How to Create a Social Media Content Plan

Abigail Moyal
Nov 11
3 min read

Most small businesses don’t struggle with ideas, they struggle with consistency. A social media content plan solves this by taking your ideas out of your head and turning them into a clear, repeatable system. The goal isn’t to “post every day” it’s to show up intentionally, consistently, and with purpose.

Here’s a simple 4-step system to create a social media content plan you’ll actually follow.

Step 1 of Creating a Social Media Content Plan: Content Pillars

Your content pillars are the 3–5 themes you post about repeatedly that give structure to your brand and make planning easier. Some examples include:

Business Type	Content Pillars
Wellness / Therapy	Tips & insights, Client wins, Personal story, FAQs
Pet Brand	Product benefits, Education, Day-in-the-life, User content
Boutique Hotel	Rooms & amenities, Location highlights, Guest experiences, Behind the scenes

Your pillars should answer:

What do I want to be known for?
What does my ideal customer care about?

Start with 3–4 pillars so your content isn’t too repetitive or too random.

Step 2 of Creating a Social Media Content Plan: Posting Rhythm

Consistency > frequency. Try to pick a schedule that feels realistically doable even in your busiest weeks. A starting point i often suggest clients is

3 posts/week on your main platform
- This can be LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, the list is endless
- If you are doing Pinterest I suggest 5 pins 3 times per week to start
1 email/month
- This will be your monthly newsletter, if this is too much try once every two months.
Engagement on each
- In this case its better to do 5min per day rather than one hour once a week

Social media works best when it’s sustainable.

If you burn out → the plan fails.

If you keep it easy → the plan sticks.

Step 3 of Creating a Social Media Content Plan: Batch Content

Batching means creating multiple pieces of content in one focused session. Here’s the workflow we use at Zema:

Pick 1 content pillar
Brainstorm 5–7 posts around it
Dedicate one day to filming and/or editing if you have the brain power
Captions (curious about drafting out captions? Visit this blog

Example: If your pillar is “Client Education”

“3 mistakes I see all the time…”
“One thing I wish everyone understood…”
“Here’s how we do things differently…”

Batching reduces decision-fatigue which is the #1 reason people stop posting.

Step 4 of Creating a Social Media Content Plan: Monthly Content Grid

This keeps everything visible and organized. Don't feel like making your own? Heres a notion template we created (google sheets coming soon)

Week	Pillar Focus	Post Ideas	Status
Week 1	Education	Carousel on common mistakes, talking clip tip	Drafted
Week 2	Personal Story	“Why I started this business” video	To Film
Week 3	Social Proof	Testimonial graphic + before/after	Scheduled
Week 4	Sales / Offer	Service benefits + CTA	Needs Caption

Final Thoughts on Social Media Content Plan

The goal is not:

perfect aesthetics
polished language
cinematic video quality

The goal is:

clarity
connection
consistency

The more human you are, the more people respond.

If creating content still feels overwhelming, we build done-for-you content plans and monthly content systems tailored to your brand, tone, and bandwidth.

Want help? Send me a message and we’ll build your content system together

Click here to talk!