Entrepreneurs and enterprise house owners are spoiled for alternative in relation to the numerous social media platforms accessible for rising a web-based viewers.
From BlueSky to TikTok, LinkedIn to Patreon, social media advertising and marketing has by no means been extra strong, or, arguably, time-consuming.
However it doesn’t need to be. Happily, you don’t need to be all over the place directly.
The place you select to indicate up on-line must be primarily based on the place your goal clients spend most of their time. Select these platforms purposefully.
Additionally, streamlining your social media advertising and marketing is made simpler with the correct planning device in your arsenal – and no, it doesn’t require fancy software program options.
On this information, I’m sharing a free, easy-to-use social media planning template, plus useful steps on make it give you the results you want.
It’s as easy or as customizable as you want it to be. No pointless bells or whistles.
Free Social Media Planner Template For Google Sheets
Planning your social media content material doesn’t need to be difficult – or require using costly instruments.
With the free Planner Template, you’ll discover a better solution to plan, set up, and schedule your social media content material.
Whether or not you might be a person, enterprise proprietor, or marketer, this template is designed that can assist you publish content material constantly, keep organized, and make higher selections about your social media technique.
With this Google Sheets template, you may:
- Plan your content material calendar upfront, see what you’ve revealed, and know what’s arising subsequent.
- Schedule posts for a number of social media accounts from one calendar.
- Monitor the progress of your content material and use the data to tell your future technique.
- Collaborate with others by sharing entry along with your crew.
Word: Click on on File > Make a Copy to edit your template. You don’t want to request edit entry.
Make a replica: Social Media Planner Template for Google Sheets
How To Plan Your Social Media Content material
The Google Sheet template makes it simple to see your schedule properly upfront and save your entire social media property in a single place.
Right here’s plan your social media content material this 12 months.
Step 1: Create A Copy Of The “Social Media Planner Template”
Upon getting entry to the template, click on “File” after which “Make a Copy.” This can create a brand new copy of the template that you may edit.
Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, Might 2025Subsequent, give your copy a descriptive title, akin to “[Business name] – Social Media Plan Q1-This autumn 2025,” and put it aside to Google Drive.
Step 2: Determine Your Present Quarter/Month
Relying on if you’re studying this text, you’ll want to establish the quarter and/or month by which you intend to start out your social media planning.
The underside of the template contains tabs spanning from “Q1: January” to “This autumn: December” of 2025.
Open the tab for the month by which you need to begin planning your content material:
Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, Might 2025For simplicity, we began with “Q1: January” and started filling out the primary few matters for example:
Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, Might 2025Additionally, you will see within the left-hand columns that there’s a calendar for every month. That is merely a reference to the right days of the week/month for 2025 so you may plan accordingly.
You may, in fact, replace this for 2026, 2027, and so forth.
Step 3: Select Your Social Media Platforms (“Platform”)
Column Ok features a dropdown of varied social media platforms to which you’ll be publishing your content material.
You may choose from this record of choices (Weblog, Instagram, LinkedIn, Fb, Twitter/X, TikTok, YouTube, or Different), or you may add your personal by clicking the pencil icon:
Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, Might 2025This dropdown means that you can simply establish which platform you intend on publishing to. Whether or not it’s Fb, Instagram, X (Twitter), or every other platform, it will aid you preserve your content material organized.
Step 4: Plan Your Subjects
Now, it’s time to fill in your subject concepts.
There are fairly just a few methods to think about participating social media matters, which we coated in our information on create genuine social media content material.
Nevertheless, the analysis course of doesn’t need to cease there. Listed here are just a few methods to give you social media posts:
- Conduct competitor analysis: Take a look at what your opponents are doing on social media and use that as inspiration to your future social media posts.
- Take a look at trade developments: Keep up-to-date on trade developments and information, and use this data to create related and well timed posts to your viewers.
- Make the most of user-generated content material: Encourage your followers to share their very own experiences and use that content material as inspiration to your posts.
- Take a look at hashtags: Analysis and use related hashtags to extend the visibility of your posts and attain a wider viewers. This will also be a solution to discover content material concepts.
- Schedule common promotions: Share your promotions and reductions to drive engagement and enhance gross sales.
When you assume up some concepts, you can begin filling out your social media planner.
Simply fill out Columns J via R along with your “Title/Matter,” “Description,” and the like.
Step 5: Add Content material And Publishing Notes
Begin enhancing the template by including related data, akin to your descriptions, content material doc hyperlinks, hashtags, publish dates, and monitoring hyperlinks (if wanted).
Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, Might 2025Be at liberty so as to add rows, columns, or fields to fit your wants.
Within the “Photographs” and “Video/Media” columns, you may add hyperlinks to the visible property you intend to make use of in your social media publish. You are able to do this by including a hyperlink to a Google Drive folder with photos or your chosen Digital Asset Supervisor (DAM).
Step 6: Add Publish Dates
Subsequent, use the template to schedule your posts upfront by including the date and platform for every publish.
Don’t neglect to replace the “Standing” column (I) as you’re employed via your social media plan.
You may as well use the template to trace the success of your content material by including metrics akin to likes, feedback, and shares.
Step 7: Share With Your Staff
In case you are working with a crew, share the template along with your colleagues and provides them entry to edit the template.
This can assist you to collaborate and work collectively to take care of a constant social media presence.
The “Notes” column is for any miscellaneous notes about your upcoming content material, together with particulars about your upcoming content material, drafts, due dates, and many others. and you should use this to work along with your crew async.
Step 8: Plan Forward And Repeat
Planning your social media content material upfront affords quite a few advantages that may significantly improve your social media presence.
By taking the time to plan your content material, you may guarantee that you’re constantly publishing related posts that have interaction your viewers and drive outcomes.
With a transparent content material plan in place, you may give attention to creating high-quality content material that’s aligned along with your total advertising and marketing technique and keep away from the pitfalls of impulsive, unplanned posting.
I like to recommend utilizing the social media planner to plan at the very least one quarter’s value of content material, so that you’re not scrambling to jot down the copy, gather the property, schedule the posts, and many others.
Plan And Publish Social Media Content material Like A Professional
Social media advertising and marketing doesn’t need to be a headache. With the correct course of, you may streamline your social media content material planning and publishing schedule.
In as little as just a few hours per quarter, you may plan your content material properly upfront, taking the guesswork out of your social media posting.
Utilizing a planning template means that you can be proactive in your subject planning, get organized, and keep on schedule. Over time, planning your content material will really feel like second nature relatively than a chore.
With social media planning, entrepreneurs acquire:
- A no-nonsense system for monitoring content material matters and scheduling.
- Time effectivity and a streamlined publishing cadence.
- Consistency in publishing well timed, related posts.
- Improved visibility into efficiency and outcomes.
Additionally, if you plan your social media posts upfront, you may higher allocate funds and sources to your efforts, guaranteeing you’re utilizing your time in the best manner attainable.
So, make the most of the free social media planning template, make it yours, and save time in your social media advertising and marketing efforts.
Extra Sources:
Featured Picture: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal
