Social media calendar & post brief (interactive planner)

{ "Title": "Social media calendar & post brief — planner", "IntroductionHtml": "

Welcome — use this 30-day calendar to turn followers into guests

This template helps a small restaurant or hospitality team publish regular, coordinated social content that drives discovery, strengthens your brand, and nudges followers to visit. Use the guide below as your planning scaffold, and use the interactive brief to capture every planned post so photographers, copywriters, schedulers, and managers all work from the same instructions. Save one brief per planned post and run a monthly review to learn what works.

How to use this planner

1. Pick 3 content buckets that fit your brand and menu from the suggested buckets list.
2. For each planned post, fill and save a brief using the form below so the photographer, copywriter, and scheduler have the same instructions.
3. Schedule saved briefs into your social scheduler and tag KPIs so you can measure what works.
4. Repeat and improve: reuse top-performing posts in new formats and run small paid boosts on winners.

Suggested 30-day content buckets

Rotate these buckets for variety. Aim for ~3–5 feed posts per week and more frequent Stories/Reels when you have quick behind-the-scenes moments.

• Menu highlight — signature dish or new special
• Behind-the-scenes — prep, market trip, plating
• Guest story or testimonial — photo/quote
• Staff spotlight — introduce a team member
• Limited-time promotion or night-specific offer
• Drink/cocktail feature or pairing
• How we make it — short procedural clip (60s or less)
• Local love — supplier, neighborhood shout-out
• FAQ or “how to order” (takeout, delivery, reservations)
• User-generated content (UGC) repost — with permission
• Event announcement or reminder
• Sustainability or sourcing story
• Monthly roundup / best-sellers list
• Community or charity involvement
• Light, human behind-the-scenes moment

Example rotation: pick 2–3 buckets each week to arrive at ~12 posts/month. For busier brands, repurpose high-performing items into short videos, reels, or stories.

Quick sample post copy

• Menu highlight (image): "Our summer squash risotto is back — creamy, bright, and topped with crispy sage. Reserve a table tonight. Link in bio."
• Behind-the-scenes (reel): 15s clip of chef finishing a plate with text overlay: "How we make our famous burger — 3 steps in 15s." CTA: "Order online for pickup."
• Promotion (static): "Weeknight special: 25% off pizzas Monday–Thursday, 4–6pm. Show this post to redeem."

Low-cost photography & video tips

• Use natural window light and a neutral background; avoid overhead fluorescent light.
• Shoot plated food at ~45 degrees and burgers/sandwiches a little lower.
• Stabilize your phone with a small tripod or steady hand; use burst mode for action shots.
• For reels: plan a 3–7 second hook, then show the process; keep clips short and punchy.
• Capture 10–15 raw assets per service (close-ups, wide, prep, staff) to repurpose across weeks.
• Use free editing apps (Snapseed, VSCO, InShot, CapCut) to crop, fix exposure, and add simple text overlays.

Paid-ad starter notes

Small tests can boost discovery for menu items, events, and limited-time offers. Start with a low daily budget and clear conversion goals.

• Objective: Awareness, Traffic (menu clicks), Conversions (reservations or orders).
• Audience ideas: Local radius (5–10 miles), Interest/behavior segments (foodies), Lookalike from your customers, Retargeting recent site visitors.
• A/B tests: Image vs video; CTA “Book now” vs “Order online”; 7s hook vs 15s story.
• Budget & cadence: Start $5–$15/day per ad variant for a 7–10 day test, then scale winners.

KPIs & measurement

Track both social metrics and business outcomes. Suggested KPIs: Impressions, Reach, Engagement rate, Link clicks/CTR, Reservation conversions or online orders attributed to the post or promo code, Promo redemption rate, Cost-per-acquisition (CPA) for paid tests. Run a simple monthly review: record top 3 best posts, top 3 worst posts, and 2 experiments to run next month.

Avoiding the mal-hunger: promotions that train guests to wait for discounts

Prefer narrowly targeted, time-bound offers and value-driving promos that bring incremental covers (slow nights, events) rather than blanket discounts. Test loyalty point offers, midweek specials, and measure how often promo users return at full price.

Repurpose checklist

• Turn a hero photo into a story, a pinned post, and a boosted ad.
• Clip a 30–60s behind-the-scenes video into 3 shorter reels.
• Compile customer testimonials into a weekly highlights post.

Quick implementation checklist

1. Choose 3 content buckets to focus on this month.
2. Fill and save briefs for the next 10 posts and schedule them.
3. Plan one small paid ad test tied to a clear conversion.
4. Collect at least 20 photo/video assets over two shifts to repurpose.
5. Run a monthly review and carry forward top ideas.

Next steps

This interactive brief saves one planned post. Save a brief for each planned post during your planning session so you can review, assign owners, and export or copy content to your scheduler. If you want a visual month calendar, consider a calendar UI that lists saved briefs by date; see capability notes below.

", "SubmitLabel": "Save post brief", "SuccessMessage": "Post brief saved. Repeat to add another post. Run your monthly review with saved briefs to prioritize paid boosts and repurposing.", "DataType": "SocialPostBrief", "SchemaVersion": "1.0", "Fields": [ { "Key": "post_date", "Label": "Planned post date (YYYY-MM-DD or 'Week 1')", "FieldType": "text", "HelpText": "Enter a date or a label (use the same format for the month so you can sort)." }, { "Key": "post_title", "Label": "Post title / working name", "FieldType": "text", "HelpText": "Short working name, e.g., 'Summer Caesar Special'." }, { "Key": "bucket", "Label": "Content bucket", "FieldType": "select", "HelpText": "Choose the primary content bucket.", "Options": [ { "Value": "menu_highlight", "Label": "Menu highlight" }, { "Value": "behind_scenes", "Label": "Behind-the-scenes" }, { "Value": "guest_story", "Label": "Guest story / testimonial" }, { "Value": "staff_spotlight", "Label": "Staff spotlight" }, { "Value": "promotion", "Label": "Limited-time promotion / offer" }, { "Value": "drink_feature", "Label": "Drink / cocktail feature" }, { "Value": "how_we_make_it", "Label": "How we make it (short clip)" }, { "Value": "local_love", "Label": "Local / supplier story" }, { "Value": "faq", "Label": "FAQ / how to order" }, { "Value": "ugc", "Label": "User-generated content (UGC)" }, { "Value": "event", "Label": "Event announcement" }, { "Value": "sourcing", "Label": "Sustainability / sourcing" }, { "Value": "roundup", "Label": "Monthly roundup / best sellers" }, { "Value": "community", "Label": "Community / charity" }, { "Value": "light_moment", "Label": "Light / behind-the-scenes moment" } ] }, { "Key": "objective", "Label": "Objective", "FieldType": "select", "HelpText": "Primary objective for this post.", "Options": [ { "Value": "awareness", "Label": "Awareness / reach" }, { "Value": "traffic", "Label": "Traffic (menu / site clicks)" }, { "Value": "conversions", "Label": "Conversions (reservations / orders)" }, { "Value": "loyalty", "Label": "Loyalty / signups" }, { "Value": "engagement", "Label": "Engagement (comments / shares)" } ] }, { "Key": "primary_message", "Label": "Primary message (one sentence)", "FieldType": "text", "HelpText": "Summarize what this post needs to communicate." }, { "Key": "cta", "Label": "Call to action (CTA)", "FieldType": "text", "HelpText": "E.g., 'Book now', 'Order online', 'Visit tonight', 'Use code'." }, { "Key": "caption_guidance", "Label": "Copy guidance / caption", "FieldType": "textarea", "HelpText": "1–3 short lines plus optional hashtags. Leave space for local details like hours, link, or promo code." }, { "Key": "visual_description", "Label": "Visual description / shot list", "FieldType": "textarea", "HelpText": "Describe the photo or short reel idea (close-up, wide shot, staff prepping, plate details)." }, { "Key": "asset_specs", "Label": "Asset specs (primary)", "FieldType": "text", "HelpText": "Recommended sizes and file types, e.g., 1080x1080 or 4:5 vertical for feed; 9:16 for reels; JPG/PNG for images; MP4 for video." }, { "Key": "alt_text", "Label": "Alt text (accessibility)", "FieldType": "text", "HelpText": "Short descriptive text for accessibility (1–2 sentences)." }, { "Key": "hashtags", "Label": "Suggested hashtags", "FieldType": "text", "HelpText": "List 5–12 hashtags (mix of brand, local, niche)." }, { "Key": "platforms", "Label": "Platforms / formats", "FieldType": "checkbox", "HelpText": "Select platforms and formats for this post.", "Options": [ { "Value": "instagram_feed", "Label": "Instagram feed" }, { "Value": "instagram_reel", "Label": "Instagram Reel" }, { "Value": "instagram_story", "Label": "Instagram Story" }, { "Value": "facebook_feed", "Label": "Facebook" }, { "Value": "tiktok", "Label": "TikTok" }, { "Value": "x_twitter", "Label": "X / Twitter" }, { "Value": "other", "Label": "Other" } ] }, { "Key": "post_timing", "Label": "Post timing (local best time)", "FieldType": "select", "HelpText": "Choose a suggested local timing or enter custom in notes.", "Options": [ { "Value": "early_lunch", "Label": "Early lunch" }, { "Value": "late_lunch", "Label": "Late lunch" }, { "Value": "early_evening", "Label": "Early evening" }, { "Value": "peak_dinner", "Label": "Peak dinner" }, { "Value": "custom", "Label": "Custom / schedule in tool" } ] }, { "Key": "kpis", "Label": "Measure / KPI", "FieldType": "checkbox", "HelpText": "Select which KPIs this post should be measured against.", "Options": [ { "Value": "impressions", "Label": "Impressions / Reach" }, { "Value": "engagement", "Label": "Engagement rate" }, { "Value": "link_clicks", "Label": "Link clicks / CTR" }, { "Value": "reservations", "Label": "Reservations" }, { "Value": "orders", "Label": "Online orders" }, { "Value": "promo_redemptions", "Label": "Promo redemptions" } ] }, { "Key": "responsible", "Label": "Responsible (who shoots / writes / schedules)", "FieldType": "text", "HelpText": "Name or role responsible for execution." }, { "Key": "repurpose_plan", "Label": "Repurpose plan", "FieldType": "textarea", "HelpText": "How will this asset be reused? (stories, pinned post, boosted ad, email)" }, { "Key": "paid_boost", "Label": "Consider a small paid boost for this post?", "FieldType": "yesno", "HelpText": "Use paid boosts for awareness/traffic tests or event promotions." }, { "Key": "boost_budget", "Label": "Suggested daily budget for boost (USD)", "FieldType": "number", "HelpText": "If using a paid boost, suggested start budget (e.g., 5–15). Leave blank if none." }, { "Key": "notes", "Label": "Notes / extra details", "FieldType": "textarea", "HelpText": "Any additional details, permissions for UGC, or scheduling constraints." } ] }