Why Dubai Real Estate Companies Don't Use a Content Calendar

Two years ago, I joined an international real estate company as a Digital Marketing Consultant. My first task was to evaluate their digital marketing strategy and online presence, improve the sales/marketing workflow, leverage the quality of leads, and drive more conversions and sales from leads generated from online channels.

I was astonished to learn that the company doesn't have a content calendar. Yes, you heard that right! It's an international real estate brokerage with thousands of social media followers, yet nothing solid was created in terms of content.

A content manager was supposed to be responsible for publishing content on social media, websites, and blogs. However, due to a lack of resources, work overload, content creation, production, and distribution strategy, the content was posted randomly on the blog or social media based on the availability of content shared from other regional or international offices.

As we are in 2024, every social media manager, blogger, and influencer leaves nothing to coincidence. Creating and populating a content calendar is not an OPTION! It is a MUST!

As I have heard from other colleagues who work for leading companies, this is a very common practice. Unfortunately, most old-school companies are still not 100% convinced that social media can drive sales and make a huge impact on their business. They are convinced that conventional marketing methods are still effective.

I hate to break it to them! Yes, conventional marketing methods still work, but the money goes where the eyes go! Today's who who is on social media!

Let's admit that some big real estate companies still see social media channels as a burden. They have to pay an employee a salary to spend the day scrolling down the feed. As a result, social media channels aren't used as they should be.

Despite having various projects, more urgent and important tasks, and goals to achieve, I decided to start by prioritizing the creation of the content calendar because it was a quick win and could impact the online presence.

It may sound unusual, but I will explain why.

First, I want you to understand the value of creating a content calendar and why it is more than just a sheet to fill. It is a powerful tool for any social media manager or content creator.

What is a content calendar?

A content calendar, or an editorial calendar, is a tool individuals or organizations use to plan and organize content creation and publication. 

It is typically a schedule or a document that outlines the topics, themes, formats, channels, and publishing dates for different pieces of content, such as blog posts, social media updates, videos, podcasts, and newsletters...

A content calendar can help content creators and marketers to:

• Align their content with their goals, audience, and brand voice
• Avoid duplication, inconsistency, or gaps in their content
• Stay on track and meet deadlines for content creation and distribution
• Plan for seasonal events, campaigns, or product launches
• Collaborate and communicate with team members or stakeholders involved in content production
• Measure and analyze the performance of their content over time.

The content calendar is not only a tool for anyone who wants to create and distribute content strategically in an organized way. A creative, consistent, and well-organized content calendar is a success secret of every content creator. 

Why?

When creating a content calendar, you can see your content gaps and weaknesses and learn your audience's interests and behaviour. Based on the performance reports of your social media campaigns (organic or paid), you can learn what to post, when to post it, and where.

Why create a content calendar?

Creating a social media calendar can be a helpful tool for anyone looking to maintain an organized and consistent social media presence. Here are some steps you can follow to create a social media calendar for beginners:

Define your social media goals: 

Before creating your social media calendar, you must know what you want to achieve with your social media presence. Define your goals and objectives, such as increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or building a community.

Choose your social media platforms: 

Depending on your goals and audience, choose the social media platforms where you want to have a presence. Some popular platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

Determine your content themes: 

Determine the themes you want to cover in your social media content to keep it consistent and relevant to your audience. This could include industry news, company updates, product features, or customer testimonials.

Plan your content schedule: 

Once you have your themes, plan your content schedule. Determine how often and on which days you want to post on each platform. You can use tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, or Sprout Social to schedule your posts in advance.

Create your content: 

With your schedule in place, it's time to create your content. Use a mix of text, images, and videos to keep your content engaging and interesting. You can also repurpose content across different platforms to save time and effort.

Analyze your results: 

To determine the effectiveness of your social media calendar:

1. Track your metrics and analyze your results.
2. Create a KPIs tracking sheet that includes engagement rates, click-through rates, and follower growth.
3. Use this information to refine your social media strategy and improve your results.

The best online platforms to create a content calendar 

There are several online platforms that you can use to create a content calendar, depending on your needs and preferences. Here are some of the most popular options:

Google Sheets: 

Google Sheets is a free and easy-to-use spreadsheet tool for creating a content calendar from scratch. You can customize the columns and rows to fit your needs and add comments, colour coding, and other formatting features to make the calendar more organized and visually appealing.

Trello: 

Trello is a popular project management tool for creating content calendars. It uses a visual board with lists and cards that can be moved around and assigned to different team members or stages of the content creation process.

Asana: 

Asana is another project management tool that can be used to create content calendars. It offers a calendar view that lets you see all your tasks and deadlines in a single view, making it easy to plan and schedule your content.

CoSchedule: 

CoSchedule is a dedicated content marketing platform that offers a content calendar tool as part of its suite of features. It allows you to plan, schedule, and publish your content across multiple channels, including social media, email, and blogs.

Airtable: 

Airtable is a flexible collaboration tool for creating content calendars, among other things. It offers a customizable database for organizing and tracking content, with features like colour coding, tagging, and filtering.

Tip:

The best online platform to create a content calendar depends on your specific needs, budget, and workflow. Try a few options to see which works best for you and inspires you to continue.

What should the content calendar include?

A content calendar should include all the relevant information about your content strategy and content creation process. Here are some essential elements that you should include in your content calendar:

Content topics:

List the topics you plan to cover in your content, including blog posts, videos, podcasts, and other types of content.

Publication dates: 

Set specific publication dates for each piece of content, including the day and time you plan to publish.

Distribution channels: 

Specify which distribution channels you plan to use for each piece of content, including your blog, social media, email marketing, and other platforms.

Team member assignments: 

Assign specific team members to each piece of content, including writers, editors, designers, and other contributors.

Deadlines: 

A content calendar should include a date as a reminder to get approval from stakeholders before moving to the publishing stage. A deadline for each stage of the content creation process, including brainstorming, drafting, editing, publishing, and approving a post, can help manage the team's expectations and prevent any hiccups that can cause a delay in the process.

Keywords or tags: 

Identify relevant keywords, tags and phrases that you plan to include in your content to improve your search engine optimization (SEO).

Call to action or CTA: 

Determine the calls to action (CTAs) you plan to include in your content to encourage engagement, such as signing up for a newsletter or purchasing.

Metrics and analysis: 

Set up a system to track and analyze the performance of your content, including metrics like page views, click-through rates, and engagement rates.

A content calendar should include all the necessary information to help you plan, create, and distribute your content effectively and efficiently. It should be comprehensive yet easy to read and understand.

What type of content should I add to a content calendar?

The type of content you should add to your content calendar depends on your business or personal goals, your audience, and the channels you use to distribute your content. Here are some common types of content you can include in your calendar:

Blog posts: 

Blogging is a popular way to create content that provides value to your audience and helps you establish your authority in your industry. You can plan and schedule blog posts based on topics, keywords, themes, or events relevant to your audience.

Social media updates: 

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are great channels for sharing content, engaging with your audience, and building your brand. You can plan and schedule social media updates promoting your blog posts, sharing industry news, highlighting your products or services, or running social media campaigns.

Videos: 

Video content is becoming increasingly popular and can be a great way to connect with your audience and showcase your products or services. You can plan and schedule videos for your YouTube channel, Instagram, or other platforms.

Podcasts: 

Podcasts are another popular type of content that can help you reach your audience and provide value through interviews, discussions, or educational content. You can plan and schedule podcast episodes based on topics, guests, or seasons.

Infographics: 

Infographics are a visual way to share data, statistics, or other information that can be easily shared on social media or blog posts. You can plan and schedule infographics based on topics, themes, or events.

The key to achieving your online growth relies on creating a mix of different types of content pieces relevant to your audience, aligned with your goals, and distributed across multiple channels.

How do you stay consistent in updating the content calendar?

It can be challenging to stay consistent with updating your content calendar, especially if you have a busy schedule or multiple team members involved in the content creation process. 

Here are some tips to help you stay on track and keep your content calendar up to date.

Set a regular time to update the calendar: 

Choose a specific day and time each week or month to update your content calendar, which will help establish a routine and make it a habit.

Use reminders and notifications: 

Set up reminders or notifications on your calendar or project management tool to remind you to update your content calendar. You can also set up email or mobile alerts to notify team members about upcoming deadlines or tasks.

Delegate tasks to team members:

If you have a team involved in content creation, assign specific tasks and deadlines to team members and hold them accountable for updating the calendar. This can help distribute the workload and ensure everyone is on the same page.

Keep the calendar visible and accessible: 

Make sure your content calendar is easily accessible to everyone involved in the content creation process. To keep the calendar visible and up to date, you can use a shared online document or project management tool.

Track and analyze performance: 

Track and analyze your content's performance regularly to see what's working and what's not. Use this information to adjust your content calendar and make improvements over time.