Successful radio PDs, hosts and producers understand the importance of having a “content strategy.” They agonize over every aspect of their material and presentation, constantly tweaking it based on various metrics.

Sadly, that meticulous professionalism doesn’t often translate to radio’s Facebook pages. Based on what I see on my feed, most talk shows and stations just sorta throw stuff up willy-nilly—everything from links to articles that 200 other people have posted, to poorly crafted “What do you think?” attempts at generating feedback, to guest rundowns. This lack of strategy and forethought limits radio’s ability to fully harness the power of the dominant social media channel.

The key to an effective Facebook strategy, according to social media expert Doug Schumacher, is the content calendar.

“What should you be doing on Facebook? The short answer is: creating engaging content.

“Sure, growing your fan count is the most popular metric right now… But I'll hedge that the only real long-term sustainable Facebook page goal for most brands is engagement. Focus on fan count at the expense of engagement, and you'll soon see fans heading for the exit or, worse, to a page of a competitor that's offering them real ongoing value. Ultimately, all roads lead back to an ongoing need for engaging content.

“But whatever form the brand's content comes in, it still needs a structure for how all the pieces fit together. That's typically outlined in the content calendar, which attempts to answer and clarify questions like:

• How much content should we be publishing?
• What subjects within our areas of expertise should we focus on?
• What type of content should we be producing?
• When should we be posting our content, both in terms of day of week and time of day?”

Schumacher goes on to provide an in-depth primer addressing all those issues. Read it here.

Seriously, you wouldn’t launch a radio station without a programming strategy—why would you attempt to master a new medium without a plan?