How to Build a Better Marketing Calendar

You’re planning a trip to a new location, what’s the first thing you do?

Whether you consult the GPS or whip out a good old-fashioned map, some form of guidance is necessary before embarking on a new adventure. Similarly, turning to a marketing calendar is a must when curating a strategic and effective marketing plan. Taking the time to map out your marketing activities and get an objective view of the year (or quarter, or month) ahead will give you the oversight and agility to make important decisions and adjust your plan where necessary.

And just like a map, your marketing calendar illuminates next steps, past progress, and potential bumps along the road to your destination.

Using Similarweb Agency Intelligence, agencies can create informed marketing plans that take into account changes and trends in the market.

What is a marketing calendar and why do I need one?

A marketing calendar is a plan that’s used to track various activities within a project or marketing campaign. It acts as both your schedule and roadmap for all marketing plans in a given time period. A great marketing calendar includes all the tasks needed to complete the project, the collaborators involved, and any important details like due dates, marketing budget allocation, and more.

Whether you run a one-man operation, work for a small business, or manage a major marketing department, a well-planned marketing calendar will take your ideas from inception to execution, all the while keeping you and your team members grounded, organized, and in the loop.

Having a great marketing calendar is key for a smooth operation, as it gives all project collaborators insight into the status of their activities. It also enables participants to catch any blockers or gaps in the plan at a glance. Ultimately, it’s the tool that takes your plans from strategy to reality.

Keep reading to find out how to create a marketing calendar that will keep your projects on task.

How do I create a marketing calendar?

Establish the basics

Before you get started with your marketing activities, there are a few aspects of your marketing calendar that you need to define.

The first is to choose what type of marketing calendar you want to create. This is dependent on your goal: Are you looking to track your annual marketing plan across the department?  Maybe you’re planning out your editorial calendar or organizing activities for particular marketing channels, like social media marketing or email marketing (you can create a social media calendar dedicated to your social media marketing activities). Whatever your goal, having a well-defined and organized plan will make the journey easier.

One of the most important factors is the time frame that your calendar will cover: are you planning for the next calendar year? Or maybe you prefer to plan six months ahead, or a quarter in advance. Or do you like living in the moment and working month-to-month. A long-term plan offers the benefit of ample foresight into upcoming activities and gives you a holistic view of things like budgeting, plus seasonal marketing opportunities like Black Friday. Short-term calendars, on the other hand, have the benefit of being more agile and taking into account timely marketing opportunities.

Decide which fields to include

Once you’ve established your time frame and the type of calendar you want to build, the next step is to start brainstorming. Come up with a list of marketing activities or campaigns that you’d like to include and define what information you want to cover. You want your calendar to be informative and easy to digest, not overwhelming or difficult to follow. The clearer your calendar is, the easier it will be for team members to collaborate and make changes when needed.

The fields you include depend on the goals of your entire team and what factors you’d like to track around your campaign or project.

Fields you may want to include:

• Marketing activity to be completed
• Start date and target completion date
• Owner
• Allocated budget
• Current status of the activity
• Collaborators
• Target audience
• SEO keywords
• Distribution channels (email, LinkedIn, etc.)
• KPIs or metrics to measure success (page views, conversions, etc.)

Put the puzzle pieces together

Now that you’ve got your fields figured out, it’s time to start filling out your plan. Create a list of campaigns or marketing activities that you’d like to complete within the time frame. Be realistic about what you can achieve in the given time, and be sure to keep additional ideas on the back burner for inspiration when you have gaps or make changes to the plan.

As you fill in the template, be sure to include all of the tasks required to complete an activity. If you’re outlining a campaign, it should include every task, from hosting webinars to writing emails to tracking the results once it’s running. You can put reminders for important dates and milestones in Google Calendar to ensure that you’re meeting all your deadlines, or look for an integration with your preferred project management tool.

It’s important that all stakeholders have seen the plan and are able to offer their perspectives. The more time you put into this phase, the less guesswork you’ll have to do down the road.

Monitor your progress

Got your calendar? Time to get to work. As you accomplish various tasks, it’s key to monitor their progress and determine which efforts are working and which ones could use a boost. By making note of your most effective tactics, you can use this knowledge to power your next marketing calendar for even better results.

Marketing calendar do’s and don’ts

✅ DO take a digital approach

Even if you still prefer pen and paper, the benefits of a digital marketing calendar are undeniable. It’s easy to share and collaborate with others, and simplifies the process of making strategic changes after the initial planning period. Whether you download a dedicated marketing calendar template or opt to work in a program like Excel or Google Sheets, making your agency calendar digital means that you can easily collaborate with stakeholders and track activities using a centralized, single source of truth. This helps to streamline your operation and guarantees less confusion later on.

❌ DON’T be afraid to make changes or assume that your plan is set in stone

Agility is non-negotiable when it comes to your digital marketing strategy. If you plan all your activities a year or six months in advance, there’s no way for you to foresee what will be trending or what changes will occur in the market in the future. Never assume that your marketing plans are set in stone. Luckily, with an organized digital marketing calendar, it’ll be less complicated to make adjustments down the line, setting your marketing team up for success no matter what happens.

✅ DO include seasonal events and marketing opportunities

When putting together your annual marketing plan, look into big events and seasonal opportunities happening in your client’s industry. It’s important to take these into consideration as they could be a magic moment for strategic timely campaigns. By weaving these opportunities into your plans ahead of time, you can work swiftly without having to make as many changes.

❌ DON’T forget to keep a backlog of activities for when things shift

In the event that your plan does change, you should keep a backlog of ideas for content that can be used when you find yourself with extra time or having shuffled things around. This will make it possible to meet your marketing goals first and foremost, and also take advantage of gaps in your plan or unexpected changes.

✅ Build a better plan with Similarweb

A captivating campaign starts with a well-planned marketing calendar. By giving your team the gift of a well-formulated plan, you’ll be able to guide your marketing efforts in a strategic way and account for any changes with ease. Using tools like Similarweb Agency Intelligence, you can anticipate seasonal events and industry trends for a plan that covers all the bases. Paired with digital intelligence from Similarweb, your marketing strategy is set for success.

Check out our marketing calendar events guide for 2023.