Planning a month’s worth of content might sound overwhelming—but it doesn’t have to be. With the right tools and a few simple strategies, you can map out 30 days of content in less time than it takes to watch a new episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty. 

Whether you're juggling brand deals, a product launch, or just trying to stay consistent, this guide will help you work smarter—not harder—and show you how to use our new Placeholder feature to streamline your workflow from start to finish.
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Step 1: Prep Before You Plan (10 Minutes)

Before you even touch your content calendar, take a few minutes to gather your strategy for the month. 

• Set your goals: Are you trying to grow your audience? Drive traffic to a new offer? Promote a product or collab?
  
  
• Determine your post frequency: Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to post every day to be successful. The most important thing is to set a frequency you can stick to every week, and you can always up your frequency once you get used to posting consistently. If you’re just starting to build a strategy, we recommend 3x a week, and if you’re more experienced, aim for 5x a week!
  
  
• Establish your content pillars: These are 3-5 recurring themes you can pull from—like tutorials, behind-the-scenes, product spotlights, or personal posts. (Need more help? Check out this blog post.)
  
  
• Mark down key dates: Think holidays, launches, promotions, or important events in your niche. Planoly’s Social Planner makes this easy for you by adding key dates and holidays to your calendar!

Having this context makes it easier to plan with intention, not just urgency.
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Step 2: Start with Placeholders (15 Minutes)

Now it’s time to map out your content—and you don’t need every post fully ready to do it.

This is where Planoly’s new Placeholder feature comes in.

Placeholders let you hold visual space on your grid or calendar for future posts, even if you don’t have the final image, video, or caption yet. You can jot down an idea, save the slot, and come back to it when you’re ready.

Here’s how creators are using them:

• Mapping out weekly content themes or episodes in their Signature Series
  
  
• Saving space for upcoming brand collabs or sponsored posts
  
  
• Building a visual layout before you’ve shot the content
  
  
• Planning “evergreen” content to fill slow weeks
  
  

Why it works: You don’t need everything done to have everything planned. Placeholders give you structure and flexibility all at once.
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Step 3: Fill in What You Already Have (15 Minutes)

Once your Placeholders are set, fill in the posts you already have ready to go. Use your Media Library to drag and drop existing images, videos, or carousels directly onto your grid. Need help filling the gaps? Check out Dupe—a free stock photo library made by creators, available right inside Planoly. You can browse aesthetic, on-trend visuals to complement your brand and drop them into your content plan in seconds. Finally, add captions if you’ve written them—or leave a note to come back and write them later.

Look for:

• Repurposed content from past months (Look for top-performing content that can be repurposed with a new hook or in a different format.)
  
  
• Recent photoshoots or UGC you haven’t posted yet
  
  
• Reels or TikToks that performed well previously and can be reused on another platform 

You’ll be surprised how much you already have to work with once you see it laid out visually.
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Step 4: Spot the Gaps & Assign Simple Tasks (10 Minutes)

Now that your draft calendar is in place, zoom out and look at the big picture.

Ask yourself:

• Are your posts balanced across your content pillars?
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• Do you have a mix of photos and videos?
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• Are there days that feel repetitive?
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Anywhere you see a Placeholder or gap, assign a quick next step. For example:

• “Film behind-the-scenes reel for launch”
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• “Pull customer review for carousel”
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• “Write caption about summer routine”
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This keeps your workflow light and focused—and gives you a game plan for what to create next.
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Step 5: Schedule What’s Ready (10 Minutes)

Finally, schedule any finished posts directly in Planoly. You can auto-post to Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and more—or save them as drafts to fine-tune later.

If your Placeholders are holding space for posts still in the works, set a reminder to circle back when they’re ready to go live.
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Plan Now, Post with Confidence

Planning a full month of content doesn’t require a perfect calendar—it just requires a clear framework. With Planoly’s Placeholder feature, you can stay consistent, even when your content is still in the works.

Ready to test it out? Log in to your Planoly account and start mapping your month with Placeholders today!