In the first part of this series, we said that content creation was a lot like a puzzle. There are a lot of little, individually important pieces that come together to make one, big piece. And while we often focus on the videos themselves, scheduling our content and having a plan for when we’ll be posting is just as important as everything else. In this second installment, we’ll be making our content schedule and putting all those other pieces to good use.

Sitting down and making content is great, but without specific plans it can feel purposeless or confusing. A content schedule will help you stay consistent, budget your time, and even get ahead of your content creation. It can feel daunting at first, but I promise there’s nothing to it. In this article, we’ll walk through a few new considerations for your schedule and see about fitting everything into a calendar…

How Often Should You Post? 📆

This question is going to play the biggest role in your content schedule.

How long does it take you to make videos? How much time will you need to engage with comments? There is no wrong answer, but it will change your strategy a little. If you only have an hour a week to dedicate to content creation, maybe posting three videos a day isn’t a viable option.

The amount of time you spend creating your content will vary depending on what you want to post, so we don’t have a suggestion for that. But we do suggest posting some kind of content at least once a day – which is only 7 pieces a week! This shows followers (and the algorithm) that you’re consistent and gives you a lot of opportunity to find and engage with new followers. If you only have time to post a few videos a week, that’s fine too!

What Kind of Content Do You Want to Post? 🤔

Often we think of (and discuss) content as shortform videos, but it can include a lot more. On Clapper, we’ve got Livestreams and Radios for users to take advantage of. And many do! These are great tools to have in your arsenal when looking to grow and connect with your audience. So we’ll break these into two content buckets…

Videos 📹

Some people want to post every single day, and others will only post as a promotion for their Livestreams. Decide how much you can and want to make videos and keep that number in mind.

While we suggest thinking of this as it’s own category, all of these videos don’t have to be the same! Maybe you want to post 5 videos a week, but want to create comedy sketches, story times, and street interviews. So you might plan to make:

• 2 comedy sketches
• 1 story time
• 2 interviews

The next week, you could plan for:

• 3 comedy sketched
• 1 story time
• 1 interview

You’re still doing the content you want and still creating the desired number of videos, but you’re keeping this interesting for your audience!

Livestreams & Radios 🎙️

Consider working other features like Livestreams and Radios into your content schedule! It’s not a requirement, but will keep your content interesting and give you new ways to connect with your audience. This way, you’re talking directly to them and they’re asking questions or otherwise connecting with you. Having a specific day and time that you go Live or host a Radio will keep fans coming back to your page regularly!

You can take it a step further and make your Lives or Radios another kind of show! Maybe you craft on your Live or host an open mic on your Radio. Not only will this keep your audience engaged, but it makes your content stand out from everything else on the FYP.

Pro Tip: If you want to take a break from posting one day, going Live or hosting a Radio are a great way to still create content in a more casual setting.

When Should You Post? ⌚

This can vary not only creator to creator, but app to app. Some apps have algorithms with a ✨magic time slot✨ that pushes videos further. The science behind why isn’t easily available or understandable, but suffice to say more people will be on at that time. See if the app you’re posting on as a magic time slot that you can aim for!

Sometimes that time slot isn’t feasible. I will not be reviewing and uploading a video at 6 am on a Monday, thank you very much. That’s totally fine! Get as close to that time as you can, or try out a couple of different options and see if one works best.

Clapper has an equal opportunity algorithm, which means that all creators with quality content have EQUAL opportunity to go viral. Right now there’s no magic time that works best for posting. This lets you find a time that works best for you and your content! If you can’t stick to a consistent time, that’s alright, too. Some people find that consistency helps them, but it’s not the same for everyone. Find what works best for you and stick with it!

Consider The Trends 📈

While having your content planned out in advance can be helpful and keep you on track, don’t be blind to what’s garnering views and likes! Keep an eye on your FYP and see if you can work trends into your content. It keeps your content current and really boosts your chances of finding new followers! Don’t force trends and make your content work for every single one, but always be on the look out for ones you can make work for you.

This might mean you take a little time in the middle of the week to film something new or see what’s trending. Or maybe you make videos as they grab your attention! So long as you’ve got an eye on what’s hot. The only wrong way to keep up with trends is by ignoring them.

Let’s Build Your Content Schedule! 🧰

Now that we’ve covered all the bases, we’ll walk through an example of planning out a schedule. You’ll want to have a calendar ready! Feel free to download and use ours above as you create your own content schedule.

Let’s say, for example, that I want to post 10 videos a week, host 2 Lives, and 1 Radio. I have time to post and engage 6 days out of the week, and based on research I’d like to post in the morning and in the evening. And this first week, I want to start and end with a few, fun Livestreams. So if I fill that in on my schedule…

It looks like this! This is a very basic version where I only list the type of content and set it (roughly) when it would be posted during the day. If you want to go more in-detail, you can type the title of the article or add a firm time to post by. This loose framework will still keep me on track, help me budget my time, and gives my content some consistency.

And it’s only for one week. This gives me time to see how this schedule does and if I need to adjust what/when I’m posting for my audience. Which leads to our final piece of advice…

Check In 📋

As you post, be sure to check in with yourself and your schedule. Are you sticking to it? Has your original plan for your content changed at all? Has your time budget increased or decreased? It’s okay if this content schedule hasn’t worked out – not every plan succeeds the first time! Consider why it hasn’t worked out and how you can adjust the plan to better suit you and your content.

One Last Thing… 🧡

Your content schedule doesn’t have to be perfect on the first try. In fact, it probably won’t be perfect on the first try, and that’s okay! You have to figure out what works and what does well, and that can take some trial and error. Be patient, keep at it, and you’ll find what works best for you and your content soon.

If you’d like insight into balancing content creation and everything else you do, check out our Ultimate Creator Guide.  For another look at creating a content schedule, you can also check out this video from Clapper Academy on building a content schedule.