Editorial Calendar Essentials: Organize and Plan Your Online Communications

May 23, 2012

What is CanadaHelps? A public charitable foundation that provides accessible and affordable online

technology to both donors and charities.

For CharitiesA cost-effective means of raising funds online.

For DonorsA one-stop-shop for giving.

CanadaHelps is a charity helping charities.CanadaHelps is giving made simple.

MyCharityConnects is a initiative of CanadaHelps.

today’s presenter

Kirstin BeardsleyMarketing & Communications ManagerCanadaHelps

EDITORIAL CALENDAR?

Planning• 2012 is the year of

planning our social media more effectively

Old Days• Editorial calendars

were used for large publishers

We’re All Content Publishers

• We’re all publishing on multiple platforms• Being effective on each takes organization &

planning

Maintaining relationships online can be chaotic.

Messaging Must be Tied to Mission

• If messaging doesn’t reinforce your organization’s mission, it’s not serving your organization

• Build trust and recognition with reinforcing messaging across platforms

Reinforce Messaging Across Platforms

Benefits of Using an Editorial Calendar

• Align social media messaging more deliberately to the goals of your organization

Stay Organized

• So many updates are required, keeping an editorial calendar helps you stay organized and on top of posting

Easier Measurement

• Tracking posts in one place allows trends to be followed and popular material to be repeated

Better Quality

• Less scrambling for content means more quality posts and better relationship building

Manage Growth & Turnover

• Keeping an editorial calendar will help if more people are tasked with social media

• If the social media/communications lead leaves the organization, there is a record of past and future posts

GETTING STARTED

Think Big

• Look to your mission and strategic plan before planning out messaging

3 Month Planning

• 3 months is a manageable time to plan your communications

• Record goals, themes, other organizational activities

Plan Execution on Each Platform

• Annual fundraising run?– YouTube: promo video of event– Facebook: profile previous

runners/fundraisers– Twitter: fundraising tips, direct

people to other online content– Email: email campaign to

previous fundraisers

Map Out Timeline

• Most organizations will be fine with a monthly plan

• If you post very frequently, consider a weekly plan

CREATE YOUR CALENDAR

Essential Elements of Your Editorial Calendar

• Topic• Theme/program• Tool/platform• Owner• Deadline

• Post date• Status• Published URL

• Audience• Review process– Submit date– Reviewer– Review by date

• Ideas for new content• Which content is adapted to other platforms• Day of week• Time of day

Optional Elements of Your Editorial Calendar

• You might want to include some measures next to specific posts:– Popularity– Conversations– Shares

Include Measures?

Which Tools to Use?

Spreadsheets!

Project Management Software

Basecamp

Smartsheet

Example

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

3 Month Planning Works

• Don’t do an in-depth plan for a longer or shorter period of time

• For most organizations, three months is the “sweet spot” for planning

Build Measurement/Learning Into Schedule

• Learning loops (Source: Networked Nonprofit)• 3-months is a good learning loop timeframe

for many organizations• Reviewing metrics by post can reveal:– Which topics resonate, which don’t– What types of content is popular– Which tools are most successful

Stay Flexible

• Don’t ignore opportunities because they aren’t part of the plan

• Make sure you’re still listening and engaging

Consider Regular Features

• If you have trouble developing content ideas, consider having regular features that are repeated weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly

Keep It Simple!

• Keep your calendar as simple as possible• Strive for useful and simple rather than overly

complex & confusing

ABOUT MYCHARITYCONNECTS

MyCharityConnects Conference 2012JUNE 12 – 13 | Allstream Centre, Toronto

www.mycharityconnects.org/conference

collaborate.innovate.celebrate.Collaborate to build a stronger sector.Innovate to solve complex problems.

Celebrate our work and the difference we’re making.

• Join non-profits from across Canada and social media experts for the premier social media and online fundraising learning opportunity of the year.

• Registration is open! Early bird ends on April 30th!

Upcoming Webinars

• June 27 - Elements of a Great YouTube Video

www.mycharityconnects.org

for more great resources…

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