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<\/a><\/p>\nYou can download this as an editable PDF, print it off to stick on your wall or keep it on your desk (this helps to keep it at the forefront of the mind at all times!), fill it in by hand, or simply take inspiration to create your own. Our Bronco content calendar is filled with days that are relevant to us, to our clients, days that happen annually that we all need to take note of (Bank Holidays, for example), and just a few days that sounded fun to us.<\/p>\n
If you choose to create your own content calendar using ours for inspiration, an Excel spreadsheet is the best place to start, with a new sheet for each calendar month, and a cell for each day. This makes it super simple to cut and paste when you need to do a bit of shuffling, as well as to get an overview for each month.<\/p>\n
Delete irrelevant days<\/h3>\n
The goal of this isn\u2019t to simply grab someone else\u2019s calendar and start creating content for the days they\u2019ve selected. If you work in catering, Bring Your Dog To Work Day probably isn\u2019t the most sensible thing to support, nor do you want awareness events like World Alzheimer’s Day popping up in your calendar all the time; no matter how important, they\u2019re just not going to hit as you intend them to. Instead, dates like Yorkshire Pudding Day and International Bacon Day might spark better ideas for your industry and client base. As such, you\u2019ll want to check through our template and remove anything that\u2019s not right for you or your clients, then move onto the next step:<\/p>\n
Add annually recurring dates<\/h3>\n
If you\u2019re creating your own calendar, make sure to add days that occur every year such as Christmas, bank holidays, clocks changing – depending on your industry, it might even be relevant to add school holidays too. Make sure to check each date as you do so, as many of these occasions have dates that change depending on the year – think Leap Year and Easter.<\/p>\n
Brainstorm topics relevant to your industry and your clients<\/h3>\n
Now is the fun part – get your brain into gear and start thinking about any and every topic that might be relevant to you or your clients. Get your team together to help you think out of the box as it can be tricky for clients that work in industries that at first seem boring, but some of our best campaigns have come out of ideas based on awareness days for traditionally \u201cboring\u201d sectors.<\/p>\n
Google those topics!<\/h3>\n
What\u2019s the easiest way to find out if there\u2019s a day for the celebration or awareness of the topics you\u2019ve come up with? Google it! Add \u201cawareness day\/week\u201d, \u201cinternational day\/week\u201d, \u201cnational day\/week\u201d or simply \u201cday\u201d (or even \u201cmonth\u201d) to your topic ideas in your search and you\u2019ll be surprised at just how many unusual ones are out there! You can add all of these to your calendar as they might spark ideas, but don\u2019t be misguided by them – don\u2019t use every single day to create a campaign or you\u2019ll look a little bit ridiculous!<\/p>\n
And don\u2019t forget industry events<\/h3>\n
Most industries have an annual calendar of conferences, meetups, even webinars. Make sure to check what the big ones are, any that you attend or that might have information worth sharing or that you can jump on board with to share your own advice on social media, and add them to your calendar.<\/p>\n
Get creative!<\/h3>\n
The final step is to get creating! Once your calendar is complete, pass it around the rest of your team and ask them for ideas based on the dates or sit down for a brainstorm around them. The more people involved, the better, as everyone will have different interests and thus different ideas.<\/p>\n
Q&A<\/h3>\n
How many dates should I add to my calendar?<\/b><\/p>\n
We would suggest adding a minimum of one event per week, but we don\u2019t recommend creating something for every date or supporting every awareness day out there!<\/p>\n
How far in advance should I plan?<\/b><\/p>\n
Our calendar isn\u2019t a \u201cdisposable\u201d one; it can be recycled year after year as these are events that happen annually. We suggest creating a calendar for the full year with events that recur, then you can pick and choose events each year that you\u2019d like to support or engage with. The calendar is something to be used alongside your actual content plan rather than in place of it.<\/p>\n
Should I run a campaign for every event and date?<\/b><\/p>\n
No, please don\u2019t do this! They\u2019re useful to have in your calendar for sparking ideas, but your social media will be completely overflowing with things if you do this and you\u2019ll never have time for anything else! Pick days that are highly relevant or that you have a good idea for – don\u2019t create content just for the sake of it. It needs to be something that people will interact and engage with, rather than simply a post saying \u201cHappy Doughnut Day!\u201d with a photo of the iconic dessert.<\/p>\n
What can I create from the days in my calendar?<\/b><\/p>\n
This is a big question as the answer is open ended! You can create anything from simple social media posts with an image relevant to the date, facts about the event, or expert advice or opinions on it, to larger scale campaigns including videos, slideshows, outreach projects and more. The list is endless – you just need to get creative!<\/p>\n
What if I don\u2019t have time to create an industry specific calendar?<\/b><\/p>\n