Starting out on Social Media: Content Calendar

Companies who are starting social media have trouble with creating consistency and a strategy. Social media is not just putting up random pictures and text and hoping someone likes or comments. Everything has to be planned to be put in line with your marketing/sales strategy. 

Keep your company organized and within your strategy by creating a content calendar. 

Why Make One? 

• Reach Goals
• Plan Ahead
• Post Consistently
• Less Mistakes
• Follow Through with Social Strategies
• Track What Works

How To Do It?

Before I move on to further steps, I need to stress the importance of communication with your team. Everything your company does should serve a purpose and be on brand. These following steps will only work if you work together with your team.

• Establish Goals/KPIs

Everything should have a purpose. What are you trying to achieve with your social media? Inbound leads? Website visits? Increased followers? How will you measure these goals? Once you answer these questions, you can come up with strategies and tactics to get your there.

• What to Track -- Use a Spreadsheet

Companies starting out can work with just a spreadsheet. As your company grows, you may want to move to to a marketing software platform like Hubspot. Some things to track on your spreadsheet would be:

• Day
• Platform
• Time
• Visuals
• Text

Again, your posts should be in line with your goals to achieve your KPIs. 

• Content Library

Every company should have a library of your blogs, videos, and images. This is your content library. It can be used to make posts on social. The content could be repurposed to make posts in the future as well. Keeping it in one place will also help your company stay organized. 

• Establish a Process 

Consistency is one of the hardest parts for companies starting out on social media. Create a process for your social media schedule. When do you do your brainstorming? How often will you post and at what times? 

If you work with a team, create a process for how posts will be created. Who will come up with the ideas? When will graphics be added? Who approves of posts? Answer these questions to create a process for your team.

• Review and Use Feedback

Review your stats to see what performed the best. Did you receive more likes on a post? Did a video cause your website traffic to spike? Using certain hashtags give you more reach? Find what works and try to replicate it. 

Takeaway

Social Media Content Calendars keep companies consistent and on brand for social media. They should have just as much thought as every other part of your marketing strategy. 

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Founder's Does It Right: A Very COVID Story

The past two weeks I have been apartment hunting with my best friend out in Grand Rapids. 

In the middle of all-day apartment hunting, we went out to eat at Founders because Grand Rapids is  Beer City. My friend says,"As a future Grand Rapids resident, I need to go there at least once".

I was blown away with their extensive and original COVID procedures. Hospitality/Food and Beverage companies should take notes from Founders on how to keep their employees and customers safe. 

One-Way Isles:

This is such a simple task that means a lot. We walked up to the restaurant, and the first thing that we are greeted with are two isle ways. One to enter the building, one to exit. This is important because it regulates the flow of traffic. There will be less congestion spots and will help with distancing guests.  

         How this helps: It regulates the traffic pattern to keep guests from running into each other causing unnecessary touch points.  

Buffer Table:

This is my favorite part about my Founders experience!! We got sat at a double table. Two square tables were pushed together. 

The point of the tables are that you sit at one side, and your server can put your drinks and food on the other. This is to keep social distancing from your server at all times. 

How this helps: Keeps servers and guests safe by keeping a minimum of 4 feet between each other at all times.

Scheduled Bathroom Cleaning:

At the beginning of the meal, our host informed us that the bathrooms were cleaned for the first ten minutes of every hour. As I guest, I appreciate this even without COVID. It just shows your guests that you are making an extra effort to keep things sanitary. 

How this helps: Keeps an unsanitary place sanitary. 

Sanitation Stations.. Everywhere:

Hand sanitizing stations were at all the stop points at Founders. By the bar, host stand, on the way to the bathrooms. 

This effort is protection for your employees and guests. The CDC recommends to wash your hands frequently. Multiple sanitation stations keep everyone safer. 

How this helps: Keep your guests safe by putting sanitation stations in areas that your guests will pass. 

Distanced tables, Removed tables:

A lot of restaurants reorganized their floor plan, some have blocked out tables. What I loved about Founders is that they took out tables and distanced them over 6 feet. There is no question that I am far enough away from other tables and I know for sure they are not going over capacity. 

How this helps: Your guests are socially distanced by their tables, there will be no accidental seating too close to another. They are sticking to the proper capacity. 

Masks On. One Warning Period:

Warnings with masks. Businesses are getting tired of having to constantly remind guests to keep their face masks on when not at their table. Founders created a rule to nip this in the bud: One warning. 

Once one person reminds you to keep your mask on when leaving your table. If they have to tell you twice, you are out. I love this rule because it shows that Founders cares about the safety of their employees, along with their guests who follow the rules.

How this helps: Keeps your guests and staff safe. If someone does not wear their mask in the proper places, these safety procedures do not matter.

So Where Does That Leave Us?

Of course, each restaurant can adjust to COVID however they want. The reason I wrote this about Founders is because they not only "adjusted", but they are making the extra efforts to make their guests AND employees safe. They are protecting. This is a new factor that people will find important from their restaurant/hospitality brands.

What brands are protecting their employees and guests? What other procedures have you seen? 

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