So?  Which are you?  A content planner or a content procrastinator?

How far in advance do you write your social media content? An hour or two? On the fly?  A day or two? A week? A month? Never?

How consistent are you?  Are you consistent? Or, are you inconsistent?

Here’s how to plan, prepare and proceed…

Ideally, you should plan and write your social media content 2-3 weeks in advance.  It drastically increases the quality of your content (woot! woot!) and significantly decreases your stress (yeah!).

This, my friends, is important.  With the announced changes by Google that “quality content” is the name of the game, you need to make sure your content is quality.

And let’s face it, quality content is not written on the fly, in first draft, without time for reviews, edits and revisions.

Here are 4 tricks to help you plan your content in advance, just like a pro:

Where can you find relevant content?

I’m not usually one to highly recommend one of the big aggregators in regards to advertising (I just won’t play favorites), however, in this case, Trulia Voices really has this one hands down.

Check out their Q&A section.  Be specific to your local market, then broaden it.  Check out the questions being asked over there. Are there any that would be perfect for you to write about?  Any that you can totally rock the answer on?

Who is your focus?

Is it buyers?  Is it sellers? Is it investors?  For the love of all that’s content, do not pick all of them.  Pick one. Focus. Stick to that focus. Remember who your ideal client is and keep your content focused on their needs.

What topics are they interested in?  Think about what they like. If you aren’t sure, poll your clients and ask them.

Curate!

It’s not just about content you create.  Really. It’s not. It’s about what you provide the consumer.  The answer doesn’t have to come from you. This is where curation comes into play.  Check out some of the biggies to begin with.

Are there awesome DIY tips and tricks you can share from Home Depot’s website?  Share it, make a comment, link to that post! What about home maintenance tips from Lowe’s website? What about home decor ideas from HGTV?  This can go on, and on, and on. If you really want to be crazy overwhelmed with content ideas, head on over to Pinterest.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Generic is good

Not everything needs to be time sensitive and “today” relevant.  Create some content that can be shared at any time. Non-seasonal, non-time-sensitive content.  This really helps to fill in the gaps when needed.

Here’s the deal

By planning ahead, you are more prepared to be fluid and flexible in your content.  You can respond to changing dynamics and needs on a moments notice.

So, I asked this earlier . . .

How far in advance do you plan your content?