If you’re a business owner, social media manager, or content creator, planning content can quickly become overwhelming without a clear system in place.
The Social Media Content Planner (Google Sheets) was designed to bring structure and intention to your workflow — helping you plan ahead, stay organised, and approach social media with clarity throughout 2026.
Created by Social Media Managers in collaboration with a Google Sheets expert, this planner provides a complete space to organise your content, strategy, and analytics in one accessible workspace. Inside the planner, you’ll find tools to: plan content month-by-month, build a clear social media strategy, track key dates and campaigns, preview your Instagram feed, and monitor your performance.
In this guide, we’ll walk through each section of the planner and how it supports a more thoughtful approach to social media management.
What Sections are Included?
01 / Planner Set-Up
The Planner Set-Up page is where you input information that will be auto-populated into your monthly planners as drop-down options—making it essential to complete this part before you get to post planning.
• Platforms: Although many users plan primarily for Instagram, you can add any platforms relevant to your workflow, including TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest, or LinkedIn.
• Formats: Add the formats you commonly use, for example: image posts, carousels, reels, or stories.
• Content Pillars: Your pillars form the foundation of your content strategy. These will vary depending on your brand, but could include tutorials, behind-the-scenes content, product highlights, or client results.
• Optimal Posting Frequency: Define a realistic posting schedule that supports your strategy with consistency.
• Optimal Posting Times: Add your optimal posting times based on audience insights and platform analytics.
02 / Social Media Strategy
The Social Media Strategy page gives you a space to define the bigger picture behind your content. Instead of planning posts reactively, you can refer back to this section to ensure every piece of content supports your wider goals.
• Goals: Define up to three key goals, along with the strategies and KPIs that will measure success.
• Target Audience Insights: Record information about your audience, including demographics, behaviours, and preferences.
• Content Pillars: Expand on your pillars with descriptions, themes, and post ideas.
• Hashtag Bank: Keep your hashtags organised by content pillar so they are easily accessible during planning.
• Style Guide: Create a simple reference for your brand visuals and tone of voice, including colours, fonts, imagery, and messaging.
Note: If you’re developing a more in-depth strategy, the Social Media Manager Template Set includes a dedicated Strategy Workbook designed to guide you through a deeper strategic process.
03 / Content Calendar
The Content Calendar allows you to map out the key events across your year. This might include public holidays, seasonal trends, offers, brand events, product launches, and announcements. This means that you can keep your content up-to-date with key events.
Planning these dates in advance helps ensure your content remains timely, relevant, and aligned with your wider marketing activity.
04 / Monthly Planners
You have 12 Monthly Planners, to plan content in detail for everyday of the year in 2026. Let’s explore the features in your planners:
• Diary Dates: A dedicated section for important events or campaign moments.
• Drop-Down Planning Options: Select platforms, formats, and content pillars using the automated drop-down menus created in your Planner Set-Up.
• Feed Preview Image: Add your post visuals directly into the planner — these automatically update in the Feed Preview page.
• Post Copy: Draft captions, hashtags, and calls-to-action directly alongside your content schedule.
• Post Status and To-Do Lists: Select the status of your post—is it: Not Started, In Progress, Scheduled, or Published? Also add any to do tasks for specific posts—this might include: editing, requesting to collaborate with another user, adding links to your bio and so on.
• Client Approval: If you manage social media for clients, they can easily review and approve posts directly within the planner.
• Monitor Engagement: After publishing, record engagement metrics to monitor which posts perform best.
05 / Feed Preview
As you add images into your monthly planner, the Feed Preview page automatically updates. This allows you to see how your Instagram grid will appear before posting — helping you maintain a balanced, cohesive feed.
06 / Content Idea Tracker
The Content Idea Tracker gives you a dedicated space to collect and organise your content ideas as they come to you. Instead of losing inspiration in scattered notes or messages, you can keep everything in one clear, structured place. You can add ideas, categorise by themes, and track the status.
07 / Analytics
The Analytics Dashboard provides a clear overview of your social media performance across multiple platforms.
• Profile Builder: Store key details for each social media profile.
• Follower Goal: Set a follower goal and monitor progress over time.
• Performance: Track engagement rate, reach, clicks, and follower growth each month.
• Dynamic Graphs: Easily visualise performance and trends with dynamic graphs.
• Audience Insights: Visualise audience demographics including age, gender, and location.
How To Access the Planner
1. Order
Purchase the Social Media Content Planner to access the full template.
2. Access the Planner:
After purchase, you’ll receive a PDF with a link to your planner. Simply open the link (all you need is a free Google account).
3. Customise & Plan
Add your platforms, content pillars, and preferences, then begin planning your content for the year ahead.
The planner includes lifetime updates, meaning you’ll always have access to the latest improvements.
Additional Support
We’re grateful to be part of your Social Media Management workflow.
If you need additional guidance as you use the planner, you can access additional support through the following resources:
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Watch the Content Planner tutorial
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Explore additional Social Media Manager templates
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Get in touch with us for any questions
Our goal is simple: to help you plan social media in a way that feels clear, organised, and intentional.