Your first social media content calendar, from nothing

Key takeaways

Your first social media content calendar should be small: one platform, eight to twelve posts for the month, three content pillars and posts made from work you already do. Skip the review step because there is no last month. Set the slots, fill them, make week one straight away, and judge the plan on whether you published it, not on likes.

• 1 platform and 8 to 12 posts for the first month.
• 3 pillars to start: proof, help and people.
• Make week one the same day you plan it.
• Success in month one means publishing 90% of the plan.

Where do you start with a first content calendar?

Start by choosing one platform, the one your buyers use most, and deciding on two or three posting days a week. Then pick three content pillars, such as proof of your work, answers to common questions, and the people behind the business. That gives you a grid of slots before you have a single idea.

• How to build a monthly social media content calendar
• Content pillars for social media that never run dry

How many posts should a first calendar have?

Eight to twelve posts for the first month, which is two or three a week on one platform. Fewer is fine if it means you publish all of them. The first month is about building the habit and learning how long posts take you; more volume can come in month three, once the routine holds.

• How often should a small business post on social media?

Where do the first month's ideas come from?

Take them from your work, not from inspiration. List five recent jobs or products, five questions customers ask, and two or three people in the business. That is enough for a month. Photos from your phone are fine; what matters is that each post shows something real and says what to do next.

• Social media content ideas that come from the work you do
• Turn one job into a week of social posts

What should you not do in month one?

Do not plan a quarter, open accounts on four platforms, buy a scheduling tool or design a brand template before you have published anything. Each one feels like progress and delays the posting. The common pattern is a beautiful plan and a silent account; the fix is a small plan and a busy one.

• Content calendar mistakes that empty the month

How do you know the first calendar worked?

It worked if you published at least 90% of what you planned and answered every comment and message. Reach and enquiries take longer to show; judging a first month on likes leads people to give up just before it starts working. At the end of the month, run your first review and plan month two.

• Content calendar completion rate: planned vs published

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern with new businesses: weeks spent choosing colours, fonts and a posting tool, then a launch post and silence. Starting with eight phone-photo posts on one platform, scheduled in an afternoon, usually gets more done in a month than the preparation did in a quarter.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

First calendar checklist

• Choose one platform.
• Pick two or three posting days a week.
• Choose three pillars: proof, help, people.
• List five jobs, five questions and two people.
• Fill eight to twelve slots.
• Make and schedule week one today.

• Build a social media calendar in a spreadsheet
• How long does a month of social media take to plan?

Next step

Write down five recent jobs, five customer questions and two people. You now have twelve posts. Put them in a two-a-week grid and schedule the first two today.