#AwesomeTools - Social Media Editorial Development Tools

One of the hardest parts of maintaining a social media presence is the feeling that you are constantly trying to generate ideas for new and unique material.  And if you don't have a system for your content generation, you will end up missing great opportunities to connect with your audience and sell your product/service. If you want to take advantage of every opportunity to get your message out there, you need to make use of some social media editorial development tools.

A great way to keep your posts and promotions organized is a content calendar. It's likely that you already have a personal planner or calendar that you track appointments and deadlines in. Think of a social media content calendar as an extension of this, with more bells and whistles.

This is the place to map out your content. You can plan your own content and deadlines (like blog post publish dates), and include things like major holidays, events, and other special dates.

Creating your content calendar doesn't have to be complicated. You can use good old-fashioned pen and paper, an electronic alternative like an Excel document or Evernote, or do it directly in a social media scheduling tool like Hootsuite or Buffer. I always recommend scheduling your posts to save you time, but if you like to map out content on paper first and then upload it to your online calendar, that's totally fine!

So how do you build a calendar?  First, you're going to want to look at your timeline and determine how often you should post, and the best times to post. You also want to take into consideration who your target audience is, so you can source and create content that appeals to them.

Next, include major holidays, some fun, quirky holidays, and other major events that you should be posting about. Let's say, for example, that your blog centers around women's health. It would make sense to produce content relating to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is in October.

Once you have a list of holidays and special events, you can start scheduling out your blog posts and social media posts.

Once your content calendar is full ideas, you can use social media scheduling tools to schedule your posts. What's great about online schedulers is that they help you to collaborate with other members of your team. If you upload a post, everyone on the team can see it and offer feedback. This makes the content generation process even easier.

If you are into social media, and I know you are, then it's important for you to plan your editorial content. By planning in advance, you can make sure that your social media stays running and current, and that you don't miss any opportunities to cross-promote on holidays and special events.

Be sure to Follow us and Let's Engage!

Hollie Clere of The Social Media Advisor is a “#BeAwesome” Developer, Social Media, Brand Builder, Content Manager, Trainer and Author in LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Google+,YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram and the tools to manage them.

Click here for her Social Media Workshops, Classes and Seminars