Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar

929 W. Oak St Kissimmee, FL 34741 P. 407-847-5565 E. pip@pipmarketinggroup.com

Lauren Holliday is the director of

marketing at PIP Printing and

Marketing in Kissimmee. Holliday

is a journalist with a marketing

mindset. Orlando Weekly

featured her latest article on its

Aug. 29-Sept 4, 2012 cover.

By Lauren Holliday Director of Marketing, PIP Printing & Marketing in Kissimmee

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Social media calendar defined………….….….1 Why create a social media calendar………….4 How to create a social media calendar……..……………….…....7 What to do now……………………………………..9

Chapter 1: Social media calendar defined

Social media has not changed everything. Content

still is and will always be king. You may implement

a presence on every social media platform out

there, but it will not bring any return on

investment if you utilize it the wrong way or fail to

utilize it at all.

Ingrain this in your brain:

"If I want to beat competitors and surpass goals

and expectations then I will create engaging

content.“

Like any strategic marketing plan, social

media marketing campaigns need to be

built on a solid foundation. If you fail to

plan then your campaign is doomed to

fail so let's tell you how to design a cost-

effective and time-efficient social media

strategy that will engage users; and in turn,

will increase revenue.

How do you beat your competitors?

You create engaging content.

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Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1 2 3 4 5

8 9 10 11 12

15 16 17 18 19

22 23 24 25 26

29 30 31

Editorial Social media calendar: (noun) 1. A calendar used by companies to organize and control content across an array of media

outlets. 2. An organizational tool, in calendar form, that helps implement a consistent and informative message across the Internet.

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Witty Visuals Educational Resources Easy Repeat

Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar

Five types of content

“I want to use Company XYZ. I don’t want to feel like the company is using me.” -Your client

Be Witty

Many companies forget that its clients

are real people by treating them

impersonally on social media. Your clients

want a break from the overtly repetitive

business stuff so treat them to a laugh

on your behalf. Posts, tweets and

Instagrams do not have to be serious or

educational 100 percent of the time.

Ensure you spice things up by adding a

personality to your social media.

Visual Communications

Stop paying for advertisements when

you can create a FREE visually

appealing social media ad via your

blog.

Educate clients

Yes, it is still important to

include educational content;

i.e. eBooks, how-to guides,

infographics,…

Utilize free resources

Gain new leads by utilizing free

resources and influencers.

Resources are anywhere you can

post quality content about your

company without asking permission

of someone else. This would be

your personal blog or a blog or

paper you contribute to.

IMPORTANT: Don't appear overtly

promotional. Influencers are people

who have a large social media

following; and therefore, can

influence a large group of people.

When creating your social media

calendar, make sure you include a

list of your influencers and

resources.

Make it easy

Some days you may not

want to write something

funny or educational so

create a bank of excess

content for those days you

are swamped, but still need

to post something worthy of

being posted.

When creating your social media calendar, make sure you include a list of your influencers and resources.

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Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar

CHAPTER 2: Why you should create a social media calendar

Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar

The F-Factor

Trendwatching.com created this

term in May 2011, and the “F”

stands for “friends, fans and

followers who influence a

consumer’s buying decision.”

The graph tells explains it the F-

factor.

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Why does the F-Factor matter?

According to KellerFay, a US word of mouth marketing

research consultancy, there are nearly one trillion conversations about brands every year in the US alone.

Fewer than one in three people trust marketing messages, according to Edelman Digital’s annual survey of trust.3 That’s a pretty dismal number.

If these two statistics aren’t reason enough to implement a content calendar then I don’t know what is.

Repeat after me: Content is king.

Google’s algorithm updates, Panda and Penguin, are making it harder to maintain or improve your search engine rankings without great content. If you are consistently creating quality content, this will also tell Google to view you as a valid publisher, which can help with your overall SEO efforts.” –Source: Why a content

calendar will be critical in 2013, Josh Bernstein

Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar

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CHAPTER 3: How to create a social media calendar

Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar

How to create a social media calendar:

What you’ll need: • Page 6 of this eBook • Whichever calendar you use incessantly For example, I chose to create my content calendar using Google Calendar because I use G-mail religiously.

Based on the types of content shown on page 6, create a content repository for Monday – Friday, or the entire week, but I recommend only Monday – Friday. Create a unique name for each day of the week, such as “Mentor Monday” so users know which type of content to expect every week. If it’s good content then they’ll look forward to it!

If you need extra help, check out Contently.com. It is a new website, still in Beta testing, that will take you through the process in short, easy steps. If you don’t need the extra help, but still need and/or want to share the calendar with others then utilize sharing tools within email programs such as Google Calendars and Microsoft Outlook.

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More than 75 percent of local consumers found local businesses through search engines in 2010. Ten years ago companies spent between $300 to $2,000 or more per month on yellow-page ads to drive customers to their businesses. Today, customers expect companies to interact with them on a multitude of social media platforms. For these reasons, PIP hired me. As a journalist with a marketing mindset, I will create quality content, which will deliver measurable results for our clients. Most importantly, PIP will focus on driving clients’ sales so they can focus on serving their customers. Learn more at http://www.pipmarketinggroup.com

PIP Printing & Marketing in Kissimmee announces its launch of its new service: social media management

9/9 929 W. Oak St Kissimmee, FL 34741

P. 407.847.5565 E. pip@pipmarketinggroup.com