Content marketing is an effective and cost-efficient strategy. However, you still need to publish frequently and consistently. One survey found that companies spending less than $15,000 monthly on content marketing are 74% less likely to reap the benefits from their strategy (vs. those who spend $25K or more).
Marketing budgets vary widely based on company and target market size. But spending thousands each month to fulfill your content strategies is likely the norm if you are part of a large comms or content operations team. Keeping large content teams organized and on target is no easy feat. However, a lack of organization can quickly devolve into chaos, turning a cost-efficient marketing approach into a budget sinkhole.
Among the various methods and tools for keeping content teams organized, deploying and maintaining a robust content calendar is, hands down, the best practice. Content calendars can range from simple, fillable forms to robust platforms with more bells and whistles than you could ever use. But which features are most beneficial? Let’s look at 10 must-have content calendar features that will give your team the essentials they need to succeed.
1. Easy-To-Use Content Calendar Features
No matter how many features your calendar has, the calendar itself should be easy to use. If your team can’t learn how it works in a short tutorial, the calendar may cause more headaches than it alleviates. You want an intuitive interface with common usability features and easy navigation.
At DivvyHQ, our motto is simplicity. Our Calendar is clean, organized, and straightforward. We put everything your content operation needs in one location, but we don’t turn all that functionality into complexity.
2. Different Calendar Views
Your content calendar should give your team multiple views so users can visualize the schedules they want to see. Your software should allow users to switch between different time frames, from daily tasks to quarterly schedules.
Our content calendar features let you see the details you need and eliminate those you don’t. We also provide private versus public views, giving you the flexibility to share the calendar with those who need it (your C-suite, for instance) while maintaining privacy for details that not everyone needs to see.
3. Filtering Capabilities
Large companies with big marketing and communications teams are constantly working to execute campaigns and support a wide array of content channels. Having a centralized, global view of everything that is going on has immense value for managers and executives. But that global view can also get hard to navigate very quickly due to the shear volume of activity.
Thus, your content calendar should include robust filtering capabilities that let your team members choose how much or how little detail they want to see. Divvy’s content calendar provides filtering for:
- Business units, departments, or teams
- Content channels, properties, and initiatives
- Content types
- Team members
- Content strategy metadata
- Campaigns
- Production status
You can add or omit any filter type you wish and color code categories to make it easy to differentiate entries at a glance.
4. Multichannel Functionality
Content marketing is a complex operation, with multiple moving parts all in play at the same time. To reach your audience, your team likely produces a range of assets, from blog and social media posts to emails and paid ads.
Whatever software you employ should be compatible with your content operations across channels, incorporating multiple processes and workflows.
5. Collaboration Capabilities
Creating content is a collaborative process. However, it’s often inefficient. Much time is wasted trying to coordinate schedules for endless meetings, and too many disconnected communications streams make it nearly impossible to ensure the entire team is on the same page.
The best content calendar apps feature collaboration tools inside the system. Team members can exchange information instantly. With Divvy’s platform, collaboration is a breeze, and transparency is embedded in the system.
6. Instant Notifications
Maintaining the production flow is critical for effective marketing and meeting budgetary targets. You need a calendar that helps your team move assets smoothly through the process.
Instant notifications contribute to a seamless communications system.
Your calendar should include notifications for a variety of processes, including communication, assignments, tasks, and deadlines. Giving your team members the ability to turn notifications on and off is a plus.
7. Content Management Capabilities
Content management is hard, particularly for large and dispersed teams. Any tool that simplifies things is welcome.
We get it, which is why we included content management functionality within our content calendar features. You can perform every aspect of your content marketing process from within the Divvy system, from setting deadlines and assigning tasks to content audits and data reporting.
The platform also houses your content archive, making it easy to keep tabs on what your team has done in the past, and find assets you can update and repurpose.
8. Automated Tasks and Processes
Automating the mundane makes life easier for everyone. Plus, it gets your content out the door much faster.
Divvy’s platform lets you automate processes such as production workflows, notifications, and reporting, just to name a few. You set the rules, and the system takes care of the rest.
DivvyHQ’s Workflow Builder
9. Integration Options
If you add content calendar software to your toolbox, you don’t want it to function in its own silo. You need to be able to weave it into the rest of your marteck stack so that your team can find everything they need in one location.
We created our platform with marketing and comms teams in mind. We understand what content calendar features you need because we need them, too, which is why our platform includes more than 1,000 integrations!
10. Customization Capabilities
Customization allows you to make the most of a content calendar, giving you the ability to make it do exactly what you need it to do. Your calendar should adapt to the unique characteristics of your company, team, and content strategy.
When you compare DivvyHQ to other content marketing platforms, you can clearly see our platform includes more features than others. However, we take it a step further by letting you customize your calendar to your heart’s desire.
Get All the Content Calendar Features You Need in One Platform
When it comes to content calendar features, Divvy delivers. We combine the ultimate in functionality and versatility with simplicity. Our platform eliminates the chaos while putting the controls in your hands. Request a demo to check out the plethora of features we have on tap for you.
