In today's community operations, a community content calendar has become a vital element. In this article, we will explore the process of developing such a calendar. Before delving into the specifics, let's establish what we mean by "community content."

Community content refers to content generated for and by the members of a particular community, to provide long-term value and encourage participation. It plays a critical role in driving engagement and fostering a sense of belonging within the community.

Key Components of Community Content

1. Audience: Community content is tailored to a specific audience - your community! Whether your community is newly established or has existed for years, you should have community personas that outline the members you are working with. Any content created for the community, regardless of the creator, should align with these personas. If it doesn't, consider adjusting it to cater to the community's unique interests, needs, and preferences.

2. Structure: The structure of community content can vary depending on the platform, audience, and community goals. It can take the form of blog posts, social media updates, videos, podcasts, webinars, or any other medium that is accessible and relevant to the audience.

3. Author: Community content can be created by anyone within the community, including community managers, volunteers, and members. The content creator should possess a deep understanding of the audience's needs and interests to ensure resonance.

4. Benefit: The primary benefit of community content lies in its ability to build trust and strengthen relationships within the community. By providing relevant, engaging, and helpful content, community members feel valued and acknowledged. This can lead to increased engagement, retention, and advocacy, and attract new members.

Community Content Calendar building blocks

Pre Calendar Design

1. Understand your audience: Conduct persona work to gain a clear understanding of your community members. Determine how you can provide value to them while benefiting your organization as a whole. Strive for bidirectional value, benefitting both the community and the organization.

2. Define your objectives: Focus on developing a content plan optimized for maximum value. Align the content with the needs of the community members to foster engagement and growth.

3. Create a Purpose and a Strategy: Use a "why, then what" approach to establish a framework for relevant content. Define the purpose behind each content project and prioritize based on the value it offers to the community and the organization.

4. Choose the right tool: Select a content calendar tool that is easy to use, compatible with your team's workflow, and offers collaboration, scheduling, and organization features. Ensure it can be easily adopted by other team members and integrates with other software you may be using.

During Calendar Design

1. Highlight your content cadence: Determine the frequency of your content based on daily, weekly, monthly/quarterly, or yearly cycles.

2. Plug in your content: Allocate your content based on the cadence you established, ensuring a consistent flow of engaging and valuable content.

Post Calendar Design

1. Metrics: Analyze and measure the impact of your efforts. Check the engagement rate of your community and review and analyze the content cadence with the highest impact.

2. Adjust and improve: At the end of each month, evaluate and aggregate insights from the previous month to inform adjustments for your next content calendar. Use the new information to refine your content strategy and ensure continuous growth and engagement.

Building a community content calendar is a strategic endeavour that empowers community builders to consistently provide valuable and engaging content to their members. By understanding the audience, defining clear objectives, creating purpose-driven strategies, and utilizing the right tools, community builders can optimize their content production process. The content calendar ensures a regular cadence of content that aligns with the community's needs and goals. Evaluating metrics and analyzing the impact of content efforts help community builders refine their strategies and create even more effective content calendars in the future. By mastering the art of building a community content calendar, community builders can foster thriving communities, drive engagement, and facilitate long-term participation among their members.