Creating and Analyzing Your First Content Plan

1. Define a winning strategy for your social networks

1.1 Social media strategy vs. Content plan

Let’s clarify two terms you’ll hear a lot. It should be known that while related, these two elements are not interchangeable. 

• Social media strategy: The why behind your content—your brand’s voice, goals, and audience.
  
• Content plan: The what and when—your post topics, formats, channels, and content calendar.

Now the fun part begins! You’re ready to put ideas into action and map out your content plan for your brand (or your clients). 🎯

But first things first—you need a content strategy. Think of it as your GPS for social media: it keeps you on track and helps you measure what’s working.

If social media marketing is completely new to you, follow this essential guide covering the importance of social media marketing, first steps, and drawing a content plan:

Start with a simple, all-in-one strategy that you can later break down by platform. Once you fall into a regular posting rhythm, you’ll notice that different platforms need different approaches—and that’s totally expected!

Good thing we already looked at the strengths and weaknesses of each platform, right? 😉

On a time crunch? This weekly content strategy is perfect for creators and social media managers who are constantly on the go. 🏃

1.2 Analyzing your competitors

While you’re in this research phase, understanding your position in the marketplace compared to your competitors is crucial to staying competitive and differentiating yourself from others. 

Compare your content and metrics against your competitors. Dig into the content they are sharing, the formats they post, and the topics they discuss. Do they leverage any key phrases? How does their community engage? What does their visual identity look like? 

These are all important questions to ask yourself when you’re doing a little stalking…  (I know you’ve done some stalking before.) 

This guide will guide you through conducting a deep comparison with your top industry competitors:

2. Create a social media content plan

Now that you’ve outlined your strategy, the next step is execution, starting with a clear, actionable content plan.

A content plan ensures your publishing stays consistent and aligned with your strategic goals. No more guessing what to post or scrambling for ideas at the last minute.

This social media strategy template is a great resource for staying organized and breaking down your strategy by your target audiences, objectives, frequencies, content formats, and weekly plan. This template is editable, of course, so make sure to create your own copy. 

With the right tools in hand, content planning becomes quick and stress-free. 👌

3. Schedule your posts

Strategy outlined? ✅

Content plan defined? ✅

Let’s gooo! 

Now it’s time to automate your workflow and win back time by scheduling all your content in one place. 

Scheduling content ahead of time means you can stay visible online without being glued to your screen. Whether you’re pitching new clients, refining your next campaign, or taking that well-earned Friday off, Metricool’s scheduler has your back.

We know that social media never sleeps, but you, as a social media manager, definitely should. Want to see just how easy it is to schedule content with Metricool?

Looking for a more in-depth tutorial? We got you!

4. Analyze the Performance of Your Strategy

You can’t grow what you don’t measure! 🧠

Once your strategy is live, the only way to know if it’s working is by analyzing the numbers. 

From tracking performance to benchmarking against competitors, analytics help you make smarter decisions. Lucky for you, data is kind of our thing at Metricool. After all, “metric” is in our name for a reason. 🤪Before we dive into the numbers, review this vital social media metrics article to come in with a clear mind and a solid understanding of which metrics truly matter.

 4.1 How to measure social media results 

Now that your content plan is in motion, 

To find out, we rely on one of our best friends in digital marketing. Can you guess what I’m going to say? Yes, DATA!

This video breaks down the top social media metrics to analyze and how to measure them effectively:

4.2 How to create reports for your team or client

Analytics give you data points, but reports help you connect the dots. They turn raw numbers into a narrative your clients (and team) can actually understand.

With Metricool, pulling that story together is easy. Generate reports in minutes and keep everyone aligned on your progress.

📈 Follow this to create your first report:

Want to create a report with your own templates, graphics, and more? This social media reporting template will break down what a comprehensive report can look like: 

4.3 BONUS: Let your evergreen [or RSS feed] content run automatically

Metricooler, you are almost halfway through the course! You’re well on your way to mastering social media like a pro. 

And now it’s time to introduce one of our absolute favorite time-saving tools: Autolists. 💡

With Autolists, you can automate recurring content, like evergreen posts, or connect an RSS feed to automatically publish your latest YouTube video, blog post, or podcast episode. 

Sound like magic? It kinda is. 😎

🎥 Press play and let us show you how it works: