Bear in mind when each model appeared to be having a “brat summer season?”
I’m being a little bit facetious — I loved the chartreuse memes and apple dances as a lot as anybody. However lately, the idea of timeliness in a content material advertising calendar has change into much less about utility and extra about leaping on tendencies for the sake of relevancy.
Don’t get me fallacious: there’s a time and place for incorporating memes and web discourse into your content material technique. Staying “with it” is essential. However well timed content material doesn’t have to (and, in my view, shouldn’t) pander. Constructing timeliness into your content material technique additionally doesn’t require spending infinite hours scrolling by means of social media simply to be sure to don’t miss what the youngsters are speaking about. With sufficient forethought and intention, you possibly can simply put collectively a content material advertising calendar that makes house for timeliness with out including extra onto your already-full plate.
Plan round your industry-specific seasonality
Whereas timeliness doesn’t essentially imply leaping on each and all dialog occurring across the web, it additionally doesn’t essentially imply bland acknowledgments of public holidays. Well timed content material ought to exist for a transparent cause; sharing a social media submit wishing your purchasers a cheerful and restful Labor Day is a pleasant gesture, however it’s not what I’m speaking about right here.
Seasonality, with reference to content material advertising technique, means aligning your content material with what your viewers is of course eager about. Beneath is a superb instance from Becker, an expert schooling group with a core viewers phase of CPAs and aspiring CPAs. By offering particular ideas for accountants trying to handle the exhausting workload of tax season, they’re additional positioning themselves as an knowledgeable useful resource for skilled improvement whereas seamlessly directing readers to their bigger library of assets.
And the most effective half? Tax season occurs actually yearly. (And don’t everyone knows it.) Not solely is that this seasonal milestone simple to anticipate, however Becker doesn’t essentially must reinvent the wheel with their content material each fall.
In the case of your personal seasonal content material, anticipating industry-specific seasonalities means you’re additionally not reinventing something with your personal advertising content material calendar. You’ll be able to even use these moments as a chance to refresh current content material. Let’s use a tax season instance whereas we’re on the subject: since tax brackets, contribution limits, submitting dates, and so on., change yearly, updating this data in your organization’s current tax assets yearly is an easy technique to preserve your content material advertising well timed and related. You need to be there on your viewers each time you possibly can anticipate a bigger demand for data.
Sure, keep on prime of trending subjects
Please don’t interpret my downplaying of meme utilization in your model technique as encouraging you to keep away from social media tendencies altogether. I feel each content material strategist ought to pay attention to rising tendencies inside their {industry}, however that doesn’t imply being on prime of each development on the market.
Take skincare, for instance: keep in mind when each different TikTok in your feed was a younger lady sharing her slugging routine? (Simply me?) This was a fantastic alternative for dermatologists, skincare manufacturers, and well being consultants to weigh in on this “new” development. Not as a result of they had been hopping on the bandwagon of one thing everybody on-line was discussing, however as a result of this subject was truly related to their enterprise.
Beneath is an instance of how heritage skincare model CeraVe did simply that. Not solely had been they in a position so as to add their experience to the slugging dialog, they had been in a position to make use of it as a chance to organically spotlight one among their core product choices.
However, after all, how do you keep forward of the discourse in your {industry} in an oversaturated on-line neighborhood? Delegating social media analysis to a group member is usually a worthwhile transfer, however that doesn’t imply they should spend half their workdays scrolling. Social listening instruments like Hootsuite and Brandwatch and development stories from Google Traits can simply minimize down the time spent researching social tendencies. I additionally advocate subscribing to industry-specific channels and newsletters; as a contract author, I’m deeply tuned into Freelancing With Tim, a Substack run by a former New York Instances editor. And, after all, there’s additionally good old school checking in on the competitors. The extra you perceive your competitor’s technique, the higher you possibly can curate your personal.
Construct a versatile content material advertising calendar template
As I discussed earlier, placing collectively your content material calendar for digital advertising doesn’t must be the daunting process it feels like. You’ll need to begin by outlining the cornerstone occasions or seasonal themes which you can anticipate forward of time, which you’ll plan bigger-lift content material round (issues like white papers with {industry} analysis or bigger e-newsletter campaigns). Then, you’ll need to depart placeholders for extra well timed content material — social media movies or weblog posts that help you leap on trending subjects, as a result of they ideally don’t want as a lot lead time. It’s additionally all the time a good suggestion to have a backlog of evergreen content material able to submit (or be up to date) at any second.
Right here’s an instance content material advertising calendar template {that a} journey company may use to assist get forward of well timed content material for the yr forward:
- Q1 content material themes: New Yr’s Resolutions, Valentine’s Day, early spring break planning
- One of the best weekend getaways on your 2025 journey bucket listing
- Underrated East Coast journey locations for {couples}
- The place to take your youngsters on spring break (with out breaking the financial institution)
- Q2 content material themes: Spring flowers, Memorial Day, summer season planning
- A complete information to the unpredictable however otherworldly superbloom season
- Final-minute Memorial Day journey itineraries for households
- The rise of “grownup summer season camp”: the TK greatest group journey journeys for grownups
- Q3 content material themes: late summer season/Labor Day, off-peak journey, fall foliage planning
- TK (actually) cool summer season locations to flee the warmth
- One of the best European cities to discover in the course of the shoulder season
- maximize fall colours throughout your New England foliage street journey
- This autumn content material themes: autumn getaways, household gatherings, end-of-year holidays
- Quirky and comfortable autumn weekend getaways, from airstream glamping to treehouses
- optimize your Thanksgiving journey schedule whereas staying sane
- Final-minute journey packages for a really memorable New Yr’s weekend
Getting forward of your content material technique all the time takes a little bit little bit of up-front work, however belief me — your future self will be thankful for the time saved from scrolling.
Because the Content material Strategist: FAQs:
What instruments can I exploit to maintain my content material calendar organized?
Challenge administration instruments like Trello, Asana, and Airtable are nice for organizing and monitoring your content material calendar. These platforms permit for collaboration and real-time updates, making certain your group stays aligned.
How do I measure the success of well timed content material?
Observe metrics like engagement charges, web site site visitors, and conversions to evaluate how nicely your well timed content material is performing. Examine these metrics to your evergreen content material to find out in case your technique is resonating together with your viewers.
What if a development fades earlier than I can publish my content material?
To keep away from lacking the development, prioritize fast content material manufacturing for time-sensitive subjects. If a development fades, contemplate repurposing the content material to align with extra related discussions or evergreen themes.
For extra tips about how you can create and execute your editorial calendar, subscribe to The Content material Strategist.
