How to Create an Editorial Calendar for Your Construction Business

Small businesses don’t always have a big budget, and many can’t afford marketing services. I’m in the same boat at Helianthus Advising; but as a marketing and content creation agency, I’m lucky. I have those digital marketing services built into my business already! But that’s not the case for everyone. Although digital marketing costs are often worth the investment, you can get started by simply creating an editorial calendar for your construction business.

1. Set a Goal and Do Your Research

First, it’s essential to establish your goal. Do you want to attract new clients or spread your message to a wider audience? Your goal will impact everything that you do because it puts your plan in place. It’ll help you develop topics that you want to share and the tone that you plan to use. By the end of your goal-setting, you should have the following information:

• Goal: What do you want to happen to your business?
• Tone: What voice will you be using to talk to your audience?
• Theme: What three topics or keywords will you be talking about the most?
• Avenues: Where will you be publishing content? (e.g. social media or blogs)
• Readiness: Is your business or website ready for the attention? Or, do you need to update your website or social media channels?

Research

Your next step is to do some research. As a content writing agency, we emphasize finding the right keywords that correspond best to your business. These terms will help reach your desired audience, and you can use Google Keyword Search to find them.

Next, research your targeted market to make sure that you know and understand them. You’ll want to find the answers to these questions: who is your audience and where do they find their information? In the end, you want to make sure you know everything you can about your target market and have the following information:

• Keywords: What words are people using to search for the things you want to talk about or sell?
• Target Market: Who are they? Where are they? When and why are they there?
• Hashtags: What hashtags work with your voice, audience, and tone?
• Posting Data: What days and times are best to post your information?

2. Prepare Your Document

Now you’re ready to create an editorial calendar! I made a simple example that mirrors what our content creation agency provides for business owners. Click here to find it and then start by filling in each section on the first page. Include the details you need to keep track of your projects, plus all of the information you found in your research, including hashtags, keywords, and any other notes you have.

Remember, this is a general spreadsheet, so you may not need all of the aspects. For those looking for content writing services, we use a similar spreadsheet at Helianthus Advising and use it as a foundation for thoughts, content ideas, and growth plans.

3. Create Content

Once you have your editorial calendar, you can start to create your content. At Helianthus Advising, we offer content creation packages that usually combine content writing services and social media marketing services. Likewise, you should focus on both blog writing and social media content.

On the blog content sheet, include general ideas and working titles for your future blog posts. Fill out as many ideas as you have, and remember to keep them diverse. Think about the various types of content that you can use, such as:

• Listicle: Top Five Additions to Your Home
• How To: How to Increase Your Home Value
• News: The Newest Trends in Business Construction
• Updates: What’s happening at your business?
• Reader Question/FAQ: What has your reader been asking?
• Deep Dive: Detailed post about a particular subject, such as new home construction or updating interiors
• Other: You can have an opinion piece, a product review, or anything you think your readers will enjoy!

Content writing services go hand-in-hand with social media. Once you have a few blog ideas, it’s time to add a few social ideas, too. Keep it simple or plan an entire month in advance. As a content creation agency, we find it best to plan as much as possible.

Final Thoughts

Creating an editorial calendar for your construction business is a great place to start with marketing. However, keep in mind that content creation and research is time-consuming, as is developing the right voice and tone and finding your ideal audience. Sometimes, hiring content writing services is worth the investment. Helianthus Advising specializes in marketing services for small construction businesses, and offers free consultations for new clients. We help you better understand what you need, even if it isn’t us!