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 has by no means been extra sturdy, or, arguably, time-consuming.
Nevertheless it doesn’t must be. Thankfully, you don’t must be in all places without delay.
The place you select to point out up on-line ought to be based mostly on the place your goal clients spend most of their time. Select these platforms purposefully.
Additionally, streamlining your social media advertising is made simpler with the fitting planning software 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 learn how to make it be just right for you.
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 must be difficult – or require the usage of costly instruments.
With the free Planner Template, you’ll discover a better method to plan, arrange, and schedule your social media content material.
Whether or not you’re a person, enterprise proprietor, or marketer, this template is designed that can assist you publish content material persistently, keep organized, and make higher selections about your social media technique.
With this Google Sheets template, you possibly can:
- 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 workforce.
Be aware: Click on on File > Make a Copy to edit your template. You do not want to request edit entry.
Make a duplicate: Social Media Planner Template for Google Sheets
How To Plan Your Social Media Content material
The Google Sheet template makes it straightforward to see your schedule effectively upfront and save your entire social media property in a single place.
Right here’s learn how to plan your social media content material this yr.
Step 1: Create A Copy Of The “Social Media Planner Template”
After getting entry to the template, click on “File” after which “Make a Copy.” It will create a brand new copy of the template that you could edit.
Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, Could 2025Subsequent, give your copy a descriptive title, similar to “[Business name] – Social Media Plan Q1-This autumn 2025,” and reserve it to Google Drive.
Step 2: Determine Your Present Quarter/Month
Relying on whenever you’re studying this text, it would be best to determine the quarter and/or month wherein you intend to start out your social media planning.
The underside of the template consists of tabs spanning from “Q1: January” to “This autumn: December” of 2025.
Open the tab for the month wherein you wish to begin planning your content material:
Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, Could 2025For simplicity, we began with “Q1: January” and commenced filling out the primary few subjects for example:
Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, Could 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 possibly can plan accordingly.
You may, after all, 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 checklist of choices (Weblog, Instagram, LinkedIn, Fb, Twitter/X, TikTok, YouTube, or Different), or you possibly can add your individual by clicking the pencil icon:
Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, Could 2025This dropdown means that you can simply determine which platform you intend on publishing to. Whether or not or not it’s Fb, Instagram, X (Twitter), or every other platform, it will assist you maintain your content material organized.
Step 4: Plan Your Subjects
Now, it’s time to fill in your subject concepts.
There are fairly a number of methods to consider participating social media subjects, which we coated in our information on learn how to create genuine social media content material.
Nonetheless, the analysis course of doesn’t must cease there. Listed here are a number of methods to provide you with social media posts:
- Conduct competitor analysis: Take a look at what your opponents are doing on social media and use that as inspiration in your future social media posts.
- Take a look at trade tendencies: Keep up-to-date on trade tendencies and information, and use this data to create related and well timed posts in 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 in 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 may also be a method to discover content material concepts.
- Schedule common promotions: Share your promotions and reductions to drive engagement and improve gross sales.
When you assume up some concepts, you can begin filling out your social media planner.
Simply fill out Columns J by way of 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, similar to your descriptions, content material doc hyperlinks, hashtags, publish dates, and monitoring hyperlinks (if wanted).
Screenshot from Social Media Planner Template, Could 2025Be at liberty so as to add rows, columns, or fields to fit your wants.
Within the “Pictures” and “Video/Media” columns, you possibly can 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 by way of your social media plan.
You can too use the template to trace the success of your content material by including metrics similar to likes, feedback, and shares.
Step 7: Share With Your Staff
In case you are working with a workforce, share the template along with your colleagues and provides them entry to edit the template.
It will 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 workforce async.
Step 8: Plan Forward And Repeat
Planning your social media content material upfront provides quite a few advantages that may drastically improve your social media presence.
By taking the time to plan your content material, you possibly can guarantee that you’re persistently publishing related posts that interact your viewers and drive outcomes.
With a transparent content material plan in place, you possibly can give attention to creating high-quality content material that’s aligned along with your total advertising technique and keep away from the pitfalls of impulsive, unplanned posting.
I like to recommend utilizing the social media planner to plan not less than one quarter’s value of content material, so that you’re not scrambling to put in writing the copy, acquire the property, schedule the posts, and many others.
Plan And Publish Social Media Content material Like A Professional
Social media advertising doesn’t must be a headache. With the fitting course of, you possibly can streamline your social media content material planning and publishing schedule.
In as little as a number of hours per quarter, you possibly can plan your content material effectively 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 fairly than a chore.
With social media planning, entrepreneurs achieve:
- A no-nonsense system for monitoring content material subjects and scheduling.
- Time effectivity and a streamlined publishing cadence.
- Consistency in publishing well timed, related posts.
- Improved visibility into efficiency and outcomes.
Additionally, whenever you plan your social media posts upfront, you possibly can higher allocate price range and sources to your efforts, making certain you’re utilizing your time in the best means attainable.
So, benefit from the free social media planning template, make it yours, and save time in your social media advertising efforts.
Extra Sources:
Featured Picture: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal
