In this post we’ll show you how to structure and plan your internal communication in order to improve both the quantity, quality AND impact of your news, stories and videos.
So you’re an awesome Communications Consultant, right? You write fun and engaging articles, produce slick and informative videos and know the do’s and dont’s of crazy GIFs. But sometimes the ideas remain ideas and you lose track of your content when tasks and projects land on your table.
Sounds familiar? Well, then you probably need a content calendar or perhaps a better one than the one you are already using. Or perhaps some advice on HOW to use it and make it a natural extension of the great work you are doing. Fortunately, we have all of the above, so keep on reading to solve your editorial headache:
Well planned is well executed
Well planned is well executed! That pretty much sums up why a great content calendar is key for any communications professional. Whether it’s external communication, internal employee engagement or sales-driven social media advertising, you will quickly get lost without the proper editorial structure.
A content calendar is essentially:
- A toolkit for you to improve the quality and consistency of your communication
- A way of ensuring that your content is accessible in the right channels
- A tool for evaluation – learn from the insights on how the content performs
Create an Editorial Setup to Support your Calendar
Building your content calendar is a great start, but obviously you need to make it fly. And how do you make sure that a content calendar is operational and doesn’t just gather dust in the corner of an abandoned Google Drive folder?
You breathe life into it by basing a weekly/bi-weekly or monthly editorial meeting around it. You can invite anyone from the company who has good ideas and know what’s cooking. It should obviously include the communications/marketing professional but could also be someone who just has a great network in the company and loves to contribute to this kind of thing.
Keep it short, sweet and to the point, so people prioritise it. Go through the coming week’s worth of content and have everyone pitch in ideas. And make sure to show the KPI’s and let them know how their last ideas turned out. If you don’t have the digital tool to setup and measure whether your content is opened/ read/ shared /viewed then that is obviously something you should look into. There are plenty of digital solutions out there to fit your need.
What do you include in an Internal Communication Content Calendar?
When it comes to creating a content calendar template it’s all about structure. Secondary is about customizing it to your specific organization and resources available.
As an example for the content calendar template we have made available in the section below we have added the following elements:
- Deadline
- Project
- Format
- Area
- Note
- Owner
- Participants
- Links
- KPI
- Objective
- Performance
- Status
You can always add or edit the elements to fit your organisation and content strategy 100%. You can always add or edit the elements to fit your organisation 100%, as each company is different. In some communication teams you will have a bunch of different stakeholders and topics across a global organisation but in others you could be a one (wo)man internal communications army. So sit down and go through what REALLY matters to you. No reason to make a content calendar more extensive than necessary.
Maybe it’s overkill for you to have both a KPI and a strategic objective for your posts if you are a B2B company with 50 employees – whatever you decide, just take the time to consider: what do you want to achieve with your internal communication and what do you need to know and do in order to continuously improve it?
Creating Your Own Content Calendar
We have now shown you why it’s important to have a content calendar and how it can have a huge impact on the effect of your internal communication, it’s now time for you to get started on your own. Click the link below and get out content calendar template right away – ready for you to adjust and use to optimise your internal communication.
Happy content planning!
