What is a content calendar? And how to plan one
Decide your posts once a week, not once a day.
First brand read free. No filming.
On this page
The short answer
A content calendar is the schedule of what you will publish, where and when: One row per post with its date, platform, format, idea, owner and status. It turns posting from a decision you make every day into one you make once a week. A social media calendar is the same thing for social platforms only.
Updated
Build your calendar
10 posts over 2 weeks
| Date | Time | Platform | Format | Idea and hook | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Week 1 | 3 p.m. | Short video | Tips One mistake people make with tips, and the fix | Reach | |
| Tue Week 1 | 2 p.m. | TikTok | Short video | Behind the scenes Three things nobody tells you about behind the scenes | Trust |
| Wed Week 1 | 8 a.m. | Carousel | Customer stories A myth about customer stories, and what is true | Reach | |
| Fri Week 1 | 4 p.m. | TikTok | Short video | Offers How we do offers, step by step | Sale |
| Sat Week 1 | 11 a.m. | Short video | Tips Before and after: tips | Reach | |
| Mon Week 2 | 5 p.m. | TikTok | Photo carousel | Behind the scenes What behind the scenes looked like this week | Trust |
| Tue Week 2 | 3 p.m. | Story | Customer stories If you only change one thing about customer stories | Reach | |
| Wed Week 2 | 2 p.m. | TikTok | Short video | Offers One mistake people make with offers, and the fix | Sale |
| Fri Week 2 | 6 a.m. | Short video | Tips Three things nobody tells you about tips | Reach | |
| Sat Week 2 | 3 p.m. | TikTok | Short video | Behind the scenes A myth about behind the scenes, and what is true | Trust |
Times are the hour most of the published studies agree on for that platform and day, in your audience’s local time; see the best time to post. Hooks are patterns: swap in your real topic.
Runs in your browser; nothing is stored. Times come from where the published studies agree for each platform and day, in your audience’s local time. Hooks are patterns to fill in with your real topic.
How to build one in an afternoon
- 01
Pick your platforms and pace
Two platforms done well beat five done when you remember. Choose a weekly number you could still keep in a busy month.
- 02
Choose three or four content pillars
The recurring topics your audience comes for, for example tips, behind the scenes, customer stories and offers. Every row belongs to one.
- 03
Fill two weeks in one sitting
Start from formats that already performed in your niche rather than a blank page, and write the hook for each row.
- 04
Batch the making
Script, record or generate several posts in one session. Switching between planning and making every day is where calendars die.
- 05
Schedule it
Load approved posts into a scheduler or the platforms’ own tools so they go out without you.
- 06
Review every week
Check the results column, repeat the formats that worked and drop the ones that did not.
An example week
- Monday
Short video
A myth in your field and the truth, in under 30 seconds.
Scheduled - Tuesday
Carousel
Five steps to a result your customers want, one per slide.
Scheduled - Wednesday
Short video
Behind the scenes: how you do the work.
Scheduled - Thursday
Short video
One customer question, answered properly.
Scheduled - Friday
Carousel
A before and after, or a result with what it took.
Scheduled - Saturday
Story
A quick poll or question to start replies.
Scheduled - Sunday
—
Rest, or reuse the week’s best post on a second platform.
Scheduled
Example week. An example only. Choose the number of posts you can keep up for three months; see how often to post.
Where to keep it
A spreadsheet
Free and flexible: one row per post, the columns above. Nothing posts by itself, and you still have to come up with every idea.
A board in a project tool
Cards that move through the status columns, useful when several people make and approve posts. It tracks the work; it does not do it.
A social media scheduler
Holds the calendar and publishes on time. The ideas and the videos are still yours to bring.
Percify
Composer deals short video ideas every day, each built on a real post that performed in your market and written in your voice. It makes the video with your own face and voice, and schedules what you approve.
The columns every calendar needs
Date and time
When it goes out. Plan days first; set times when you schedule.
Platform
Where it goes: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn. One row per platform if the post changes between them.
Format
Short video, carousel, single image, story or text post. Mixing formats on purpose beats repeating the one you find easiest.
Idea and hook
The topic in a few words and the first line or first two seconds. If you cannot write the hook, the idea is not ready.
Goal
Reach new people, build trust with followers, or ask for the sale. Most weeks need all three.
Status
Idea, scripted, made, approved, scheduled, posted. The column that shows where the week is stuck.
Owner
Who makes it and who approves it, even if both are you.
Link and result
The live post and its numbers after a few days. This is what makes next month’s calendar better than this one.
Read next
Your questions, answered
Short answers to what people ask next.
Percify has one: its API (keys on the Scale and Ultra plans) and its MCP server (every plan, by signing in) let your own tools or AI agents deal post ideas, approve them and schedule them to your accounts.
A schedule of what you will publish, where and when, with one row per post: date, platform, format, idea, owner and status.
None in practice. “Editorial calendar” is more common for blogs and newsletters, “content calendar” or “social media calendar” for social posts.
Two to four weeks of ideas is enough for most small teams. Leave a slot or two each week free for trends and questions that come up.
As many as you can keep making well. For most businesses that is 3 to 5 posts a week on Instagram and TikTok; the guide on how often to post covers each platform with sources.
Copy the eight columns above into any spreadsheet: date and time, platform, format, idea and hook, goal, status, owner, link and result. Add a row per post.
Percify’s Composer deals rounds of short video ideas through the day: 1 round a day on Free, 6 on Creator, 15 on Scale and 40 on Ultra. Nothing goes out without your approval, and posting to your accounts needs a posting account: Scale includes 3, Ultra 10, and any plan can add one for $5 a month.