Why A Content Calendar Is A Must

Most creatives know that, if left to their own devices they’d pick at their projects in an endless cycle of tweaking and molding and perfecting. If you’re a creative, you likely know this to be true. You’re a perfectionist. That’s okay. You also know that working like this is not going to help you produce consistent, quality content. This goes for most professionals in the creative space: Perhaps you’ve been dabbling in the world of videography for a bit and you’ve been gaining more exposure, maybe you’re an animator or motion graphics designer whose videos include royalty-free music to help your business, or maybe you’re a YouTube creator with a growing base of subscribers. Either way, your videos are being really well received by your audience and you’re finding that you’re not only ramping up the quality of your video content, but you’re also ready to increase quantity as well. Having the demand for more videos is great, but it can easily turn into an overwhelming situation if you’re not organized. Let’s take a look into what exactly a content calendar is, the reasons why every videographer needs one, and how you can get started creating one that works best for you.

What is a Content Calendar?

This can be most simply described as a calendar that details when specific content will be published. It can be a very powerful tool if you leverage it to its full potential. You see, well thought out content calendars give videographers an overall look at when videos need to be created, edited, and then published. Broadly, these can be monthly calendars and include important events, dates, and other milestones that will directly impact when you and your team will be posting content. For example: if you have someone in charge of finding royalty-free music, they’ll be able to see ahead of time when they’ll need to find the right tracks rather than rushing at the last minute when the video is already slated for release. Filmmakers will instantly see the parallels to production schedules. Where studio features require robust, hyper-detailed schedules at every major production phase, you can thrive with a calendar that’s distilled down to the basics and is very streamlined.

Why Do I Need a Content Calendar?

It’s no stretch to say that every videographer and YouTuber producing a significant number of videos needs to have a content calendar. While you might have been able to get away with a “shoot from the hip” approach to content creation when you first started, this approach won’t lead to long-term success. Here are a few benefits you’ll get from implementing a content calendar.

Content calendars keep you organized and on track without you having to micromanage everything. You’ll be able to easily see what projects you need to finish and which ones are coming up. By having your month mapped out, you will be able to focus on individual tasks that will boost productivity. Plus, you won’t be worrying about whether or not you’re forgetting something. All of your major tasks and benchmarks are now centralized in one place.

Your team will work more efficiently and independently, saving everyone time.

These are a must for videographers working with a team of any kind and any size. The calendars should be shareable to ensure that everyone is on the same page. In addition to operating from a calendar, consider merging your correspondences with your team to a communication hub (see Slack) that has integration capabilities. This way, if you decide to use a cloud-based content calendar, you can easily chat with your team in one place—while citing your calendar in real time.

You won’t miss important dates and holidays.

Videographers who often post special videos on holidays will find content calendars to be especially helpful. Having a “big picture” look at special upcoming dates will make planning out these videos and the marketing that comes with it much easier.

You’ll post more consistently.

The first thing new videographers learn is that consistency is everything. Consistent posting of videos is vital for business, YouTube channels, and any other platform where you may be posting video content with royalty-free music. This ensures you stay on track with regular posting at a pace that doesn’t overload you and your team.

You can plan ahead.

This may sound like a gimme, but it’s worth highlighting. Creatives know firsthand that sometimes you get so wrapped up in a particular project, you forget when it’s time to pause and look ahead to a forthcoming video or deadline. If you’re operating from a content calendar, you’ll have more time slated for collaborations and you’ll find you and your team producing higher-quality original content. Period. With this “big picture” look at what videos you’ll be producing, it’s easy to ensure you’re only posting your absolute best videos on original subjects. Viewers and

potential collaborators enjoy seeing fresh content with lots of variety. It’s one of the things that will keep them coming back. Having a content calendar also minimizes the chances that you’ll accidentally schedule or release duplicate, irrelevant content. There’s really nothing to lose and everything to gain when it comes to using a content calendar for your videography. And, considering they can be very simple and still highly effective, it gives even more reason for creating one for yourself or your business.

Creating an Efficient Content Calendar That Works for You

It’s worth reiterating that a content calendar does not need to be complicated. In fact, the more complicated it is, the more likely you are to just ignore it. A successful implementation is one that’s uncomplicated and easy to understand. It’s easiest to start off using a digital calendar you might already be comfortable with, such as Google Calendars or Asana. This is a great route for anyone new to content calendars—especially Google since it’s a platform you’re likely already familiar with. Plus, using Google gives you access to Google Documents, Google Drive, and much more. Once you’ve chosen your app, the next step is to sit down and start brainstorming.

If you work with a team, be sure to include them as well. Figure out how often you’d like to be posting and start mapping out when deliverables are due and when you want to be publishing. Be as detailed and thorough as you deem necessary—what amount of information is going to set you and your team up for success?

Trying to fill out the entire calendar can take a lot of time and seem overwhelming, so try and focus on just one quarter. Fill in the calendar with all important dates for each video, including any days required for researching, filming, editing, gathering royalty-free music, and publishing. And while your information doesn’t have to be exhaustive, per se, make sure to include pertinent details.

Filling in your content calendar will take some time and discipline, but once it’s set up you’ll find that maintaining it and updating it is quite simple. You will also find that, as the weeks and months progress, your productivity will increase, your proficiency will sharpen, and your content will be more consistent in quality. If a content calendar is only going to make you better as a professional creative, why aren’t you using one yet? It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get started.