A monthly content calendar example, filled in

Key takeaways

This content calendar example is an illustrative month for a UK home-services firm posting on Facebook: 12 posts over four weeks in three fixed weekly slots, one goal of ten quote requests, and one offer post a fortnight. It shows how the slots stay fixed while the specific posts change each week.

• 12 posts, 3 a week: Monday help, Wednesday proof, Friday people.
• 1 goal for the month: ten quote requests from Facebook.
• 2 offer posts in the month, never more than one a fortnight.
• Every post has an owner, a status and a next step.

What does the month's set-up look like?

The set-up is written at the top of the calendar before any post: the goal (ten quote requests from Facebook), the platform (Facebook, where local homeowners are), the slots (Monday help, Wednesday proof, Friday people), the owner (the office manager) and the approver (the owner, by the 25th). Everything below fits inside it.

• How to build a monthly social media content calendar
• The five steps that turn a blank month into a schedule

What do weeks one and two look like?

Weeks one and two, illustrative posts for an autumn month:

• Mon week 1, help, carousel: three signs your boiler needs a service before winter.
• Wed week 1, proof, photo set: last week's bathroom refit, before and after, customer's permission.
• Fri week 1, people, short video: meet the engineer who answers the emergency line.
• Mon week 2, help, text and photo: what a gas safety certificate covers, in plain English.
• Wed week 2, proof and offer, photo: a five-star review, plus this month's free boiler check with any service.
• Fri week 2, people, photo: the van team's first job of the day.

• Recurring content slots: the backbone of the month

What do weeks three and four look like?

Weeks three and four repeat the same slots with new posts:

• Mon week 3, help, carousel: how to bleed a radiator, step by step.
• Wed week 3, proof, video: a 30-second walk-round of a finished kitchen.
• Fri week 3, people, photo: an apprentice's first month, with their consent.
• Mon week 4, help, text: answers to this month's three most-asked questions.
• Wed week 4, proof and offer, photo: a finished job, plus last week of the free boiler check.
• Fri week 4, people, photo: thank you to local customers this month.

• Plan offers and promotions into the month

Why does this example work?

It works because the slots never change, so each week's posts are easy to find, and because every pillar comes from the firm's own work: jobs, questions and people. The offer appears twice, attached to proof, and every post ends with one next step, such as 'message us for a quote'.

• Content pillars for social media that never run dry

When would this example not fit?

It would not fit a business whose buyers are not on Facebook, a restaurant whose content changes weekly, or a B2B firm selling on long buying cycles. The structure transfers; the platform, slots and pillars should come from your own buyers and your own work.

• A LinkedIn content calendar for B2B firms

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see with trades and home-services firms: a page full of finished-job photos with no help posts and no people, so it looks like a gallery rather than a business to call. Adding the help and people slots usually brings more comments and messages, because there is something to respond to.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Calendar example checklist

• Write the goal, platform, slots, owner and approver first.
• Keep three fixed weekly slots.
• Fill each from jobs, questions and people.
• Attach offers to proof, no more than one a fortnight.
• End every post with one next step.

• Who should own the social media calendar?
• Plan next month from last month's results

Next step

Copy the set-up block and fill in your own goal, platform, slots, owner and approver. If you can complete all five lines, the posts will follow.