Planning Social Media Posts: How to Build a Workflow

If we all had a dollar for every time we hear the term 'content creation,' we'd all likely be rich by now. But the term we don't hear often enough is 'content workflow,' and that's a shame because, without a content workflow, content creation can quickly go from inspiring and fun to daunting and overwhelming.

There are SO many steps required for something to go from an idea to a piece of content ready to be published on social media. A content workflow helps you create a simple, streamlined, and consistent process to guide you so you can focus less on logistics and more on your creativity or running your business.

A great content workflow can:

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• Help you establish an easy-to-repeat process, so every piece of content doesn't feel like starting from scratch

• Make repurposing your content easier & more efficient.

• Empower you to get into your creative content flow easier.

• Automate parts of your content planning, creation, or publishing process.

Are you convinced you need a content workflow yet? If so, keep reading for our breakdown on how to create a content workflow. But remember: everyone's process is different, so use this as a guide to building something unique for you and your team.

‍How to Build a Content Workflow for Social Media

‍Step 1: Review Your Analytics

Creating compelling content for social media requires the perfect balance of strategy and creativity. So before you dive into the fun stuff, it's essential to review and analyze your insights to get an idea of what types of content are performing the best and producing the best results.

‍Pro Tip:

PLANOLY's analytics feature makes it super easy to get an overview of your engagement rate, impressions, highest-performing posts, and more.

When reviewing your social media insights, look for patterns (i.e., carousels got great saves, reels got us tons of followers, etc.) and use this information to guide you on what types of content you should be creating more of.

‍Step 2: Identify Relevant & Timely Topics

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When planning out your social media content, it's crucial to have a good understanding of what bigger conversations will likely be happening throughout the month - whether it be significant holidays, social media holidays, industry events, or other major cultural happenings (think the Superbowl or the Grammy's). This will not only help you understand the tone for the month and what may be peeking your audience's interests, but it will enable you to create timely content so you can join the conversations your audience is having rather than interrupting them with promotional content or poorly timed messaging.

‍Pro Tip:

Use PLANOLY's social media holiday and events calendar with the dates you need to plan timely and engaging content.

‍Step 3: Brainstorm Creative Social Media Content Ideas

Here comes the fun part! It's time to ideate some cool, creative content ideas for social media that will engage, nurture, and convert your audience. Pull inspiration from PLANOLY's social media holiday and events calendar, cool trends you may want to try, or your audience's common questions or pain points.

When you're brainstorming content, be sure to ask yourself:

• What events/initiatives are happening that are relevant to me & my audience?

• What topics are we discussing / causes are we championing?

• What parts of my brand do I want to share updates/highlights about?

• Are there any partners we can collaborate with?

‍Pro Tip:

To simplify content brainstorming, you can create similar content collections to quickly add to your content plan. PLANOLY also has a Reels and TikTok planner to save audio or store ideas that inspire you.

‍Step 4: Develop your Content Creation Cadence

Figure out a plan for creating content that works best for you and your team. This can look like creating your content plan monthly, then creating your content weekly, or picking days to batch your videos, photos, graphics, and/or captions throughout the month. Whenever possible, leverage tools like Instagram reel templates to simplify your content creation process.

Your content creation cadence should be unique to you and flexible to accommodate unexpected changes or pivots. Remember: as much as we try to be proactive with social media, we must be reactive when appropriate. Always aim to have content ready to go at least a few days in advance, and always be prepared to pivot when necessary.

‍Pro Tip:

Add your team members to your PLANOLY account to easily collaborate on content planning and collaboration.

‍Step 5: Schedule to Publish

WOO! You made it to the finish line. Now, all that's left to do is add the bells & whistles to your content and schedule it to publish!

Be sure to:

• Identify relevant hashtags you can use to amplify your social media content. Use PLANOLY's hashtag manager to find and save hashtag groups you use frequently.

• Tag any appropriate locations or collaborators.

• Proofread your captions and copy.

From there, you can use PLANOLY's quick scheduler to schedule your content based on recommended best times to post.

And there you have it! You officially have a content workflow for planning and creating your social media content. Now there's nothing to it but to do it!