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Planable is the best client-facing social media tool we've ever used and we've used a lot.
If your audience spans cities, continents, or that mysterious in-between region where no one remembers what day it is, managing social media across time zones can feel like a full-time job on top of your full-time job. I've spent over 20 years helping brands navigate...
Jan 21, 2026
I’ve watched too many good marketers (including myself 😅) burn out trying to manage social media without a real system.
The symptoms are always the same: scrambling to figure out what to post, missing deadlines, losing track of what’s approved, and feeling like social media is always on fire. If this sounds familiar, rest assured it’s a system problem you can fix.
I’ve been in marketing for a decade with six years spent managing multiple social media accounts for several brands at once. I’ve done the hands on work: designing visuals, writing copy, planning campaigns, coordinating launches and keeping content calendars up to date across teams & platforms. I’ve also built workflows for agencies & in-house where “what’s going live next?” is never a guessing game.
For this guide, I tested every common way teams manage a social media calendar, from spreadsheets and shared docs to databases and dedicated social media tools. I ran the same real-world workflow through each setup: planning posts, collaborating with teammates, collecting feedback, getting approvals, and publishing consistently across channels. Some worked. Most added friction.
What follows are my practical recommendations, the tools that hold up when you’re managing real posting volume, the workflows that prevent bottlenecks, and the calendar setups that work for agencies, and in-house teams alike.
A social media calendar is your central system you use to plan, organize and track everything you publish across all your social media channels. It shows you what’s going live, when it’s going live, who’s responsible, and whether it’s approved, all in one place.
I like to think of it as my content command center. When done right, you can open your calendar and immediately understand:
A social media calendar can live in different formats. Some teams start with spreadsheets or shared documents. Others use dedicated content planning tools for social media workflows, like Planable.
The goal is always the same: removing last minute chaos.
A good calendar helps you plan ahead, collaborate without endless back and forth and publish consistently (even when multiple people are involved). An ineffective setup does the opposite: it becomes another thing to maintain, another place for things to break and one more reason for posts to go out late.
Here’s the golden rule I use when assessing any social media calendar setup: if you’re spending more time updating the calendar than creating or improving content, the system is working against you.
I reached out to marketers I trust, people who run their business on social and asked them to share the real social media calendars they use to plan content, stay consistent, and ship posts week after week.
These aren’t theoretical examples. They’re the working calendars behind real audiences, real growth, and real publishing volume.
I’m sharing these because seeing how someone actually plans content is more useful than any generic social media calendar template.
Sophie runs Pretty Little Marketer, a 600,000+ member global community that helps marketers learn and grow in a supportive space, and she is a master at turning consistency into growth. Her social media calendar shows how she batches content creation, plans themed weeks, and keeps her Instagram and newsletter aligned.
What you can steal from Pretty Little Marketer: plan content in batches, color code by content type, and map repurposing into the calendar from day one.
If you’re a solo creator looking to scale without burning out, her system is worth studying.
Katerina is a multi-platform content creator with 2 years of hands-on experience who makes high-volume publishing look manageable. She runs LinkedIn, Twitter, and newsletters in parallel, and her content calendar is the system that keeps everything aligned, intentional, and sustainable.
Her approach focuses on content themes by week and strategic posting times based on actual audience data. It’s a smart balance of strategy + real world execution.
What you can steal from Katerina: use posting times based on audience behavior and leave buffer days for reactive content and trending topics.
If you’re managing multiple channels (or supporting clients), this is the kind of workflow that makes high-volume publishing actually possible.
Social media nowadays isn’t what it was even two years ago. The platforms are more crowded, algorithms are pickier, and audiences expect more from brands. You can’t wing it anymore.
Here’s what a social media calendar gives your team:
A social media calendar fixes all of this. It gives your team clarity, accountability, and the breathing room to actually do good work.
Let me break down the real advantages I’ve seen for Planable and teams experience once they get their calendar system dialed in.
Planning ahead means you batch your work. Instead of context-switching between creating, editing, and scheduling all day, you dedicate time blocks to each task. You’ll reclaim hours every week that were getting burned on figuring out “what to post today.”
At Planable, I create content in batches for the week ahead. For me, as a social media manager, it’s dramatically more efficient than the old way of doing everything daily.
Algorithms reward consistency. Audiences expect it. But maintaining a steady cadence is impossible when you’re planning day-to-day.
With a calendar, you can map out your posting rhythm in advance. You’ll spot gaps before they happen and ensure you’re showing up regularly across all your platforms.
This one surprised me at first, but it makes total sense: when you plan ahead, you have time to actually make things better.
Your designer can spend extra time on that visual. Your copywriter can test different angles. Your manager can review without rushing.
The alternative posting something mediocre because “we need to post something” slowly erodes your brand. A content calendar lets you maintain standards.
Here’s an hypothetical example what usually happens without a calendar: Sarah creates a post, sends it to Mark for approval via Slack, Mark’s swamped so he doesn’t see it until tomorrow, then he realizes the image is wrong and messages the designer on a different thread, and now no one’s quite sure what the status is.
A shared social media calendar centralizes everything. Everyone can see what’s in progress, what needs attention, and what’s ready to go live.
At Planable, I built our content workflow around this principle (see below what it looks like in practice).
Whenever I need quick feedback on the overall calendar, I share it with the team using the guest view link feature.
When you can see your full month at a glance, you spot opportunities. You notice you’re posting too much promotional content and not enough value. You see gaps around important dates. You can intentionally build momentum toward product launches or campaigns.
This bird’s-eye view is impossible when you’re in day-to-day survival mode.
Look, I could give you a generic spreadsheet template here and call it a day. But that wouldn’t be honest.
The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all template that works for every brand, agency, or team.
Your social media calendar needs to reflect how your team actually works, your approval process, your content mix, your platforms, your volume.
Instead of a static download that’ll sit unused in your downloads folder, I want to show you something more valuable: a real, working example of how a complete month of content planning actually looks in Planable.
I’ve put together a free one-month social media calendar example (which could be easily used as a template) that includes:
You can view this complete calendar instantly, with no Planable account required. Just open it and explore: View the full calendar example here.👈
What you’ll see inside:
This is exactly how I plan content here at Planable. And if you want to test it, you can start with 50 posts completely free with no credit card needed.
Let’s talk tools now. I’m going to be straight with you about the options and what they’re actually good for.
Full disclosure: I work at Planable, so take this with that context. But I’m going to tell you exactly why I built it the way I did and who it’s actually for.
Planable is a social media management platform built specifically for teams that need to collaborate on content. It handles all your posts across 9 social platforms in one calendar view, but what really matters is how it handles the messy human parts: feedback, approvals, and keeping everyone aligned.
What I genuinely like about it:
Where it might not fit:
Best for: Agencies managing multiple clients, in-house marketing teams with approval workflows, brands coordinating across departments, brands with multi-locations and different timezones.
Try it with 50 posts free: Start using Planable!
Since we’re talking about what works, here’s what actual Planable users say about managing their calendars in the platform:
I love that Planable makes it easy to move content from one date to another. I like the way I can go to one place, review a social media content calendar, add my feedback, and approve by simply clicking a checkmark. This tool makes it smooth and easy to collaborate on social media content creation if you’re a two person team. – Martie R., Creative Service Project Manager of a mid-market company
I like to view the metrics and the content planner in a calendar format. – Retail Specialist of an enterprise company
I enjoy the calendar view and being able to easily move my posts across the three main SM platforms that I use (FB, Insta, LinkedIn). I like being able to schedule a year ahead to remind myself of national dates. – Cedar C., Marketing Manager of a small business
I like that you can send a link directly to clients without login and the calendar view. – Abi D., Founder of a small business
Notion has become the darling of productivity nerds (I say this as one myself), and for good reason. It’s incredibly flexible, and you can absolutely build a social media calendar in it.
What works:
The honest downsides:
Best for: Teams already using Notion who want to keep everything in one place and don’t mind manual publishing. Solo creators who like customization and don’t need team workflows.
Look, I’m not going to pretend spreadsheets are ideal. But at least, they’re free, everyone knows how to use them, and when you’re starting out with zero budget, they work for a period of time.
What actually works:
The reality check:
Best for: Solo creators just starting out, small teams on zero budget who can commit to upgrading within 3–6 months before the chaos catches up to them.
Here’s one a lot of people don’t think about: Canva has a content calendar feature built in. It’s not what Canva is known for, but if you’re a small business already using Canva for design, it’s worth looking at.
What I like about it:
The limitations I found:
Best for: Small businesses and solo entrepreneurs who already use Canva for design and have straightforward posting needs across 1–3 platforms.
Google Calendar is what you use when you’re not ready to commit to anything more sophisticated but know you need some structure.
What it does well:
Where it breaks down:
Best for: Absolute beginners who need to prove to themselves that planning ahead helps before investing in a real tool. Use it for a month, then graduate to something better.
My honest take: If you’re serious about social media (whether you’re a team, an agency, or even a solo creator building a business) you need a tool built for the job. Spreadsheets and Google Calendar are training wheels. Notion requires too much setup for most people. Canva works if you’re very small and visual-focused.
Planable (yes, I’m biased) or similar dedicated content calendar tools are worth it because they’re built for exactly this problem. They save you the hours you’d waste fighting with makeshift solutions.
This is the system I use at Planable and recommend to teams setting up their first real content calendar.
Start by mapping out your content mix. Don’t just wing this, but intentionally decide what types of content you’ll create and how often you want to post it.
Content types to plan ahead:
Formats to include:
My advice: Mix these up. The algorithm rewards variety and originality, and your audience gets bored seeing the same format over and over.
Here’s where a lot of teams mess up: they commit to posting way more than they can actually handle, burn out in two weeks, and then go silent.
Be realistic about your (or your team’s) capacity. It’s better to post consistently three times a week than to commit to daily posts that you can’t maintain.
Current best practices for 2026:
These are starting points, not rules. Test your own frequency and adjust based on what your audience responds to.
Repeat after me: you don’t need to be everywhere. That’s a myth that burns out marketing teams.
Instead, pick 2–3 platforms where your audience actually hangs out and where you can consistently show up with quality content.
How to choose:
My advice: Start focused. You can always expand later once you’ve built solid systems.
This is where most teams waste the most time. Without clear workflows, content gets stuck in limbo; someone’s waiting on feedback that never comes, or posts slip through without proper review.
Define your workflow clearly:
In Planable, you can set this up with different approval levels depending on content type or client. Some posts might not need approval at all. Others might need multi-level review (your team, then the client, then legal).
Drag and drop custom approval workflow in Planable
Quick workflow tips:
The goal is speed without sacrificing quality.
Once content is approved, scheduling should be the easy part. Pick times when your audience is most active (test this! don’t just guess) and use your calendar tool to automate publishing.
After posts go live, track what’s working using Planable’s analytics. Answer these questions:
Social media analytics report in cross-channel view in Planable
Use this data to refine your calendar over time. Your social media strategy should evolve based on actual performance, not assumptions.
I reached out to some social media managers and marketers from Planable’s community to get their real takes on building a content calendar. Here’s what stood out:
A content calendar is a living document. It’s meant to be messy, shuffled around. They are not meant to be pristine, museum-worthy documents.
Be sure to consider internal resources when you do this. Don’t commit to posting daily when you don’t actually have time to develop original content.
The pattern here is clear: calendars work when they match your team’s reality and serve your actual goals.
Planable is built specifically for social media teams and agencies. It handles collaboration, approvals, and scheduling in one place. The free plan includes 50 posts, which is enough to test if it fits your current workflow.
At minimum: publishing date and time, platform, post format, caption, visuals, hashtags, and labels for organizing content. More advanced content calendars also include approval status, campaign associations, and performance tracking.
The best ones use centralized platforms (like Planable) where different teams can manage their own workspaces while maintaining brand consistency. They typically set up:
Here’s my final piece of advice: don’t overthink this (too much!).
The best social media calendar is the one you’ll actually use. Start simple: pick a tool, map out two weeks of content, and see how it feels. Adjust as you go.
What matters is building a habit of planning ahead, collaborating clearly, and learning from what you publish, not making a perfect dashboard you never use.
If you want to see what a real content calendar looks like in action, check out our free example. And if you’re ready to try Planable with your own content, start with 50 posts free.
No matter your role, a content calendar it’s your backstage pass to smoother workflows, stronger strategies, and stress-free posting. If you’re serious about showing up online, it’s time to get organized.
George – Content Marketing Strategist, storyteller, and self-appointed cringe detector. 7 years in marketing, starting from graphic design to social, campaigns, and content. Writes, shoots, edits – if it’s creative, he’s on it. Knows what’s funny, what’s fresh, and what should never see the light of day. Always up to date, always cooking up something (and trying to hit his protein goal), all while pretending to get 8 hours of sleep.
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