Managing Your Communication as an Entrepreneur #2

In the last article, we discussed how to effectively set your goals, the first step in implementing a communication strategy. Today, we will tackle the next episode in this series: creating an editorial calendar.

Editorial Calend-what?

An editorial calendar is a schedule in which you list all the actions you plan to undertake over a given period. It aims to be as comprehensive as possible and should cover a relatively long timeframe.

It allows you to have a precise idea, week by week, month by month, of what you will create and post. Inside, you should be able to find the needs for your creations, the date, time, and the platform on which they will be posted.

Before you start creating an editorial calendar, you need to have an idea of the content you will share. This involves several steps, such as creating a graphic charter, a copy strategy, and of course, a content typology. In this article series, we leave the creative aspect of your communication to you and focus on its application.

How to Create Such a Calendar?

There are no strict rules for the tools you will use. If it seems more appropriate to you, you can test your creativity and design your calendar using Excel or even Canva.

But before you start, we suggest a few free and very user-friendly applications that could greatly simplify the task.

• Monday: The application offers an easy-to-use editorial calendar with all the necessary tools. It allows you to enter deadlines, comments, and other documents with a fully customizable color code. All the info you need in one place. (tutorial)
• Trello: Trello works as very visual boards where you can add tasks and all the information about them. Very useful for prioritizing tasks, it is widely used in communication but also for project management. (tutorial)
• Notion: A true organizational multi-tool, Notion is a powerful marketing tool. Also functioning with blocks, the app competes directly with Trello and may be less user-friendly but offers more features. (tutorial)

Implementation

Again, there are no rules (except those of the networks) regarding your regularity, the content you will post, or the descriptions you will write. However, the components of the SMART method discussed in the last article are still valid here. Be realistic and pace yourself. The goal of this calendar is to take you as far as possible while minimizing your efforts.

To ensure your calendar works effectively, we recommend including each of these 10 pieces of information for every task you plan to complete:

1. Platform – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.
2. Post Format – Carousel, IGTV, Story, etc.
3. Person in Charge – Most of the time, it will be you, but for some content, you may need an editor, a graphic designer, etc.
4. Status – Research, Draft, Reviewing, To Publish, etc.
5. Paid or Organic – Will this post be organic or part of your social media advertising campaigns?
6. Visuals – Photo, video, GIF, infographic, etc.
7. URL – All links necessary for creating content (inspiration URLs, final URLs, social media account URLs, etc.)
8. Creation Deadline – When must this visual be created to be validated?
9. Publication Deadline – When must this visual be published on social media?
10. Publication Time – What time will you post this? (Be sure to specify time zones)

Test

You can be sure you won’t get everything right from the start. That’s the beauty of planning in communication. You might overestimate yourself, forget to post, or not follow the calendar to the letter—and that’s perfectly fine.

This tool should not become a source of stress. Communication is probably not your main job, and it’s already a significant achievement that you are going this far to promote your products or services.

For a while, you will move forward tentatively before finding your cruising speed. Once you’re comfortable, take a moment to breathe, then try challenging yourself by increasing the pace, changing your content types, etc. Remember: consistency should not turn into monotony!