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How to Plan and Schedule Your Content

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I'm Jade Scarfone.
A digital strategist and transformation catalyst, merging a decade of corporate systems mastery with a profound journey of self-discovery. From navigating the high-stakes world of banking to making waves in high-ticket affiliate marketing, I'm now dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs through strategic digital innovations. 

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So you know content is king, especially when it comes to building a personal brand. But no matter how hard you try you just can’t ever put it out there when you need to. My friend, that’s because posting on the fly is hard. So I’m going to teach you a little trick… how to plan and schedule your content.

**This post may contain affiliate links. The services I share are the services I personally use and honestly recommend to anyone. No extra costs are incurred for you; the referral commission simply contributes to bringing you valuable content. 
So you know content is king but no matter how hard you try you just can't ever put it out there when you need to. My friend, that's because posting on the fly is hard. So I'm going to teach you a little trick... how to plan and schedule your content.

Ever go to post on your social feeds and you just can’t? Palms sweaty, head swirling with thoughts but none of them good enough to share, or worse still your mind is completely blank.

And then instead of being productive you get lost in that rabbit hole of scrolling through other people’s feeds. Falling into the dreadful trap of comparison and getting more paralysed focusing on all your inadequacies.

It’s downright stressful and would put anyone off sharing content. I know whenever I sit down and force myself to try and write my mind goes blank.

But, if I block out time where I know I’m going to just work on content creation then my mind flows freely.

So what’s the secret?

Planning and scheduling. As I alluded above, I block out set times to dedicate to content creation. During that time I can write out a few weeks of content and then be completely stress free knowing I’m sorted for the considerable future.

I also prepare all my graphics, decide what images are going to be shared with the posts I’ve written, record my IGTV videos, and decide which posts are going to be turned into emails and blogs.

Depending how much content I’m creating it can usually take me 2-3 days to get it all completed. So I usually sit down for say the first week of the month and make that my planning week. And I aim to get 3-4 weeks of content laid out in that week. I also think about if I’ve got any holidays or events coming up so I can make sure I have enough content sorted so I don’t have to stress about my business while I’m out having fun.

How to Plan and Schedule Your Content

I can hear what you’re thinking… that’s all well and good Jade but how do you actually do it?

With the help of some super useful tools.

First, I brainstorm all the ideas of topics I want to talk about. I usually have the same kind of themes that I share – social media, personal branding, styling, travel, email marketing – so I just think about what I want to share in those categories for the month.

I also take into consideration any promotions, launches, or upcoming events that I want to focus on so I can make sure these are mentioned throughout my content.

Once I’ve brainstormed all my posts… (I usually just use Google docs or my Notes app for this). I then decide what is going to be recorded for IGTV and get those videos done, then I plan out the rest of my posts around my IGTV content.

It also helps to get in a routine of sharing certain content on certain days. For example I always share IGTV videos on a Thursday, tips on a Tuesday, and quotes every 7-10 days etc. so I know when I’m sitting to plan out my content, these days are accounted for and then I just need to fill in the blanks.

You could also set days around actual types of posts you’ll share. For example – your story, expert advice, your values, info about your products/services and your personality. Then you spread these topics out throughout the month so it’s easy to get in flow.

Let’s Talk Tools

Once you have an outline of what content you want to share then it’s good to get it a little more organised.

My favourite tools for planning and scheduling my content are:

  • Trello – overview of all my platforms and content
  • Planoly – visible layout of all my Instagram posts
  • Tailwind – scheduling tool for all my Pinterest content
  • Content Planner – calendar outline of everything that’s coming up

Trello

This is the bees knees when it comes to planning out your strategy. I love to stay organised and on top of things and Trello has completely changed things for me.

You can put in tasks and reminders and lay it all out on a visual calendar so big projects are able to be planned out efficiently and effectively. And all the little day to day tasks don’t get forgotten about either.

Planoly

As mentioned in one of my earlier posts on How to Establish a Strong Brand on Social Media it’s important to keep your Instagram feed looking consistent and on brand. But this is hard to do if you’re just posting on a whim and without any strategy.

Enter Planoly – this has quickly become one of my favourite tools and is permanently open on my desktop (but it synchs to your phone as well). Basically it allows you to plan out and schedule your Instagram content. And it has simple drag and drop features so you can move your posts around to see how your feed will look before you post anything.

They’ve also recently released a sister app Stories Edit which has beautiful templates you can use to keep your IG stories on brand as well.

Tailwind

This is another favourite of mine and is also permanently open on my desktop. Basically Tailwind is a Pinterest scheduling tool and is the best tool to grow your views. I’ll go more into that on another post. It also has a phone app so you can schedule your pins on the go as well.

And they’ve recently started testing Instagram scheduling as well. I still prefer Planoly for Instagram because I like the layout and it helps me to plan my feed effectively. But one added bonus Tailwind recently introduced is being able to schedule your first comment for Instagram as well which is great for people who like putting their hashtags in their first comment.

Content Planner

And finally, if you’re someone that needs to see things off your computer then my free content planner might be a handy tool for you.

I love keeping printed copies of my calendar on hand so I can keep track of everything that’s going on.

Access the Social Media Content Planner for free right here.

And there you have it, my guide on how to plan and schedule your content. For more of my favourite resources to help you build a powerful personal brand check out this post.

Have fun creating consistent and valuable content and making your brand stronger than ever.

Jade xo

I hope you got lots of value out of this article. As usual, if you like what you’ve read feel free to like, comment, or share. Your time reading my posts is greatly appreciated. 
So you know content is king but no matter how hard you try you just can't ever put it out there when you need to. My friend, that's because posting on the fly is hard. So I'm going to teach you a little trick... how to plan and schedule your content.

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