Creating a Content Calendar
How to Use This Content Calendar Template
This template is to support you in building a content strategy that actually works. Use this template to
organize your content ideas and schedule, and track and measure your success so you know “is this
working?”.
This guide explains how to get the most out of the content calendar template. The purpose and how to use
each tab is listed below. For additional details while using the spreadsheet, hover over the cells with a red
mark in the upper corner.
Content Ideas
On the accompanying template, use the Content Ideas tab to curate your content ideas for your content
strategy.
• Buckets
o List the main themes that you will post about
o Aim for about 3-5 content buckets
• Allocation
o Determine the distribution of content among your buckets
o Keep the 20/60/20 rule in mind to balance content between promotional (20% of the time),
both promotional and helpful (60%) and helpful (20%).
• Topics
o List individual topic ideas for each bucket
o Each topic will become a post
Content
• Schedule
o Determine how often and when content should be posted Considerations:
o Note if the topic is evergreen and can be used over and over Upcoming sales or events
o Note if the topic is evergreen but seasonal Company milestones
o Note if the topic has an expiration date Holidays or seasons
• Distribution Channels New product launch
o Create a promotion plan for your content Pain points + Solution
o Note which platforms and formats, as well as advertising you Trending topics
plan to do
Content Calendar
On the accompanying template, use the Content Calendar tab to visualize the placement of your monthly
content posting. This will help you in identifying any missing gaps in content and ensure that your posts go
out on time.
• Duplicate the tab for each month
• Modify the Legend as needed to align with the platforms you will post on
• Note important events so you never post at the last minute again
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Creating a Content Calendar
Platforms
Each platform has its own tab. Use this to plan out the details of your posts. This will make your process
and team more efficient and effective.
• Each tab is customized for the individual platform
• The columns in each tab represent what most businesses will need in order to effectively plan their
content posts. You may modify this to fit your needs.
o Date/Time
§ Use this column to support with scheduling out your posts.
o Hashtags
§ Most social networks allow the use of hashtags.
§ On most platforms other than Instagram, best practice is to use 1-3 hashtags.
§ On Instagram, you can use up to 30 hashtags and using 11+ hashtags gets more
engagement.
o Link
§ Note the full URL of where the post will link to, if applicable.
o CTA
§ Note the action you want users to take as a result of viewing your post.
o Who
§ Note who is accountable for each element of the post. This may be the same person,
or you may have different roles for video creation, scheduling, etc.
o Assets
§ List the asset to be used in the post, the file name and the location.
o Promotion Plan
§ Note if you are posting organically or if you plan to boost the post.
§ Include details of budget and targeting if you plan to boost the post.
o Format
§ Some platforms allow different format types such as posts and stories.
§ Note the format to support in the creative design.
§ Note here if the post will be live video.
o Group
§ Some platforms also have a groups feature. Note if your post should be within a
specific group.
o KPIs
§ Note the metrics you will measure to determine the success of your post.
© Boot Camp Digital • www.BootCampDigital.com • [email protected]
