Have you ever wondered how some brands are so consistent on Instagram? It seems crazy how they pump out engaging and trendy content daily. Maybe you have heard of something called an Instagram content calendar! If you are struggling to keep up with your Instagram posts and not creating consistent content, you also need to create a calendar for your Instagram.
You don’t need to think, what do I create next? Do I need anything else for this post, or when was this post supposed to come out? You are completely liberated from the mental space that was occupied by these questions once you start using an Instagram content calendar.
So, if you are looking for the easiest way to create an Instagram calendar, you have stepped in the right place. In this blog, we will see how to create a content calendar for Instagram from scratch.
Let’s go!
What Is an Instagram Content Calendar?
An Instagram content calendar is a well-organized publishing schedule for all of your content. It is a content production headquarters, and it has everything, such as captions, media, dates, time, hashtags, and the process, laid out in one place for weeks of your posts.
If you are a beginner and want to manage Instagram marketing effectively, a content calendar might seem like a big commitment, but trust me, it pays off in the long run. Following this process can free up a lot of your time. Your calendar can be as personalized as you want or as complex as you need it to be.
Why Instagram Content Calendar Is Important?
When all your content ideas are spread across small pieces of paper, the content calendar helps you stay in control and organized for your plan and time on the platform. It gives you the power to create a regular posting schedule through batching and also saves you from burnout.
To Save Time
Alex is a marketer who manages five brands on Instagram that have unique demands and audiences. Now, just imagine his life without an Instagram content calendar. He will have to write down ideas on paper and then shuffle between them for hours daily to find the right fit for the day.
With an Instagram calendar, he can designate a few hours weekly to plan posts for each brand for the month. This frees up his time and allows for strategic tasks like reviewing performance and engaging with the audience. It also ensures that no brand is neglected due to time restrictions.
To Maintain Consistency
Regarding consistency, each brand Alex manages demands regular posting at set time intervals so that the audience is engaged and the brand is building an Instagram presence. This means Alex has to determine the best time to post on Instagram and tailor the social media strategy to the audience and the brand identity.
Having his plan defined on the Instagram content calendar helps him ensure each brand shares posts consistently at the optimum time and nurtures the relationship with the audience. This way, he can maintain the brand voice and aesthetics across all posts.
To Balance Content Types
With five different brands with diverse identities and audiences, the type of Instagram content (photos, videos, Stories, carousels, and Reels) that will work well for them will also differ. As each brand’s identity changes, the theme of the content also shifts.
Alex cannot ensure the balance of all this post-type and content mix and how often to post along with maintaining their freshness with manual planning using pen and paper. Only with a content calendar can he visualize the content plan, prevent any post-type from dominating the feed, and share what is suitable for a particular brand.
To Sequence Content for Storytelling
Storytelling is a powerful tool in social media marketing, especially for Instagram, where visual storytelling is most entertained. Prior to discovering the Instagram content calendar, it was impossible for Alex to plan storytelling arcs and connect with the audience in a progressive journey.
A calendar is a catalyst for planning out several posts and unfolding them through storytelling. For a product launch, which starts with a teaser launch video a week before, then moves to a live launch event, and finally, sharing a customer testimonials series on the stories each week, a content calendar enables Alex to visualize the sequencing of the storytelling arc.
To Conveniently Automate
Life without an Instagram content calendar means planning and sharing posts on Instagram for the day, every day. But, with the calendar, Alex plans weeks of content for each brand he manages by dedicating just a few hours to creating a post and then a few minutes to scheduling a post on Instagram.
With a content calendar, by reducing the manual posting cycle, Alex can schedule all the content he has planned and make sure that posts go live at the right time to attract most viewers, even if he is unavailable at those times. Scheduling posts enables flexible rescheduling to adjust based on analytics and real-time engagement.
This is how managing five brands at once and generating results for each of them becomes a breeze for Alex. If you would also want to achieve something similar, stick around because this is the updated guide to making an Instagram post calendar from scratch.
How to Create an Instagram Content Calendar?
Creating a content calendar tailored to Instagram and your audience preference will enhance your social media efforts 360 degrees. It is supposed to ease your job, especially when you are handling multiple brands or clients.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to making an Instagram Content Calendar:
1. Determine Your Instagram Strategy
Before you move on to making a calendar, you need to establish a clear Instagram marketing strategy. This step is like setting a destination before starting the journey. This strategy is made with the suggestion of all stakeholders based on the outcome they expect from their efforts (investment).
In an Instagram post calendar, having a strategy benefits you as it keeps you aligned with the goals. Defines if you should generate brand awareness, conversions, more reach, or improve engagement on Instagram, based on the goals, set metrics, and KPIs you must focus on achieving.