How to Create an Instagram Content Calendar (free template included)

How to Create an Instagram Content Calendar (free template!)

Looking for an Instagram content material calendar template/thought? You’ve discovered the suitable article. Let’s discuss how to plan all these Reels, carousels, and different posts in a single place and really feel assured that you simply acquired it when it comes to executing your social media technique.

Schedule unlimited Instagram Posts, Reels, and Carousels

Schedule limitless Instagram Posts, Reels, and Carousels

Seamlessly schedule Instagram posts to a number of accounts without delay. Collaborate and work in a workforce. Try NapoleonCat free of charge:

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What is an Instagram content material calendar?

Let’s clear up some confusion first. An Instagram calendar is NOT your Instagram content material technique. It’s really the results of it. And you clearly want the technique first to get to scheduling your Instagram content material.)

Your Instagram content material technique (or any type of social media technique) consists of solutions to questions akin to:

  • What are your targets on Instagram? (Like model consciousness, gross sales, group constructing, web site visitors technology, and many others.)
  • How do these targets translate into particular KPIs? (How a lot visitors would you like to generate from Instagram? How massive of an viewers would you like to construct? What proportion of gross sales would you like to come from Instagram? and many others.)
  • What particular actions can you are taking to attain these targets? (What type of content material will you submit? How usually?)
  • Who are your opponents on Instagram, and what are they doing that works? (And how are you going to match into that panorama with related, high quality content material?)
  • And lastly, who’s your target market? What sort of content material do they need to see in your Instagram account? And when are they most certainly to have interaction with it?

(Of course, that is all in a nutshell.)

Only when you have got these issues found out are you able to begin planning your content material in a social media calendar. 

And a content material calendar is basically your Instagram content material plan or schedule, together with all of the kinds of content material and subjects you need to discuss unfold throughout days in per week, at specified intervals, and on specified days and occasions. (Preferably ones when your viewers is most certainly to have interaction – we’ll discuss how to discover these in a minute.)

In the olden days, you’d most certainly create a social media content material calendar in Google Sheets and even only a spreadsheet and maintain it someplace on a shared drive. And at the moment, there’s a plethora of collaborative instruments that allow you to not solely plan your content material but in addition routinely submit it throughout social media channels and talk with others. Which is the type of content material calendar we’ll be speaking about.

Schedule Unlimited Instagram Posts, Reels, and Carousels

Schedule Unlimited Instagram Posts, Reels, and Carousels

Schedule Instagram posts, reels, and carousels throughout a number of Instagram accounts. Reach your viewers once they’re on-line – not you. Try NapoleonCat free of charge:

Try NapoleonCat free for 7 days. No bank card required.

Why use an Instagram content material calendar?

The auto-scheduling characteristic is already a adequate reply to this query (and social media managers realize it.)

But additionally, after you have got your targets articulated and particular numbers you need to attain outlined, you’ll in all probability already see that to be constant and environment friendly in working in the direction of these targets, you want a extra systematic method than simply posting everytime you really feel prefer it (or at any time when you have got time/keep in mind about it). 

And that’s whenever you’ll already know you want an Instagram content material calendar to execute in your technique – in order for you to improve your probabilities of seeing outcomes, that’s. 

Creating an Instagram content material calendar may even prevent time – although it won’t seem like this at first. Because sure, you have got to sit down and create these social media posts in bulk first. But then, as you get into the behavior of getting content material deliberate manner upfront – and have it routinely revealed – you’ll see on a regular basis you really acquire in between your content material planning periods.

Plus, should you work in a workforce, shared social media content material calendars calendar make it tremendous simple to assign content material items to completely different individuals and change suggestions, bettering your inner workflows.

Now, let’s discuss how to do all that.

How to create an Instagram content material calendar 

1. Find the very best days and occasions to submit on social media first

If you utilize NapoleonCat, you should utilize the analytics characteristic to try this, trying on the engagement by day and by hour. Here’s what it appears to be like like:

Instagram Content Calendar - post engagement by hours
Finding the very best time to submit
Instagram Content Calendar - post engagement by days of week
Finding the very best days to submit

And you are able to do the identical in your opponents’ channels for a fuller image. Check when the engagement is highest, and take a look at planning your key content material round these occasions. 

2. Decide what sort of content material to submit

Using NapoleconCat analytics, it’s also possible to discover out the kind of Instagram posts individuals reply to. Do they actually desire Reels over feed posts? Or are carousel posts higher?

You can see all of it in your and your opponents’ stats – and you should utilize that as a foundation in your content material plan (in fact, coupled together with your content material manufacturing capabilities and your finances.

NapoleonCat’s aggressive evaluation may even assist you to with determining:
  • What teams try to be concentrating on (primarily based on the evaluation of your competitors’s viewers demographics)
  • How usually try to be posting updates
  • Which hashtags carry out finest

3. Get a scheduling device 

A social media publishing device will make the method a lot simpler. (Thank me later.) If you go for NapoleonCat, you possibly can plan your Instagram content material alongside together with your different social media platforms, together with:

  • Facebook
  • TikTook
  • LinkedIn
  • And even Google My Business.

And for Instagram, you possibly can schedule feed posts, carousel posts, and Reels.

Having all of your channels in a single place will certainly assist you to see the larger image. Plus, it’s simpler to repost and cross-post content material on completely different platforms that manner.

If you don’t use a scheduling device, positively use a shared doc individuals throughout your organization can have easy accessibility to. 

4. Plan 2-4 weeks forward

The entire level of planning your content material in an Instagram content material calendar is to schedule content material upfront and have it prepared forward of time, so that you don’t have to fear about it later.

Having not less than two weeks’ price of content material scheduled will provide you with the peace of thoughts to search for new content material concepts, subjects, and codecs. And it’ll provide you with time to report your Reels or write out your captions for future posts. 

5. Start with drafts

Plan classes and subjects first in your Instagram content material calendar earlier than you create the precise content material. That manner, you possibly can simply rearrange content material within the calendar if crucial and make any adjustments.

In instruments like NapoleonCat, you possibly can add customized color-coded labels to arrange the content material higher and know what sort of subjects go the place and the way they stability out throughout per week or month.

Instagram Content Calendar - Internal color-coded labels in NapoleonCat
Internal color-coded labels in NapoleonCat

And then, take the subsequent step, which is… 

6. Assign posts to workforce members

When you have got your concepts positioned throughout the month, time to create your posts. You can now assign every content material piece to particular person workforce members, with ample time for your entire approval workflow, together with suggestions and edits.

If you utilize social media scheduling instruments to try this, you should utilize the built-in options for the entire course of. But should you go for Google Sheets, you’ll additionally have the ability to tag individuals within the feedback and change suggestions there (although it won’t be as easy and clear.)

In NapoleonCat, you possibly can assign individuals to full duties but in addition add subscribers who can be notified about any adjustments and feedback on a specific submit.

Instagram Content Calendar - Adding subscribers and assignees in NapoleonCat
Adding subscribers and assignees in NapoleonCat

7. Add the caption and visuals

Write out the copy in your Instagram content material – whether or not they’re Reels or posts in your feed. 

If you’re producing content material like movies or elaborate carousel posts, you’ll in all probability be working with a designer. They may have entry to the calendar to observe what’s occurring and know the context of the paintings they’re supposed to create. And that always helps them create significantly better and extra related visible content material.

8. Add your first remark

Another good thing about utilizing a calendar device like NapoleonCat for social media publishing is having the ability to schedule your first remark together with your submit. This is usually a record of hashtags that you simply don’t need to have together with your fundamental caption.

Or you possibly can add a query to begin a dialog within the feedback part. The model or creator starting the dialogue is an efficient manner to encourage individuals to observe and reply within the feedback. And that, in fact, means larger engagement, extra attain because of this, and all the nice issues Instagram’s algorithm has in retailer.

Running your Instagram content material calendar in NapoleonCat

Here’s what planning your Instagram content material appears to be like like in NapoleonCat. You can watch the video beneath first should you’re extra of a video particular person.

  1. After you add your Instagram profiles to NapoleonCat, you’ll see the Instagram Scheduler characteristic within the menu on the far left. Go there.
  2. You’ll see these three tabs: Calendar, Posts, and My Tasks. Go to Calendar to create a brand new submit. It’s your ready-to-go social media calendar template.
Napoleoncat's calendar
Instagram content material calendar in NapoleonCat
  1. Hover over the day you need to publish content material, and click on the yellow + button.
Instagram Content Calendar - Adding a post to the calendar
Adding a submit to the calendar
  1. You’ll open a window the place all of the modifying takes place.
Instagram Content Calendar - instagram post creator in nc
Instagram submit creator in NapoleonCat
  1. Select your social media profile – and even a number of accounts (you possibly can add up to 50).
  1. Add your caption. Just like on Instagram, you possibly can add emojis and hashtags or tag different customers through the use of the @ image and including the profile title. 
  1. Upload your photograph or video file (or photographs/movies should you’re making a carousel submit). The dimension of an picture can’t exceed 10 MB, and the dimensions of a video file can’t exceed 100 MB. Videos is usually a most of 60 seconds lengthy and might’t be bigger than 1920×1080.
Instagram Content Calendar - Adding emojis
Adding emoji within the submit’s caption
  1. You can crop the picture and regulate the formatting to sq. or portrait mode, similar to within the Instagram app. You may tag different customers in your photographs through the use of the @ image with usernames. Be cautious not to misspell the profile title. Once you’re performed, click on on “Save photo.”
Instagram Content Calendar - adjust photo size
Cropping the picture
  1. Add a location tag. Posts with location tags have a tendency to generate higher engagement, so it’s a good suggestion to add one at any time when related. To try this, begin typing the situation title, and an inventory of recommendations will seem.
Instagram Content Calendar - location
Adding location to your submit
  1. The final step of crafting your submit is including the primary remark. Just like I discussed earlier than, that is the place you possibly can add your set of ready-to-go hashtags.
Instagram Content Calendar - first comment
  1. On the right-hand facet of the panel, there’s a reside preview of your submit. Once you’re performed with creating the submit, you possibly can both schedule it for a future date or publish it immediately. To publish your submit instantly, test the slider field and click on the yellow Publish button. 

If you’re not prepared to schedule or publish your submit, it’s also possible to put it aside as a draft and ship it to a workforce member to proofread or full (or your supervisor to approve.)

Instagram Content Calendar - post preview
Instagram submit preview
  1. Now, you possibly can work on the interior communication inside your workforce:
  • Add an inner title in your submit that may solely be seen to the members of your workforce and can assist you to distinguish between posts made for various functions or campaigns.
  • Add assignees – individuals chargeable for a specific submit. If you don’t add any assignees, the submit can be routinely assigned to you.
  • Add subscribers – individuals who can be notified through e mail of any adjustments to a selected submit.
  • You may add inner content material labels.

If you go to the Posts tab, you’ll see the entire upcoming, previous, and unscheduled posts within the undertaking, and should you select My duties, you possibly can search for all of the posts assigned to you.

Instagram Content Calendar - upcoming
Schedule Unlimited Instagram Posts, Reels, and Carousels

Schedule Unlimited Instagram Posts, Reels, and Carousels

Schedule Instagram posts, reels, and carousels throughout a number of Instagram accounts. Reach your viewers once they’re on-line – not you. Try NapoleonCat free of charge:

Try NapoleonCat free for 7 days. No bank card required.

Free Instagram content material calendar template

If you need to stick to your Google Sheets for now (no judgment), I’ve a free template for you that may make it so much simpler.

You can download it here

Copy it to your Google Drive – and luxuriate in!

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