Map Strategy With Editorial Calendars
Streamline publishing, clarify priorities and boost engagement
Building and maintaining an editorial calendar helps content teams stay focused, consistent and aligned with business goals as they visualize the future.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 71 percent of top-performing business-to-business marketers use an editorial calendar to manage their strategy. A well-planned calendar can reduce deadline stress, spotlight key campaigns and make it easier to repurpose content across blogs, newsletters and social media.
Lisa Sicard, owner of Inspire To Thrive and blogger for international clients, relies a lot on editorial calendars as she keeps her toes in a host of social media platforms to serve wide-ranging customers.
Content Calendars Keep Your Eyes Focused on Productivity
For example, in one post she explains how trial reels can help those on Instagram with their reels. Without an editorial calendar to guide her, she could easily lose the thread.
“I use Google Calendar or an Excel spreadsheet to keep my planning on track,” Sicard said. “I tried Notion but couldn’t figure it out after spending time with it. So, I moved on. I do hear it’s good, though.”
Another option is Fedica, which simplifies post scheduling across X, Bluesky and other platforms.
Ivana Taylor runs DIYMarketers, “committed to helping small-business owners escape overwhelm.” She believes in getting things done, which conveniently is the name of her favorite organizer.
“Getting Things Done takes a few minutes to set up,” she said. “It keeps an ‘inbox’ of tasks and ideas. Planning takes off from there.”
Sicard and Taylor, along with Iva Ignjatovic, a marketing, strategy and business consultant, explained why having an editorial calendar is important for small business marketing.
Channel Content Into Funnels
“Calendars keep you on track,” Sicard said. “I post almost daily on my blogs or do updates. So, I don’t have a strict calendar, but every so often I need to map things and keep them in the right content funnels.”
An editorial calendar keeps marketing consistent and stress low. Small teams save time, stay visible and plan smarter. CoSchedule found marketers with a documented strategy are 313 percent more likely to succeed.
“My calendar keeps content organized and on track,” Taylor said. “Then I’m not scrambling at the last minute.”
Avoiding burnout helps owners protect energy, build smarter systems and stay in control.
“Then you can batch content creation and stay ahead of schedule,” Ignjatovic said.
Calendars Help You Take Charge of Your Social Media Domain
When creating an editorial calendar from scratch, Taylor recommends beginning with goals. Then map content themes around them.
From there, identify the audience, platforms and posting frequency. A Semrush survey found 45 percent of marketers plan content at least a month in advance — clarity early on sets the tone for success.
That creates padding when best-laid plans fail, which DIYMarketers addresses in its post, “When Everything Breaks, Your Marketing System Shouldn’t.”
“Defining your audience and channels first shapes the rest,” Ignjatovic said. “Whatever comes your way, can be easily handled when everything else is set. Then you just need a few additional posts.”
A More Perfect Union
Managing a successful editorial calendar comes easily when creators and tools form a happy marriage.
“I love Agorapulse for social media posts,” Sicard said. “I only use Excel for blog posts.
“Agorapulse is great for scheduling, revisions and reports,” she said. “You can pick up an old Facebook post, revise it and use it. I can put links in comments on most social sites. I could go on and on.”
Start simple with Google Sheets or Trello. As needs grow, tools such as Notion, Asana or CoSchedule add more structure. The best choice depends on workflow, not flashy features.
“I still think there’s a place for spreadsheets,” Taylor said. “It’s more about what works and your work style than the tool. For example, people love Airtable. I hate it. It just doesn’t work for me.”
Conversely, she finds CoSchedule and Google Calendar give her great visibility.
A Lively Content Calendar Lets Your Days Work Out Right
Based on data from AEON, an editorial calendar can boost team productivity by 40 percent, improve content quality by 25 percent and reduce rushed last-minute work by 30 percent.
“Airtable is my go-to,” Ignjatovic said. “It’s flexible and powerful.
“I like Agorapulse and used it for a few years,” she said. “Then my client decided to go with another tool because of the pricing, but I still think it’s a good tool.”
For some, analog still works. Pens and paper can help map out key dates, launches and promotions.
“That’s a good approach, especially when we want to use certain dates to link content publicity,” Ignjatovic said. “That method is not for every business or industry.”
Plan Ahead, But Not Too Far
Planning editorial content well in advance is ideal, but how far is too far?
“I try not to go out more than two months,” Sicard said. “My topics are always changing, whether they’re social media or search engine optimization, although I could plan longer for blogging.”
Plan at least one month out to stay consistent, but leave room for real-time pivots. According to the Content Marketing Institute, most successful marketers plan content two to six months in advance.
“When I plan too far it never works out,” Taylor said. “Ideally, 90 days give you breathing room and flexibility.”
Being able to go with the flow beats the alternative.
“It takes longer to tear it all apart and start over,” Sicard said. “Been there, done that.”
Dynamos electrify their markets
According to Databox, 50 percent of the social media managers in its survey prefer to schedule content at least a month in advance.
“Clients with open houses or new products make it hard to plan too far ahead,” Sicard said. “I aim for two weeks but often revise.”
For smaller teams, Ignjatovic believes monthly cycles are more realistic.
“Large or small, while it’s good to plan ahead, working too far in advance can backfire because things change quickly,” she said.
Taylor suggests scheduling regular check-ins with everyone on the team.
“Get the hard work done first,” Sicard said. “Always be ready to pivot.”
Keep an editorial calendar realistic, build in buffer time and assign clear owners. Review it weekly. Calendars only work if they flex with real life and get regular check-ins.