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If you’ve ever been deep in the trenches of content marketing advice, you’ve probably heard, “You need to have a content calendar!” We don't beg to differ, in fact, we beg to double down. Actually, we're going to triple down and tell you that you need not one, not two, but three different calendars for your content strategy.
Three calendars might seem excessive, but they're going to make your life so much easier. They work in layers. Like an onion. Or an ogre.
That's right: you could be Content Strategy Shrek
Calendars? I Love Calendars!
Calendars map out your content strategy. They remind you of important dates, give structure to your content planning, and help keep track of what you’ve already posted - you already know how calendars work, though, so let us give you a rundown of your three marketing calendars and how they interact.
The What:
Promotional Calendar
A promotional calendar is a strategic tool that outlines key dates and events relevant to your marketing efforts throughout the year. It helps you plan and coordinate promotional activities, ensuring they align with broader content and editorial strategies.
This is for:
Sales
Promotions
Events
Seminars
Workshops
Campaigns
Editorial Calendar
Think of it as your monthly, or quarterly roadmap. It outlines broad themes for your content, helping you plan on a macro level. This is where you plug in your content pillars (3-5 topics around your niche that you make content about) and any overarching monthly themes.
Example time! Let's say you're a cooking content creator. For October, your overarching themes could be cozy, fall food for October, crock pot meals for November, and holiday dishes for December. Themes don't require strict adherence, but they do help give your content a cohesive vibe for the month.
Every editorial calendar should include:
Content creation and publishing dates
Calls to action
Content delivery channels (Tiktok, YouTube, IG, Facebook, etc)
Content Pillars
Overarching monthly themes
Team leaders responsible for content (if applicable)
Update it at the start of each year and revisit it regularly. Flexibility is just as important here as strategy; if your plan needs adjustments, make them.
Content Calendar
This is your detailed planner and schedule, specifying what content goes out on which day. It’s your week-by-week guide to content creation.
Your content calendar should feature:
Content type (blog posts, videos, carousels, static images, graphics)
Assigned tasks
Due dates and publishing dates
Content type (promotion, education, inspiration, relatable, entertainment)
Place in social media sales funnel
This helps balance how often you promote versus engage organically with your audience. It also informs HOW you organically engage. A top-of-funnel reel for attraction content looks different than a middle-of-funnel carousel with some nurturing education.
The How (Do They All Work Together?)
While the editorial calendar provides a high-level overview of your content themes and the content calendar focuses on the day-to-day creation and publishing schedule, the promotional calendar zeroes in on specific promotions, sales, and marketing campaigns. This allows for a cohesive strategy where promotional efforts are seamlessly woven into your content plan - meaning your organic content can support your promotional/paid content.
The goal is to maximize engagement and drive consistent results without sacrificing brand trust or authenticity. In short, it balances sales content with your organic content.
Setting Up Your Calendars
Start by laying out your annual promotion schedule (or if that's too much, your quarterly promotional schedule). This should take into account sales, promotions, events, seminars, campaigns etc. Whatever money-making activities you've got going on, they go on the promotional calendar.
Once you've got that down, It's time to lay out your editorial calendar. You should have 3-5 content pillars in your social media strategy. Grab your pillars and assign one to each day you'll be posting. Let's say Mondays are Pillar 1, Tuesday you break, Wednesdays are Pillar 2, Thursdays are Pillar 3, Friday you break, Saturdays are Pillar 4. If you have an overarching theme for the month or quarter, that also goes into the editorial calendar.
Got your days down? Awesome! It's content calendar time. Go through and assign different content formats (reel, carousel, static post) to each day. Make sure each content pillar has an even balance of formats. After that, go through and assign a content type (entertainment, education, inspiration, relatable, selling), and its place in your content funnel (top-of-funnel attraction, middle-of-funnel nurture, or bottom-of-funnel converting/sales).
Your editorial calendar is a plug-and-play plan. Your content calendar is your schedule. In other words, your editorial calendar sets the stage and your content calendar builds on it. Using our food content creator example, your editorial calendar might focus on autumn-themed food posts for October, while your content calendar specifies that next Monday is for apple cider recipes, Wednesday is for autumn harvest side dishes, and Friday is for Halloween desserts.
How to Use All Three Calendars Together
Editorial calendars help you plan your content themes and strategies over long periods. Content calendars break this down into actionable tasks, ensuring you know exactly what needs to be published and when. Your promotional calendar guides the whole shebang, letting you know when you need to shift your content to be a touch more promotional and when to use paid ads in your strategy.
Scale Matters
Here’s a quick tip: if you’re planning on a large scale (like the next six months), use your promotional and editorial calendars. If you’re focusing on the details for next week’s Instagram posts, whip out the content calendar and use the other two to inform your decision-making.
It might seem complicated, but having the whole calendar (onion) will make your life so much easier. Those layers fit together perfectly - just like Shrek and Fiona. And Donkey.
Have you been holding out for a (social media) hero? Does (s)he gotta be:
✅strong
✅fast
🚫fresh from the fight
✅sure
✅soon
✅larger than life
5/6 is pretty good! We aren't fighters at heart (we don't feed the trolls), but we are accepting new clients, and we'd love to hear from you!
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