---
name: social-media-calendar
description: "Creates platform-specific social media calendars with daily themes, content types, and optimal posting times. Use when planning your social content for the week or month ahead."
allowed-tools: Read Write Glob
metadata:
  author: matthewhitcham
  version: "1.0"
---

# Social Media Calendar

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:
- Build a weekly or monthly social media content calendar
- Plan specific posts with themes, formats, and posting times
- Create a repeatable posting framework that prevents blank-page syndrome
- Organize content across multiple platforms

**DO NOT** use this skill for social media strategy (use social-media-strategy skill) or writing individual posts. This is for calendar planning and scheduling.

---

## Core Principle

A CONTENT CALENDAR ELIMINATES DAILY DECISION FATIGUE — WHEN EVERY DAY HAS A THEME AND FORMAT, YOU NEVER SIT DOWN WONDERING WHAT TO POST.

---

## Phase 1: Brief

### Required Inputs

| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|-------|------------|---------|
| **Platforms** | "Which platforms are you posting on?" | No default — must be provided |
| **Posting frequency** | "How many posts per week per platform?" | 3-5 per platform |
| **Content pillars** | "What are your 3-4 content themes?" | Will define if not provided |
| **Calendar period** | "Planning for 1 week, 2 weeks, or 1 month?" | 2 weeks |
| **Key dates** | "Any launches, holidays, or events to plan around?" | None |
| **Content resources** | "Can you create video, or text/image only?" | Text and image |

**GATE: Confirm brief before building calendar.**

---

## Phase 2: Outline

### Calendar Framework

```
## Weekly Theme Structure

| Day | Theme | Content Type | Platform Focus |
|-----|-------|-------------|---------------|
| Monday | [Theme] | [Format] | [Platform] |
| Tuesday | [Theme] | [Format] | [Platform] |
| Wednesday | [Theme] | [Format] | [Platform] |
| Thursday | [Theme] | [Format] | [Platform] |
| Friday | [Theme] | [Format] | [Platform] |
| Weekend | [Theme or rest] | [Format] | [Optional] |
```

**GATE: Approve weekly framework before filling in specific content.**

---

## Phase 3: Write

### Daily Theme Suggestions

```
## Daily Theme Options (pick one per day)

| Theme | What to Post | Works Best On |
|-------|-------------|---------------|
| **Motivation Monday** | Inspiring quote, personal win, week's goal | Instagram, LinkedIn |
| **Tip Tuesday** | Actionable advice or quick how-to | All platforms |
| **Behind the Scenes** | Process, workspace, day-in-the-life | Instagram, TikTok |
| **Case Study / Win** | Client result, before/after, testimonial | LinkedIn, Instagram |
| **FAQ Friday** | Answer a common audience question | All platforms |
| **Resource Share** | Tool, template, or free resource | Twitter/X, LinkedIn |
| **Personal Story** | Lesson learned, mistake made, turning point | LinkedIn, Instagram |
| **Hot Take** | Industry opinion or contrarian view | Twitter/X, LinkedIn |
| **Community Spotlight** | Feature a customer, follower, or peer | Instagram, Facebook |
| **Promotional** | Product/service/offer CTA | All platforms |
```

### Full Calendar Template

```
## Week of [Date]

### Monday — [Theme]
**Platform:** [Platform]
**Format:** [Text / Image / Carousel / Video / Story]
**Topic:** [Specific post topic]
**Post time:** [Time + timezone]
**CTA:** [What you want readers to do]
**Notes:** [Any visual references, hashtags, or links to include]

### Tuesday — [Theme]
**Platform:** [Platform]
**Format:** [Format]
**Topic:** [Specific post topic]
**Post time:** [Time]
**CTA:** [Action]
**Notes:** [Details]

...
```

### Multi-Platform Calendar

If posting on multiple platforms, show a combined view:

```
## Week of [Date] — All Platforms

| Day | Platform 1 | Platform 2 | Platform 3 |
|-----|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Mon | [Topic + format] | — | [Topic + format] |
| Tue | — | [Topic + format] | — |
| Wed | [Topic + format] | [Topic + format] | — |
| Thu | — | — | [Topic + format] |
| Fri | [Topic + format] | [Topic + format] | [Topic + format] |
```

### Content Batch Planning

```
## Batch Creation Guide

**Session 1 (1-2 hours):** Write all text posts for the week
**Session 2 (1 hour):** Create or source all images/graphics
**Session 3 (30 min):** Schedule everything using [scheduling tool]
**Session 4 (daily, 15 min):** Engage with comments and DMs

**Recommended scheduling tools:** Buffer, Later, Hootsuite, native schedulers
```

### Posting Time Recommendations

```
## Optimal Posting Times

| Platform | Best Days | Best Times |
|----------|-----------|------------|
| LinkedIn | Tue-Thu | 7-9 AM, 12 PM |
| Instagram | Tue-Fri | 8-9 AM, 12-1 PM, 7-9 PM |
| Twitter/X | Mon-Fri | 8-10 AM, 12-1 PM, 5-6 PM |
| TikTok | Tue-Thu | 7-9 AM, 12-3 PM, 7-11 PM |
| Facebook | Wed-Fri | 9-11 AM, 1-3 PM |

*Times are in the target audience's timezone. Test and adjust based on your analytics.*
```

---

## Phase 4: Polish

### 1. Calendar Checklist

```
## Content Calendar Checklist

- [ ] Every day has a specific theme and format assigned
- [ ] No more than 20% of posts are promotional
- [ ] Content pillars are represented proportionally
- [ ] Key dates (launches, holidays, events) are incorporated
- [ ] Posting times are optimal for each platform
- [ ] CTA is included for each post
- [ ] Visual content needs are flagged for creation
- [ ] Calendar is batch-creatable in 2-3 hours
- [ ] Buffer/rest days are included (no posting required 7 days/week)
```

### 2. Hashtag Strategy

Provide a hashtag bank organized by category for quick reference during scheduling.

### 3. Repurposing Map

Show which posts can be adapted for other platforms:

```
## Repurposing Opportunities

| Original Post | Repurpose As | Platform |
|--------------|-------------|----------|
| LinkedIn text post | Twitter thread | Twitter/X |
| Instagram carousel | Pinterest pins | Pinterest |
| Blog post | LinkedIn article summary | LinkedIn |
```

---

## Example: 2-Week Calendar for a Business Coach (LinkedIn + Instagram)

```
Week 1:
Mon: [LinkedIn] Tip — "3 pricing mistakes costing you revenue" (text post)
Tue: [Instagram] Behind the scenes — recording a coaching call setup (photo + caption)
Wed: [LinkedIn] Personal story — "Why I stopped offering free consultations" (text post)
Thu: [Instagram] Carousel — "5 signs you need a business coach" (7 slides)
Fri: [Both] Client win — testimonial graphic + story

Week 2:
Mon: [LinkedIn] Hot take — "You don't need a business plan" (text post)
Tue: [Instagram] Tip — Quick Reel or carousel with a pricing framework
Wed: [LinkedIn] Case study — client went from $5K to $15K months
Thu: [Instagram] Community — repost a follower's win
Fri: [Both] Promotional — coaching program CTA
```

---

## Anti-Patterns

- **No themes** — posting random content daily leads to inconsistency and blank-page syndrome. Themes eliminate the guesswork.
- **100% promotional** — if every post is "buy my thing," followers leave. Keep promo to 20% max.
- **Over-planning** — planning 3 months ahead sounds smart but leads to stale content. Plan 1-2 weeks at a time.
- **No flexibility** — leave room for spontaneous posts about trending topics or real-time events.
- **Posting on every platform every day** — solopreneurs cannot sustain this. Focus on 1-2 platforms and post 3-5x/week.
- **Ignoring analytics** — review what performed last week before planning the next week. Adjust based on data.

---

## Recovery

- **Missed posting days:** Do not try to "catch up" by posting 3 posts in one day. Skip the missed day and resume the schedule.
- **Running out of content ideas:** Revisit your content pillars and generate 20 ideas per pillar. That is months of content.
- **Calendar takes too long to create:** Simplify to 3 posts/week on one platform. A small consistent calendar beats an ambitious abandoned one.
- **Posts are not performing:** Check if the issue is the content, the timing, or the format. Change one variable at a time.
- **Cannot batch-create content:** Block 1 hour every Sunday for the week's content. Protect that time like a meeting.
