Planning Posts for Social Media

By: Jackie Sears

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What better way to promote an event, bring light to an issue and communicate with your public than social media? Social media has brought an instant interaction for two-way communication with the public and your organization. With social media comes great responsibility, but it is unlikely that a professional will sit at the computer 24/7. Because of this, it is important to have a social media calendar and invest in timed posts with an outside website like Hootsuite.

First thing is first, it is important to research the audience that follows your brand or organization to see what will catch their attention. It is important to keep in mind the analytics for Facebook and Twitter in order to see what kind of posts that you have that have made an impression on your audience. This way you will know what kind of posts to continue posting and which ones to avoid.

Once you have your background on analytics, make sure to plan how many times you’d like to post on each social network. Twitter is the most acceptable platform that allows you to post up to five times a day versus Facebook, which is 3-10 times a week according to Sprout Social.

In order to post to Hootsuite, it is a good idea to have a social media calendar that follows your organization's goals by tactically planning ahead. Google Calendar is a great way to organize what is going on in your organization and share with your team. Once a calendar like Google Calendar is created, it will be easier to create a template for your social media plan so you wont miss important dates and events.

To achieve the goals of your organization, set out objectives on what is needed to be posted each week, then narrow down what posts should be posted on which day. If there are any events or social causes that tie in with your organization, make sure to include them on your social media calendar. The posts you make will set the organization's voice and needs to be followed throughout all platforms. When posting, make sure to have a tone that is appropriate for the organization. Bring into consideration on what important announcements need to be highlighted with multiple posts where others may only be posted once.

By staying organized and planning ahead with a social media calendar, PR professionals can strategically plan for their audience to reach the posts at the right time.

Sources Cited

Patterson, M. (2016, January 07). 4 Steps for Creating a Social Media Calendar | Sprout Social. Retrieved from http://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-editorial-calendar/

Rast, H. (2012). How To Build A Conversation Calendar For Social Media. Retrieved from http://soloprpro.com/how-to-build-a-conversation-calendar-for-social-media/