Outspoken Intel – If you don’t plan, don’t post (and 3 things you can do about it).

This is your weekly dose of Outspoken Intel with Nicola!

“But hang on a sec”, we hear you say. “You are always telling everyone to post consistently and now you’re saying that we shouldn’t post if we don’t have a plan?!? OE dudes, I’m confused!”

Don’t be! Yes, for social media to be effective you DO need to be consistent, BUT (there’s always a but, right?!) there’s no point just posting for the sake of posting. It won’t get you anywhere fast.

No plan usually means no objective either. What’s the point of posting if you don’t know what you want to achieve from social media? Is it brand awareness? More followers? Driving website visits? Or better engagement? Without a plan, and objective, how can you measure that what you’re doing is getting the results you want?

But you CAN become a social media machine, with a little planning.

Thing #1

Set an objective for the month. What do you want to achieve with your social media? Have a think about your products and services and perhaps decide on a theme for the month. You can then look to create your content based on that theme.

Thing #2

Get yourself a content calendar (and we’re feeling generous, so you can download your content calendar HERE) so you can plan a week, 2 weeks or even a month in advance! It’s also a great way to get an overview of your posts for the month.

Thing #3

Use a third-party scheduling software, such as Sprout Social, to schedule the posts on the days and times you want them to go out. Once they are loaded, you can quite literally sit back and relax, knowing your posts will go out each day and you can focus on other business tasks.

Want to get more hands-on guidance? Check out Nicola’s Weekly Column on Coastbeat, Outspoken Intel, or join her at one of their upcoming Workshops. See our What’s On Events page for more information.

About the author:

Nicola is co-owner at Outspoken Entourage. Bringing disruptive design to the Coffs Coast, Outspoken Entourage offers a range of services including graphic design, logo and branding, website design, digital marketing packages and social media workshops for business.  Marketing and business strategy services are also available through their affiliate, One Fine Day Consulting. Find out more at outspokenentourage.com.au