Want to stay interesting and relevant? Create a content calendar

If you are Wodehouse fan, then you sure must be familiar with Mr. Mulliner. For those of you who are not, here's a quick introduction. Mr. Mulliner is a mighty interesting chap who sits around all day, sipping his drink at the local pub, sharing interesting tales with anyone who would lend an ear. There was a multitude that was willing to lend their ear because one never got bored with Mr. Mulliner around. This article gives you a few pointers on how to be interesting, relevant, and popular like Mr. Mulliner in the digital world.

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In the age of Content, three things are of prime importance: what you say, how you say it and when you say it.

Content marketing is all about getting these factors to work in perfect order. To do this, you need to build a good content marketing calendar. Here's a four-step process to help you do this.

Sketch out the content web

Imagine a spider's web and draw it on your work board. The spider at the core of the web is your business.

Now, list down categories your business can have a connect with. These categories could be sports, politics, movies and music, festivals, fashion and so on. They will form the first circle around the core which is your business. Around the category circle, mark a second circle with weeks to follow. Around this circle, make another circle that marks the different forms in which you can package content – for example, videos, blogs, contests, interviews, listicles and so on.

This sketch is your blueprint or the foundation on which the content calendar will be built. With the categories and the weeks charted out, it will be easy for you to see forthcoming events category-wise.

Build content

Once the blueprint is ready, make content teams that will be responsible for building content. A smart way to do this would be to take into consideration the individual's personal interests when assigning them their roles. For instance, it would do you good to assign someone with great knowledge and interests in sports to spin content for your business around sports. This sports crazy employee could be your eye that scans the world of sports to give the team cues to build content.

Package content

Once the team gets a story starter, you need to decide on the best possible way to package the story to make it interesting. There can be a million different ways to connect a story to your business and your marketing goals. Likewise, there are quite a number of ways to tell your story to the world. Wear your thinking hat and get creative. Make a music video, do a podcast or just write a witty tweet or a fantastically interesting blog. Just make sure you are interesting and relevant.

Be prepared

Follow a story and be consistent. Don't overdo. Be curious. Be creative, witty, and smart. And, most of all, be prepared. A content calendar is all about preparation. You’ve got to keep your ears to the ground with the slickness of an investigative journalist. You have to be able to foresee events and make smart connections to your business and marketing goals. Sometimes, a sudden turn of events, that you may not have foreseen, could have a great potential to be a story for your business to tag along. To make the most of such situations, you and your team need to be on your toes all the time, with your thinking caps where they should be.

A good content calendar will keep your followers glued to your posts, blogs or anything that you put out there. It will also help you build a healthy follower base.