When it comes to social media there are those who post spontaneously and there are those who utilize a calendar of pre-planned posts. Larger organizations tend to use a calendar while individuals may be more inclined for spontaneity. Whichever method you use, you need to be sure that your content is relevant and interesting to your audience.

Posting spontaneously, not planning your posts, or merely posting to create a presence can result in boring or inappropriate content. This is where planning a calendar of social media posts can add a huge amount of value to your content.

By planning a calendar of posts you'll have a chance to review your content and carefully evaluate each post before putting it out there for public scrutiny. When you consider your business and your goals you can coincide your posts with industry events, product launches, or relevant dates like holidays, etc.

Posting simply to have a voice when you have nothing relevant to say can actually make you lose fans. You want to be sure that your delivering content that's informative, funny, entertaining, relevant, or somehow interesting to your fan base.

Taking time to plan your social media posts and preparing a calendar also gives you time to find a suitable visual image to accompany your text. For human eyes scanning a newsfeed, a strong enticing image is a great way to call attention to your post and help it stand out from all the noise.

For mid- to large-size businesses this calendar method may actually be required due to an approval process and the chain of command. After all, Joe from Marketing may think his post is hilarious, but the twelve other people in his department may feel they need to ensure a consistent brand and message before anything is posted publicly.

On the flipside, the calendar method of posting can be even more effective when your posts include content that shows you're paying attention to current events. In other words, spontaneous posts.

For instance, a relevant post to your fans that addresses a sudden weather situation, political event, or breaking news could be a really hot topic. This current event is probably something you couldn't anticipate using the calendar method. For social media specialists this is known as "trending". Obviously it's not possible to plan a calendar and know what might be trending at a certain time or day. This is why being flexible and able to improvise your posts along with using a calendar is the best method of all.

Strictly working from a calendar will surely result in missed opportunities for trending content. Always posting impromptu content will not produce the best quality. Properly using a combination of both methods will produce the best quality content and most effective results for your social media efforts.

If you're serious about social media, use a combination of both techniques in order to maximize the effectiveness of your campaign.