{"id":692,"date":"2017-07-25T15:52:51","date_gmt":"2017-07-25T15:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.write-angle.com\/thewritestuff\/?p=692"},"modified":"2017-07-25T15:52:51","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T15:52:51","slug":"need-content-calendar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.write-angle.com\/thewritestuff\/need-content-calendar\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You Need a Content Calendar"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Content<\/a><\/p>\n

Here at\u00a0Write Angle<\/a>, one of our long-held assertions is that technology marketers live in a publish-or-perish world. <\/p>\n

Simply put, if you\u2019re not producing thought leadership or educational content that can be repurposed on a regular basis, you can\u2019t drive or shape industry dialog. And without a steady cadence of fresh assets that map to buyer personas at specific stages of the purchasing lifecycle, you\u2019re stuck playing catch-up with competitors. Worst case, you run the risk of being rendered derivative, irrelevant or invisible.<\/p>\n

Turns out that one of the most\u00a0marketing-relevant\u00a0solutions to what we jokingly refer to as \u201ccontent interruptus\u201d is the venerable (and often overlooked) content calendar, AKA\u00a0editorial calendar.<\/p>\n

If you’re like most clients, you have good intentions to develop one, but never get around to it. Even the more disciplined marketing departments that make the effort frequently fail to use it to best advantage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the challenges is how easy this tool is to ignore. Editorial calendars are just so 20th century, right? This is an unfortunate rap because the goal of attracting, converting and retaining customers makes a content calendar indispensable. It’s also ideally suited for modern tools associated with social media platforms. Think Kapost, Central Desktop and Contently, among many others out there today. <\/p>\n

What it should do<\/strong><\/p>\n

Think of the content calendar as a GPS that maps all your content assets to your prospect \u201cfood chain\u201d with guidance on how best to reach them in terms of timing and channels.
\n\u00a0
\nSay you\u2019re making a blog post on a segment included in an eBook you just published. You may want to use multiple channels to re-purpose this material via email (auto-responder) or sites as varied as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Tagging the material (AKA meta data) with identifiers that label your target\u2019s persona category (awareness, consideration or decision) helps you track the effectiveness of each asset. Same for SEO keywords and content type such as white papers, video or case studies. <\/p>\n

Accountability is key. At the risk of stating the obvious, each asset should have a designated owner responsible for production and delivery. Your content calendar should also specify the asset channel: e.g. eBook, blog, buyer\u2019s guide, solution brief, use cases, etc. And, since a calendar is a management tool, factor in workflow processes no matter how seemingly mundane: think proofreading, editing, legal review cycles. Equally important, honor deadlines for creating and publishing your assets. While slippages are a fact of life, don\u2019t make them a habit.\u00a0
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

Setting it up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here’s a 10-step approach to setting up an effective content calendar:<\/p>\n

1.\tContent headline
\n2.\tContent type
\n3.\tBuyer persona
\n4.\tCall to action
\n5. Owner
\n6. Final review deadline
\n7. Publishing channel(s)
\n8. Publish date
\n9. Status
\n10. Metrics (page views, downloads, comments)<\/p>\n

Refresh Your Calendar<\/strong>
\n\u00a0
\nIt\u2019s important to stay vigilant when updating your content calendar, especially if you generate one on a quarterly basis. Given the rapid rate of change in virtually every technology industry today, you don\u2019t want to be caught flat-footed with dated material. Publishing yesterday\u2019s news can seriously de-position an organization\u2019s value proposition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here at\u00a0Write Angle, one of our long-held assertions is that technology marketers live in a publish-or-perish world. Simply put, if you\u2019re not producing thought leadership or educational content that can be repurposed on a regular basis, you can\u2019t drive or shape industry dialog. And without a steady cadence of fresh assets that map to buyer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-content-marketing","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy You Need a Content Calendar - The Write Stuff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.write-angle.com\/thewritestuff\/need-content-calendar\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why You Need a Content Calendar - The Write Stuff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here at\u00a0Write Angle, one of our long-held assertions is that technology marketers live in a publish-or-perish world. 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