Creating a calendar from a template will allow you to create a blank calendar that you can fill in with events. For this, just click File > New , and type "calendar" in the search box. % of people told us that this article helped them. Note: This example assumes the start date will be provided as the first of the month. That is precisely where content calendars come into play. You could also include a video which explains the wider ramifications of its findings – so on and so forth. Analytics (both web and social) and revenue data can also be used to make tweaks to already published content (e.g. We define a content calendar as a shareable resource that teams can use to plan all content activity. It also helps you efficiently fill gaps in your content schedule. On the File menu, click “Close and Return to Microsoft Excel.” Click the Sheet1 tab. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. A social media calendar template lays out everything you plan to share for a particular time frame, including message, link, and visual. For certain versions of Excel, such as Excel 2011 for Mac, you'll need to select "New from Template" from the File menu instead of "New." Using a social media calendar will help you plan your content around smart social media goals and coordinate with campaigns and blog content to achieve them. This allows you to visualize how your content is distributed throughout the year. The template divides the whole month into separate weeks and individual days with proper allotment of interesting topics and mention of publishing time and gateways. Excel Calendar Template. Although they’re less frequent in cadence than binge-worthy shows, they’re still fairly large content pieces. Social Media Marketing, Social Media Research. Step 3: Plan, Schedule, Publish, Promote, Track and Tweak Your Content. Microsoft Excel 2007 or later. With the layout of grid as shown, the main problem is calculate the date in the first cell in the calendar (B6). Create a dynamic monthly calendar in Excel. One of the popular uses of Excel is to maintain a list of events, appointments or other calendar related stuff. Step 1 Create a new Excel workbook, click the "File" menu and choose "Options." The editorial calendar guides the content that will be published. If you use the tools mentioned above to create and share high-quality posts at the right time on each channel, you’ll likely see better results from social media. The process will be a little different depending on the template you are using. This is because you can schedule the content and they’ll post automatically on your behalf. Shift the Calendar folder, and select the calendar which you will export to Excel. Create your editorial calendar by answering 4 basic questions: What does an editorial calendar look like? For example, if you want an academic calendar, you can search "academic calendar" instead. 2. To create a complete calendar, press the tab marked “Sheet 1” at the bottom of the calendar and choose “Move or Copy.” Mark the box called “Create a copy”, press “OK”, and repeat ten times to create twelve pages. Click CalendarMaker, and then click Run to create the calendar. Next, click on the cell and look for the blue rectangle at the bottom right corner. Even though the report varies slightly in design and layout each year, it’s consistent enough that audiences know exactly what to expect. Your planning meetings can also be used to review the visit, engagement and revenue (if available) stats from previous periods to assess which types of content are most successful (and perhaps need to be replicated) and which are less successful (and perhaps need to be rethought). Now, bring this to your editorial meetings and make sure to keep tabs on how content is performing, so you can adjust your publishing flow and content ideation, as necessary. CoSchedule. It premiers live every Thursday at 4:00 pm PT and includes a live chat with the hosts. How to Create a Social Media Content Calendar. Now you can edit and update it, as needed. You can make an event that spans multiple days by using the "Start Date" and "End Date" fields. Find out how we have helped organizations from higher education to entertainment, non-profit and Fortune 1000 brands. They should target at least two audiences, otherwise hey’re not worth the time or effort to produce. It’s important to note that you most likely already have content shows in your existing content assets, so check your inventory first. These also get plugged into your calendar first. The content editorial calendar template is detailed and insightful and is provided in an excel format. 4. Using apps such as Hootsuite , Buffer and PostPlanner make the process easier. Then draw a Combo Box in cell A1. Okay content is easy. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Choose your social channels 3. Excel: Here’s a marketing calendar template from Content Marketing Institute to get you started on a digital version. Identify the keyword to be used in the content/persona targeted /industry targeted/ Article title / Media. It may just be a matter of spinning assets a bit differently, giving them an official show title or connecting them in more consistent ways. Start publishing/scheduling Pro Tip: If this is your first time making a calendar for social, you might want to crack open our guide to creating a social media marketing strateg… The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. In this article, you'll discover how to plan a year's worth of social media posts and content. A single content asset can also often give rise to several pieces of content, which we refer to as content atomization. Go to Developer Tab > Click on Insert button in the Group called Controls > Select more controls from the selection for ActiveX controls > Select Microsoft Date and Time Picker control 6.0 (SP6) > Click OK > Click on the location where you want to place the calendar and drag to define its size > Click on Design mode in the Excel Ribbon > Right-click on the date picker > Select Properties > In the … There’s a lot of focus on creating new content when we should really be focusing on creating more with less. Copy the Visual Basic for Applications code below into the module sheet. Instead, because of Google Sheets formulas, you end up saving a ton of time creating your calendar. Select a template. wikiHow's. This template also tracks the status of each piece of content, the category it falls under, marketing goals, and more. Whether you plan content on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis, depending on how quickly your industry or organization moves, there are several universal keys to content calendar success: 1. 4 Higher Education Content Marketing Examples that Any School Can Implement, The 4 Best Practices of Healthcare Social Media Marketing for 2020. Creating a content calendar from scratch is one of those tasks that seems so much more complicated than it actually is. This will display the options you can pick from, and the calendar will adjust automatically. See screenshot: 2. In fact, these shows are something that they actually look forward to. On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros. It will not convert any of your data into calendar format. 2. Step 2: Identify and Create Your Content Shows. Note: By default, a template file download goes into the Downloads folder on your computer. Regular editorial planning meetings between all those involved in content creation should be scheduled well before the next publishing period—be it monthly or quarterly. Please do as follows: 1. Plan your business’ posts and tweets with this social media calendar template in Excel. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,002,296 times. Invite your team to review, and use their feedback to improve 8. Change the calendar view with clicking View > Change View > List. Yes, we don’t have any built-in calendar, I know you have seen some of the calendar templates in excel, but those are created by excel users. We prefer a calendar-based format, as opposed to just creating a long list of content to be published, because it comes with several benefits: Consistency is insanely critical to content success. This post was originally written by Jamie Griffiths in 2014, and extensively updated by Anna Hrach, Digital Strategist here at Convince & Convert, in 2019. So, go ahead and insert Sunday, for example, into the B3 cell. This yearly report is chock-full of goodness. You can find Date Picker on the Developer tab, which is hidden by default. Tested. What holiday is it on the 21st march 2028? Excel has a wide variety of useful tools, but one of the criticism is it doesn’t have any built-in calendar tool. Browse through the calendar templates, choose an Excel calendar template that is best for you. It’s also usually not necessary to produce all your content from scratch since we often leave heaps of valuable content just lying around. He writes on search and social media for the Manifesto blog. A content calendar helps you deliver the right message to your audience at the right time. Killer content is hard. When creating a social media content calendar, the first step is to identify what calendar … The first method will introduce an easy to quickly export all calendar items from Outlook to Excel spreadsheet without the Import and Export feature. Regularly scheduled programming: These shows are ongoing content initiatives that round out your calendar, and they don’t have to necessarily connect completely or be 100 percent consistent in theme. This meeting can be used to schedule the publishing content from your repository with realistic time frames and to support social media activity, email newsletter inclusions, etc. Build your entire content calendar and schedule everything at the best times with these templates and guides: 2021 Content Calendar Template to map out your content all year long. While not known as a calendar program, you can use Excel to create and manage your calendar. You can also take a list of calendar events from a spreadsheet and import them into your Outlook calendar. titles, introductions, outbound links, etc.) You should be able to execute this show at least twice per month. to create Calendar in Excel you should follow the below steps, Step 1: Leave the first row in your spreadsheet blank. Thankfully, sometimes all that’s needed to get on the right track is a quick how-to and a great starter template, which is exactly what we have for you here. Highlight the bullseye looking icon and drag it … In this post, we provide a guide to building a content calendar, plus a free template for the year. They’re too inconsistent and unreliable. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. For example: Repurposing content assets takes away some of the strain of having to come up with a million new content ideas. Plan and organize your content efforts according to content type and buyer lifecycle stage, and then assign writers and set deadlines. Seriously, check it out. 2. You can get more specific with your search depending on your needs. A must-read! Convince & Convert, LLC Global HQ 885 S. College Mall Road, #376 Bloomington, IN 47401, Content Marketing Consulting and Social Media Strategy, How to Build a Content Calendar (Plus a Free Template). Being a content calendar template excel, this is an extremely user-friendly template which can be used to organize content publishing. Now that we have all of that out of the way, let’s get to the good stuff: calendaring all of our amazing content. Like in the case of blog posts, they may have a different author, topic or format, depending on the content, but they always connect back to the content strategy and have at least one clear audience in mind. One-time show example: Who doesn’t love CMI’s annual Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends report?! Regularly scheduled program example: Convince & Convert’s own blog is our version of regularly scheduled programming. However, the fastest and easiest way create a calendar in Excel is to pick a free Excel calendar template. Note: This is a sample video from our comprehensive Social Marketing Certification course at Hootsuite Academy. Creating a calendar from a template will allow you to create a blank calendar that you can fill in with events. However, it is a good rule of thumb to be able to set goals you want to achieve that are attainable and follow through with your established goals. Think of them as what a local nightly news show is to any major television network. Adjust visuals as needed. Click the Download button on the template page, open the template file in Excel, and then edit and save your calendar. Click the Sheet1 tab. If you’re not familiar with Jay Baer’s concept of creating content shows, you can read his in-depth post about content shows. Enter your events. On the Insert menu, click Module. Even just opening a blank Excel spreadsheet can feel overwhelming. Think white papers, research papers, contests, user-generated content campaigns, etc. The free social media content calendar has individual columns for title, author, deadline, publishing time, topic, images and publishing channels. Usually you can select the displayed year or month and then click the ▼ button that appears next to it. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published, This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Before we jump into calendaring our content, let’s talk about what a content calendar actually is and a few baseline requirements for success. 3. Set the correct dates. On the Developer ribbon, Click Visual Basic. 3. The further ahead you plan, the better positioned you will be to produce a consistent flow of content. Please do as follows to create a dynamic monthly calendar in Excel. If you’re already familiar or just want the highlights, content marketers need to start to think like television networks and create content shows. Aside from being super fun to watch, this show is also a fantastic case study for what a true binge-worthy show looks like and for how to build and engage with an audience. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Whether you plan content on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis, depending on how quickly your industry or organization moves, there are several universal keys to content calendar success: Fantastic! On the Developer ribbon, click Macros. There are 3 types of shows you need to identify within your content: Binge-worthy shows: These shows are big, steady ongoing content initiatives that have the same theme and format. One-time shows: These shows are special quarterly or yearly shows that attack a major customer pain point or topic. Establish a workflow 6. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. But we can use little creativity, conditional formatting, few formulas & 3 lines of VBA code to create a slick, interactive calendar in Excel. 3. From the why you need a content calendar to how to create and use a content calendar. We work to double your digital and we've done that for some of the best companies in the world. This nifty eBook shows you the difference, based on our real-world work with dozens of brands. That’s because it’s a great starting place, easy to edit and modify, and almost everyone has the ability to open the file. Create … It has to be done on a regular, ongoing basis. #1: Create a Spreadsheet The first step in creating a content calendar is to set everything up in a spreadsheet. As far as I have found out, the only holiday in March in 2028 is Memorial Day, BUT it's on the 29th. Easy to customize, this template can be used by most content teams with a little tweaking. Perfect for individuals or teams, when you’re starting a new blog, or simply want to “scale up” your existing blogging efforts. Audit your social networks and content 2. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. Open your calendars to everyone: While not everyone should have the ability to edit a master content calendar, everyone should at least know where the content calendar is located and have viewing access. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. Email Calendar Template to plan and organize every send. Content atomization will become your best friend when it comes to content calendaring, so get to know a bit more about it, plus get amazing examples and inspiration here: 49 Tactics to Atomize Your Content Marketing. Content marketers need to start to think like television networks and create content shows. On the File menu, click "Close and Return to Microsoft Excel." Binge-worthy show example: I’m a massive fan of Retro Replay, a relatively new weekly YouTube show that pits two of today’s most well-known video game voice actors against some of the most difficult and/or nostalgic video games of the past. Select all your dates (from B6 to AF6) Open the Format Cells dialog box (Ctrl+1 or Home>Cell format>More Number format) Select the Custom category Enter ddd dd in the Type field. There are a variety of calendar templates available that you can customize to your liking, which will be a lot quicker than trying to format a calendar yourself. One could not ask for more because you got it all covered. Instead, start by taking note of all of your existing content or resources to see what can be repurposed and remixed. Copy each month, then adjust the dates. Get Access to the Content Calendar Template Now >. Open Excel. The actual calendaring part is pretty quick, once you get your shows established. These don’t have to have the same level of consistency, but they should still be in line with your branding, voice and tone. Decide what your calendar needs to track 4. 5. These free marketing calendar templates are in Excel and PDF formats. This article has been viewed 1,002,296 times. It’s the process of taking one big piece of content and spinning it out into eight smaller pieces of content. 1. To add your content to the calendar and get the most out of your content: That’s it! By using our site, you agree to our. Yes, amazing new ideas and brilliant sparks of creativity help, but we can’t rely on them alone. Skills: Content Writing, Data Entry, Excel, Copywriting, Content Strategy This is done with this formula: This formula figures out the Sunday prior to the first day of the month by using the CHOOSE function to "roll back" the right number o… Make sure to enter the date into the standard MM/DD/YY or DD/MM/YY format so that it can be read properly by Outlook. Changing Fonts and Colors. . You need to create a Form Controls Combo Box in advance. For example, an infographic can support a blog post that analyzes the integrity of the data on which it was based. to optimize visits and engagement. While Excel shines easily when you want to log this data, it has no quick way to visualize this information. Jamie is the inbound marketing strategist at London based digital agency Manifesto. Click CalendarMaker, and then click Run to create the calendar. It will not convert any of … Click on the cell with the text you’d like to modify, and in the Home tab, you can change the font type, font size, font color, or make the text bold, italicized, or underlined. On the second row type the days of the week (one day per cell). In short, these content shows become predictable, steady initiatives that our audiences can rely on and recognize. Download Your 2021 Content Calendar Template + Bonus Resources. There are 8 steps to creating an effective social media calendar: 1. These are often podcasts, video series, webinar series, white papers, reports, etc. You can usually set the day the week starts as well by selecting it and choosing a new one. Click Developer > Insert > Combo Box (Form Control). Last Updated: January 12, 2020 Use this customizable content marketing calendar template to develop your content strategy. Start crafting your posts 7. Create a new workbook. The calendar helped me consistently post unique content every single day of the year, which is why I continue to create a social media content calendar every year. Google Docs: A spreadsheet in Google Docs/Sheets like this marketing calendar template from Crackerjack Marketing will help you solve the locking problem you’d experience with Excel. You can create a social media calendar in an Excel spreadsheet. 1. If you want to convert a list of Excel data into an Outlook calendar, see the next section. Happy calendaring! 6. This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. We’ve provided a basic content calendar for you to use. And the content calendar defines and publishes the specific content. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. ; To change the background color of the weekday header or of an event entry, highlight the cell, click the paint bucket icon, and select the fill color. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/e\/e1\/Create-a-Calendar-in-Microsoft-Excel-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/v4-460px-Create-a-Calendar-in-Microsoft-Excel-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/e\/e1\/Create-a-Calendar-in-Microsoft-Excel-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/aid2105197-v4-728px-Create-a-Calendar-in-Microsoft-Excel-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"