Plan your Update Schedule with Content Calendar Templates (Social Media and More)

Planning and timing are crucial when it comes to marketing strategies.

In our fast-moving world, marketing is one of the most affected industries by the right timing. Timing is one of the most important factors to get into the competition. The right content at the right time is the formula you have been looking for in marketing strategies!

In our fast-moving world, marketing is one of the most affected industries by the right timing. Timing is one of the most important factors to get into the competition. The right content at the right time is the formula you have been looking for in marketing strategies!

Though it seems easy, content creation takes time and effort. Content created and published right before a deadline is more likely to receive less audience. Thus, creating a productivity plan will enable you to improve the quality of your content as well!

So, for effective marketing, you have to ensure the quality and the timing of your content! But how so? By simply planning ahead with content calendars! 

This blog post will be your guide to calendars! Check out what types of content calendars exist and how you can use these calendars to improve audience engagement and improve your social media metrics!

What is a content calendar?

A content calendar is a planning document for your marketing strategies. This calendar includes information about your future social media posts, blogs, websites, email campaigns, podcasts, and more. By carefully planning your content, stay on track! Content calendars will help you keep your posts organized!

A content calendar is especially important for startups, small businesses, and individuals who are new to the social media game. These calendars will pace your content publishing cadence and enhance your visibility.

It has been long known that consistency in posting or publishing will bring more audiences! Content calendars will enable you to post regularly and consciously. Content calendars encourage thoughtful posting rather than impulsive ones so that the posts deserve their rightful recognition!

A content calendar also enables you to keep track of your posts and their performance. Tracking post analytics so that, later, you can avoid flopped posts and improve your content.

What should be included in a content calendar?

A content calendar can include as many details as you want. Planning may be different for everyone. However, some common elements are included in almost all content calendar templates.

• Where the post/content will be published (date and hour)
• What will be the posts’ topic
• When will it be posted
• Due date for content preparation 
• Who will publish it
• URLs and UTM parameters
• Add images to your calendar

Each calendar will look different. As always, you can make necessary adjustments as you wish based on your business. You may add more elements to specify or maybe subtract some of them. 

Though creating a blank worksheet to create your own content calendar from scratch is possible, a calendar template will be easier to use! With many calendar template pages available online, you can find the best one for you!

How to use content calendar templates?

Content calendar templates are ready formats. After choosing a template for your needs, all you have to do is fill in the necessary information. 

Before selecting a template, consider the following questions:

• Complete a social media audit across all platforms. This will help you figure out how to move forward to increase your visibility.
• What is the content type? Where is it going to be published? Clearly define your publication platform.
• Define your goals. Is it for marketing a product/ service or another goal?
• Decide on the time period. Do you want to use weekly or annual plans?
• Establish a posting schedule. Define due dates and other key dates (holidays, events) for a smooth content workflow. Remember to set them realistically!
• Outline content ideas. Come up with keywords, headlines, and content for your tasks. Create a content repository to take advantage of it later. The more detailed outline will make your job easier while working on them!
• Go through your checklist. By the deadlines, publish the posts you have planned.
• After publishing content, keep track analysis of it and update your calendar. These means will later indicate which marketer techniques are more convenient to use, such as tags or hashtags. Decide on your schedule cadence based on your content metrics.

Content calendar templates plan your updating schedule realistically!

Creating Content Calendars

Content calendars are popular! Thus, there are quite a number of templates available. For almost all social media platforms, types of content, or business types.

In this post, we will list some of the most popular content calendar templates! Choose the most suitable ones among them for your needs!

Download the templates and work on them!

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Content Calendar Templates Samples

Smartsheets Simple Content Calendar Template

• This template allows you to decide on the topic, the deadlines for the content, and where it will be published, such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter or Pinterest. Other details are left in the hands of the users.
• This template ensures regular content publishing!

HubSpot’s Social Media Content Calendar Template

• This template will allow you to decide on what to post each day beforehand. This template allows users to track the current progress of each task by color-coding them! Afterward, you can overview your project by analyzing the completed projects.

ClickUp’s Content Calendar List Template

• This template allows you to colorfully see your progress for tasks. It includes sections such as the status, content pillar, approval status, publication date, related files, and value. Though it is detailed, this template ensures that created content is in line with the editorial goals!

Canva Social Media Content Templates

• Canva is an online design tool specialized in simplifying the process of creating visual content. Content calendar templates are one of them as well! Choose one of the available infographics for your needs!
• The colors, fonts, backgrounds, images, and layout are subject to change. You can make any changes easily on Canva, even after choosing a template. Enter your social media content formats, captions, keywords, and more.

ClickUp’s Editorial Calendar Template

• Editorial calendar templates assist in organizing meta-information about content editors are working on. These templates allow editors to see when the deadline is and what the priority of the task at hand is.
• Thus, will decide on whether to work on it or postpone it. Also, where will the data be published and what keywords for specific content are indicated. Allowing users to gain insights about how to edit and correct a given content.

Vertex42 Content Calendar Template-Google Sheets

• Vertex’s content calendar template is available on Google Sheets. This template is editable online, and you can share the link with others to view or collaborate. This template allows users to visually see the timeline of the progress!
• When a work is published, by simply dragging it below, you can still keep the progress of your work.

Vertex42 Content Calendar Template- MS Excel

• Similar to the template on Google Sheets, on Excel as well, Vertex42 provides a layout for task progress. These content calendar spreadsheets can be used or edited in Excel. You can choose calendar view to overview your calendar.

Smartsheets’s Blogging Editorial Calendar Template

• Designed specifically for bloggers and blog editors, these templates offer an organized work schedule. Templates come with different colors, fonts, and layouts. Choosing which is best is an option left for the users.
• Calendars include sections such as the author of the blog, comments on it, and call to action.

Notion’s Calendar Templates- Email Request System Template

• Notion has several templates available for different needs and aesthetics. One of them is the email request system template. If you receive or have to send several emails during the day, then this template is a must!
• Plan your email marketing and content. You can enter the email content and email address of the receivers for a more convenient experience.

Decktopus

Decktopus is an online presentation tool specialized in creating engaging and visually appealing content.

With its AI-powered excellence, Decktopus allows you to create ready presentations in just a few minutes. Decktopus simplifies complex processes and allows its users to save time and energy.

Anything that can be on a slide can be created by Decktopus! Decktopus is able to create content such as tables, graphs, and images. All you have to do is to select the appropriate slide type!

To ease the content creation process, Decktopus offers a wide range of features to its users.

Features of Decktopus

• AI Image Generator: Choosing the right images is important! Decktopus allows you to either manually add the desired images or just generate new images! The AI-created images are visually captivating!
• PDF to Deck Import: Decktopus can create slides from your PDFs. Just enter your documents as PDFs and let Decktopus do its magic!
• Chart and Graph Maker: Create visually stunning charts! Pie charts, line charts, bar graphs, and donut charts are available! You can copy and paste your data to quickly create them.
• Table Maker: Decktopus can create tables for any needs you may have! These tables are interactive and easy to create.
• AI Assistant: Decktopus has an AI assistant ready to help while creating the presentations.
• 100+ templates: With the wide range of templates available, you can create business plans, project reports, course introductions, or educational materials. Take a look at our templates!
• AI-created Q&A Session Notes: To get ready for the Q&A session, our AI assistant can create exemplary questions and their answers for you! 
• Presentation Notes: Decktopus is here for you when you are presenting as well. Use presentation notes to remind yourself of the key points and main ideas in your talk.
• Rehearsal Mode: Practice makes perfect! Practice before your big day, and reflect on your presentation. Use the presentation notes by Decktopus for a more effective presentation.
• Audible Presentations: Record your presentation! Decktopus is able to put your voice recording for your presentation.
• Collaboration: Share your work with team members! Add them to your presentation to view and edit.
• Custom Link: Share your ready presentation with your audiences!

Frequently Asked Questions

1) Where can I find free content calendar templates?

In this blog post, we mentioned some templates, together with the websites available to use them. These free platforms and their dashboards allow you to effectively manage your time. Decktopus is also one of these platforms!

2) Can I create content calendar templates on Canva?

Yes. Canva is a visual design tool including an excessive amount of templates. Content calendar templates are also found on it. You can review and choose any template available to use. 

3) Does Notion have a content calendar template?

Yes. Notion has several content calendar templates. If you are already familiar with Notion interface, then it may be the right choice for you! 

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