?
Use holidays, seasons, and celebrations & ceremonies (i.e. graduation season) to pre-plan content to fit. Your videos will be more searchable, rank higher in searches, and get more views!
8. Pre-Film Holiday Content (Like, WAY In Advance)
Big influencers have their holiday content, whether it’s for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or National Donut Day (yummmm), planned and filmed in advance. They have their sponsorships locked in, videos filmed, and even their tweets about the video ready to go up to three months in advance.
Obviously, these big influencers have teams of people helping them execute their plans, but there’s a lesson here for influencers of all sizes: The early bird gets the worm. It’s a cliche, but it’s true.
The earlier your holiday content is live, the higher it will rank in search algorithms, and that means more views, more clicks, more ad revenue, and more commissions.
9. Color Coding
Color coding your calendar helps you visually see where your time is being allocated across your channels. Whether you create a virtual or handwritten content calendar (s/o to our bullet journalling creators!), having that visual layout helps ensure you’re not neglecting any channels.
A few tips:
- Add notes about sponsorships, gifted product, etc in their own color highlights
- Set task reminders for different phases of video production: Planning, procuring items for video, filming, editing, teasing on social media, and uploading
10. Vary Your Approach
If you only do one type of content and do it well, you’ll grow a loyal audience. No one wants to watch the exact same video over and over, though, so varying your topics, video length, and style some increases your chances of new fans discovering your content.
Strike a balance between the content you HAVE to post (sponcon) and the content you & your followers WANT to see.
Most brands prefer informative videos (how-tos, reviews) than vlogs for sponsored content, as it gives them more bang for their buck because creators are explaining the benefits of their product. Your fans like that content, too, but they also love your vlogs, challenges, and everything else you create.
Look at the content on your favorite brands’ channels, and the content of the influencers they work with. If you want to work with those brands, copy that style (but make it your own!) and tag them a LOT.
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*Cover images adapted from HealingCrystals.com, and from MagicLinks influencers Audrie Storme and Sadie Aldis
