Why You Should Skip “Motivation Monday”

By Brooke Miles, Delaware ShoutOut

Do you have a weekly plan for your social media? Does it look something like this?

Motivation Monday!

Transformation Tuesday!!

Wisdom Wednesday!!!

Throwback Thursday!!!!

Fun Friday!!!!!

(Nothing on Saturday or Sunday. You’re burnt out.) 

This day-of-the-week plan is well intentioned, but it has major flaws. Let’s look at the problems and then explore a better system. 

First, a themed weekday plan looks less authentic and dare we say . . . forced. It’s like you’re sharing content not because you’re inspired but because the calendar tells you to. Remember Fred the Baker from the classic Dunkin’ Donuts commercials? “Time to make the donuts,” he’d grumble. Your social media shouldn’t look like it’s run by Fred the Social Media Manager. 

Second, due to algorithms, most followers won’t see your posts in their newsfeeds anyway. They’ll see your posts only if they visit your page, and they’ll look at whatever posts they want to. So, the timeliness of weekday posts is a moot point.

Third, by sticking with weekday themes, you leave no room for any other content your audience might enjoy. 

So, what’s a better plan? Create a 30-day editorial calendar! This is an evergreen calendar—i.e., you can use it from month to month—that is based on the day of the month instead of the day of the week. You’ll soon see why this is better.

To design the calendar, open MS Word or Excel. (Or get a pen and paper.) Create a table with 2 columns. The left column lists the days of the month, from 1 to 30. The right column lists the general topic you’ll cover that day. But you won’t fill out every day. Select just 12 days, fairly evenly spaced out, so you’ll end up posting about 3 times per week. 

For instance, let’s say you’re a manufacturer of chemistry lab supplies. Your editorial calendar might start out like this:

Day 1 – Lab management tip

Day 2 – [blank]

Day 3 – [blank]

Day 4 – Self-promotional post 

Day 5 – [blank]

Day 6 – [blank]

Day 7 – R&D news

Day 8 – [blank]

Day 9 – Fun chemistry fact

Day 10 – [blank]

And so on. Feel free to repeat topics throughout the month that speak to your brand and your audience’s interests.

With this system, not only is your content strategic, but it looks more natural because your topics will, over time, fall on different days of the week. So, while you will see the pattern, your audience will not.

Also, this system allows you to post on weekends. Remember: Lots of people check their social media on weekends! 

Finally, by posting only a few times a week, you’ll have breathing room for any additional, relevant content that strikes your mood. No one will ever know you deviated from the calendar.

But maybe, after all of this, you still crave Motivation Mondays because you need the motivation yourself! If so, just think of Fred the Baker. If he can bake 7 million doughnuts daily for stores around the globe, you have the strength to face your day, too. 

Happy posting! For more information, please call 302-273-2845 or visit www.deshoutout.com. 

Bio

Brooke Miles is President of Delaware ShoutOut, a firm dedicated to taking the time and stress out of your social media marketing—and delivering a social media program you can be proud of. Services include social media ghostwriting, one-on-one training, and group classes.