8 Questions to Consider When Planning Your Content Publishing Schedule

Content marketing can be a viable way to generate a higher number of leads, create a larger repeat customer base, and improve your company’s standing as an expert in their specified field. One of the most important things in ensuring marketing efforts are as effective as possible, however, is to properly plan and execute a publishing schedule. Considering the eight following questions can help you plan a content publishing schedule that will work best for your company.

What Are the Strengths and Weaknesses of Each Member of Your Marketing Team?

Your marketing team may consist of a single person (possibly you) or several people. Consider what each person is strongest at and what each person is weakest at. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your marketing team is vital because people work quickest at the tasks they are good at. Assigning team members to tasks they excel at will also produce the highest quality results. If you aren’t sure what the strengths and weaknesses of your team are, ask them. 

How Many Total Man-Hours Do You Have Available for Content Creation?

Consider how many total hours your company has available for content creation and publishing. If, for example, you have a marketing team of two people who work average 40 hour weeks, you will have a total of 80 man-hours per week to dedicate towards the creation and publishing of content. 

Which Social Media Channels are Your Target Audience Most Active On?

Social media platforms are just one of the outlet options when it comes to publishing and sharing your content. For social media to be an effective outlet, you need to figure out which social media channels your customers are currently using. You can use a combination of published statistics and email surveys to figure out this information. 

Your company should choose only one or two social media platforms to host company pages on, as any more than that can be difficult to keep active. Common social media platforms companies use include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, and LinkedIn.

Have You Created Any Content Reserves if There Comes a Time When New Creation is Difficult or Impossible?

Creating content reserves is vital. Unexpected situations will come up, and having content in reserve to publish when needed can keep accounts active. If, for example, your marketing team gets struck with the flu or you suddenly lose one marketer without notice. Aim to have a reserve of at least one week’s worth of content for unexpected situations. 

Which Publishing Outlets Do You Wish to Most Focus On?

There are numerous publishing outlets you could choose, but it’s impossible to choose all of them. Most companies choose to host a website, along with a blog and one to two social media platforms. What other places will you publish content? Forums and video-hosting platforms are two options, as are guest blogging, eBooks, podcast-streamers, and more. You should decide this question simultaneously with question six for the best results.  

6. Which Content Formats Do You Wish to Produce?

There are several content formats you might use, with blog posts and written social media posts being among the most common. If possible, it is highly suggestible you invest effort into video production because videos are among the most highly sought after and shared content formats. Other options include eBooks, podcasts, graphics, forum responses, and white page.  

7. Which Metrics Will You Measure on Which Platforms?

It is important to measure metrics to ensure each platform is performing appropriately. Common metrics to measure include likes, comments, shares, bounce rates, page views, and amount of time spent on each page. Some platforms and website hosts have metric measuring built-in. If the one your company uses does not, you can make use of Google Analytics. 

8. What Long-Term and Short-Term Goals are You Hoping to Achieve Through Your Content Marketing?

Any form of marketing your company endeavors upon should be aligned with your overall goals. These goals should be broken down into smaller, short-term goals that are easily achievable and larger, long-term goals that may take considerable time to achieve. Each company’s goals will be different, so it’s important to find which will best work for you. 

Conclusion

Considering the eight questions above can help you develop a content publishing schedule best suited to your company. Remember there is no right or wrong way to develop a schedule, as long as your company can reasonably maintain it. It is better to publish a few pieces of high-quality content per month instead of many mediocre pieces of content. 

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