Social Media Plan Template: 90-Day Layout, Example and How to Build It

7 min read ยท 2026-10-25

A social media plan template is a reusable structure that captures your goals, audiences, channels, content pillars, posting calendar, owners and metrics for a set period, usually one quarter. Fill it in once and the whole team knows what gets posted where, why, by whom and how success is judged.

Below you get the plan as a 13-week roadmap in five phases, then the exact layout of the template with what goes in each tab and column, how to build it in Google Sheets or Excel, a filled-in example for a B2B software company, who owns what, the metrics to track and how to present it to your manager. The structure works for a solo marketer and for a team running several brands.

The roadmap at a glance

Goal: A one-quarter social media plan with clear goals, a full content calendar, named owners and a weekly report that leadership reviews. Duration: 13 weeks

  1. Audit and goals (Weeks 1-2)

    Know where you stand and agree on what the quarter should achieve.

    • Export the last 90 days of results from each channel's native analytics, such as LinkedIn page analytics or Meta Business Suite.
    • List your top and bottom ten posts by engagement and note format, topic and timing.
    • Write two or three goals linked to business goals, such as demo requests from LinkedIn or event sign-ups.
    • Set a target and a baseline for each goal.

    Milestone: An audit summary and two or three goals with targets and baselines, approved by your marketing lead.

  2. Audience, channels and pillars (Weeks 2-3)

    Decide who you talk to, where and about what.

    • Describe two or three audiences by job, problem and where they spend time online.
    • Pick the channels that reach them and drop the ones that do not.
    • Choose three to five content pillars, such as product tips, customer stories, industry news and behind the scenes.
    • Set a posting frequency and format mix for each channel.

    Milestone: A one-page channel and pillar plan with frequency per channel, agreed with the team.

  3. Build the calendar (Weeks 3-4)

    Fill the first month in detail and the rest of the quarter in outline.

    • Add fixed dates first: launches, events, holidays and campaigns.
    • Fill month one post by post, with pillar, format, owner and due date.
    • Outline months two and three by week and theme.
    • Book production time with design, video and subject experts.

    Milestone: Month one fully scheduled and months two and three outlined, with every post assigned an owner.

  4. Produce, publish and engage (Weeks 4-11)

    Ship posts on time and respond to the audience.

    • Create content two weeks ahead and route it through a simple approval step.
    • Schedule posts in your scheduling tool or natively on each platform.
    • Set a daily window to reply to comments and messages.
    • Fill month two and three in detail as you go, using early results.

    Milestone: At least nine in ten planned posts published on time, with replies to comments within one business day.

  5. Report and plan next quarter (Weeks 11-13)

    Show results and use them to shape the next plan.

    • Report results against each goal and baseline.
    • Compare pillars and formats to see what worked.
    • Write three things to keep, stop and start next quarter.
    • Present the review and the draft plan for next quarter to your manager.

    Milestone: Quarterly review presented, with next quarter's goals and pillars approved.

The template layout, tab by tab

Build the plan as one spreadsheet with four tabs. Keep strategy and calendar in the same file so people see the goals when they open the calendar.

The calendar tab is the one you will use every day. One row per post, one column per field. Use a dropdown for channel, pillar and status so filters and color coding work.

  • Tab 1, Strategy: rows for goals, target, baseline, audiences, channels, pillars and posting frequency. One short line each.
  • Tab 2, Calendar: columns for publish date, day, channel, pillar, format, topic or hook, copy, asset link, owner, status, campaign and post link once live.
  • Tab 3, Ideas: a backlog with idea, pillar, source and priority, so good ideas do not get lost.
  • Tab 4, Report: one row per week with posts published, reach or impressions, engagement, clicks, followers and goal results per channel.
  • Colors: one color per pillar in the pillar column, and status colors for idea, drafting, in review, scheduled and published.

How to build it in Google Sheets or Excel

You can build the whole template in under an hour. The steps below work in both tools, with menu names given for each.

Once it is built, save a clean copy as your master template and duplicate it each quarter. In Google Sheets, use File, then Make a copy. In Excel, save a copy under a new name.

  • Create four tabs and name them Strategy, Calendar, Ideas and Report.
  • In Calendar, type the column headers in row 1, then freeze it (View, then Freeze in Sheets; View, then Freeze Panes in Excel).
  • Format the date column as a date and add a day column with a formula such as =TEXT(A2,"ddd").
  • Add dropdowns for channel, pillar, format and status (Data, then Data validation in Sheets; Data, then Data Validation in Excel).
  • Color the status and pillar columns with conditional formatting (Format, then Conditional formatting in Sheets; Home, then Conditional Formatting in Excel).
  • Turn on filters so each owner can see only their posts.
  • In Report, use COUNTIFS on the Calendar tab to count published posts per channel and week.

Example: a quarter for a B2B software company

Take a B2B software company selling an expense tool to finance teams. The goal for the quarter is more demo requests from social, plus building the head of finance's personal LinkedIn presence. The marketing team is a social media manager, a designer and part-time help from a product marketer.

LinkedIn gets most of the effort because that is where finance leaders are. YouTube is added for short product walkthroughs that also feed the sales team.

  • Strategy tab: goals are demo requests from social and LinkedIn page followers, each with a baseline from the audit. Audiences are CFOs, finance managers and accountants.
  • Pillars: month-end close tips, customer stories, product walkthroughs and finance team culture.
  • Frequency: company LinkedIn page four times a week, the head of finance twice a week, one YouTube walkthrough every two weeks.
  • Calendar row: Tuesday, LinkedIn, close tips, carousel, five checks before month-end close, owner social media manager, status scheduled.
  • Fixed dates: a product launch in week 6 and a webinar in week 10, each with a two-week run of posts.
  • Report tab: weekly reach, engagement, clicks and demo requests tracked from UTM-tagged links.

Who owns what

Even on a small team, name an owner for each part of the plan. Posts stall most often at approval, so make clear who approves what and by when.

For posts that need legal or compliance review, such as in financial services or healthcare, add that step to the status column and build the extra days into the calendar.

  • Social media manager: owns the plan, calendar, scheduling and weekly report.
  • Content creators or designers: produce copy, graphics and video on time.
  • Subject experts: supply ideas and review accuracy.
  • Marketing lead: approves goals and sensitive posts.
  • Community or support team: replies to comments and messages that need product answers.

Metrics to track

Pick metrics that link to your goals. Followers and likes are easy to collect but rarely what your manager cares about. Track them as supporting numbers, not the headline.

Use each platform's native analytics for reach and engagement, and UTM parameters on links so your web analytics tool can show clicks, sign-ups and demo requests by channel.

  • Reach or impressions: how many people saw your posts, per channel.
  • Engagement rate: reactions, comments and shares divided by impressions or reach. Use the same formula every week.
  • Clicks: link clicks per post and per channel.
  • Conversions: sign-ups, demo requests or sales from social, tracked with UTM links.
  • Response time: time to reply to comments and messages.

How to present it to your manager

Keep it to one slide for the plan and one for results. The plan slide shows the goals with targets and baselines, the channels and pillars, posting frequency and the key dates for the quarter. The results slide shows each goal against target, the three best posts and what you will change.

Leave the full calendar in the spreadsheet and share the link. Managers rarely need every post, but they do want to know where the time goes and what it produced.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Posting without goals makes results impossible to judge, so set two or three goals with baselines before filling the calendar.
  • Being on every channel spreads the team thin, so focus on the channels where your audience spends time.
  • Planning the whole quarter post by post wastes effort when plans change, so detail month one and outline the rest.
  • Counting only likes and followers hides business impact, so track clicks and conversions with UTM links.
  • Waiting on approvals at the last minute causes missed dates, so build review time into the calendar.
  • Ignoring comments makes the brand look absent, so set a daily window to reply.

Frequently asked questions

What should a social media plan include?

It should include goals with targets and baselines, audiences, channels, content pillars, posting frequency, a content calendar, owners and a reporting method. Most teams plan one quarter at a time.

How do I create a social media plan template?

Build a spreadsheet with tabs for strategy, calendar, ideas and reporting. Add dropdowns for channel, pillar and status, freeze the header row and use conditional formatting for colors. Save a master copy and duplicate it each quarter.

How often should a business post on social media?

There is no single right answer. Pick a frequency your team can sustain with good quality, then adjust based on results. Consistency usually matters more than volume.

What is the difference between a social media plan and a content calendar?

The plan covers goals, audiences, channels, pillars and metrics. The content calendar is the part that lists each post with date, channel, owner and status. A good template keeps both in the same file.

How do I measure the success of a social media plan?

Compare results against the goals and baselines you set at the start. Track reach, engagement, clicks and conversions, and use UTM links to connect social to sign-ups or sales.

Generate this roadmap with AI