Are you just getting started with a social media plan for your business, or looking to update your current one? There are numerous tasks that have to be completed to ensure your plan is a success. How can you sort these tasks to stay on track?

We’ve broken down the timing for 12 essential social media marketing tasks below.

Daily

• Utilize a social posting calendar. Each day you should set aside a few minutes to check on your social posting calendar. Ensure that scheduled posts were published and that future content is still on track.
• Execute customer service checks. Customer service checks are best done at the same time(s) each day. This way you can be sure that you aren’t missing any crucial messages, or causing customers to wait longer than necessary for a response.
• Discover trending topics and hashtags. This will allow you to stay on top of current news and join relevant conversations as they are taking place.

Weekly

• Sync with your team on goals. It’s imperative that your team remains on the same page when implementing your marketing strategy. Touch base each week so that every member of the team is apprised of what is coming down the pipeline during the next week.
• Identify your competitor’s top posts. Checking in on your competition will give you insights into the types of content that your audience is most interested in. Documenting your competitors top posts will help you generate content that receives more engagement.
• Track results. All of the hard work you’ve put into your strategy doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t help your brand achieve its goals. Check your results each week to make sure you are staying on track and that your content is being well received.

Monthly

• Collect monthly data. By gathering your results each month, you can assess the strategies that are working the best (and worst) and make crucial adjustments for future months.
• Identify top posts and incorporate similar content into future social posting calendar. Assess what’s working (and what isn’t) and adapt accordingly for the next month.
• Research upcoming news to begin drafting content for it. Social media content can become irrelevant quickly. Keeping an eye on where key industry conversations are heading will give you the advantage of being able to post about them as soon as they come to fruition.

Quarterly

• Review and evaluate your KPIs. Key performance indicators help you determine which analytics matter the most and the results you need to accrue in order to be successful. Each quarter take note of the KPIs you set and if you reached them.
• Conduct an audience analysis. Your audiences’ needs and behaviors can change over time. Each quarter check in on your audience so that you can continue to create content they will interact with.
• Set goals and KPIs for the next quarter based on the previous quarter’s results. Once you know the results of the previous quarter, it’s time to look ahead to the next quarter. Use the previous quarter's KPI results to help determine what they should be moving forward.

Keep this checklist handy and you’ll be able to keep your social media strategy on track as the year progresses.