Imported from nroze22/TalosixSkills (.claude/skills/content-calendar/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add nroze22/TalosixSkills --skill content-calendar. Copyright stays with the author.

Content Calendar Planning for Talosix EDC

Purpose

Create structured content calendars that coordinate Talosix marketing efforts across all channels, align with clinical trial industry events and cycles, and ensure consistent thought leadership throughout the year. The calendar serves as the single source of truth for marketing content planning.

Annual Planning Framework

Industry Event Calendar (Core Anchor Dates)

Plan content around these major clinical trial industry events each year. Exact dates shift annually — confirm 3-4 months ahead.

Q1 (January - March)

Q2 (April - June)

Q3 (July - September)

Q4 (October - December)

Industry Cycle Alignment

Beyond events, align content with the natural rhythms of clinical trial operations:

• Q1: New budgets allocated — decision-makers evaluating new vendors. Push bottom-funnel content (demos, comparisons, ROI calculators).
• Q2: Studies launching from Q1 planning. Emphasize implementation speed and study build content.
• Q3: Mid-year reviews and compliance audits. Push data quality, compliance, and audit readiness content.
• Q4: Planning for next year. Push strategic content, trend reports, and business case materials.

Monthly Theme Structure

Assign each month a primary content theme. All channels align around this theme while leaving room (30-40%) for opportunistic and evergreen content.

Example Annual Theme Map:

Channel-Specific Cadence

Blog

• Frequency: 2-3 posts per month
• Mix: 1 pillar/long-form, 1-2 standard posts
• Lead time: Draft due 2 weeks before publish date
• SEO: Each post targets a specific keyword from the SEO strategy

Social Media (LinkedIn Primary)

• Frequency: 3-5 posts per week
• Mix per week:
  • 1 blog/content promotion
  • 1 industry commentary or trend insight
  • 1 product or feature highlight
  • 1 company culture, team, or event post
  • 1 engagement post (question, poll, or discussion prompt)
• Lead time: 1 week ahead, with flexibility for real-time commentary

Email

• Frequency: 2-4 sends per month (excluding automated nurture sequences)
• Mix:
  • 1 newsletter (monthly roundup of content, product news, event)
  • 1 campaign email (aligned with monthly theme, gated content, webinar promo)
  • 1-2 targeted sends (segment-specific, event-triggered)
• Lead time: Draft 2 weeks ahead, review 1 week ahead, send schedule confirmed 3 days ahead

Webinar

• Frequency: 1 per month (or bi-monthly during slower periods)
• Planning lead time: 6 weeks minimum
• Alignment: Topic matches monthly theme and supports a content offer
• Promotion window: 3-4 weeks pre-event across email and social

White Paper / Gated Content

• Frequency: 1 per quarter
• Planning lead time: 8-10 weeks
• Supports: Quarterly campaign theme, lead generation goals
• Promotion: Dedicated email, social series, blog post supporting the topic

Case Study

• Frequency: 1-2 per quarter (dependent on customer availability)
• Pipeline: Maintain a backlog of 3-5 candidate customers at all times
• Approval timeline: Allow 4-6 weeks for customer review and sign-off

Press Release

• Frequency: As needed (product launches, partnerships, milestones)
• Planning: Align major announcements with events or theme months where possible
• Lead time: 2-3 weeks for drafting and approval

Content Calendar Template

Monthly View

MONTH: [Month Year]
THEME: [Monthly Theme]
KEY EVENTS: [Relevant industry events, conferences, holidays]

WEEK 1 (Dates)
  Blog:     [Title] — [Keyword] — [Author] — [Status]
  Social:   [Mon: topic] [Tue: topic] [Wed: topic] [Thu: topic] [Fri: topic]
  Email:    [Campaign/newsletter name] — [Segment] — [Send date]
  Webinar:  [Promotion activity or event date]
  Other:    [PR, case study, ad launch, etc.]

WEEK 2 (Dates)
  Blog:     [Title] — [Keyword] — [Author] — [Status]
  Social:   [Mon: topic] [Tue: topic] [Wed: topic] [Thu: topic] [Fri: topic]
  Email:    [Campaign/newsletter name] — [Segment] — [Send date]
  Webinar:  [Promotion activity or event date]
  Other:    [PR, case study, ad launch, etc.]

WEEK 3 (Dates)
  ...

WEEK 4 (Dates)
  ...

MONTHLY METRICS TO TRACK:
  Blog:     Page views, organic traffic, time on page, CTA clicks
  Social:   Impressions, engagement rate, follower growth, link clicks
  Email:    Open rate, CTR, unsubscribe rate, conversion rate
  Webinar:  Registrations, attendance rate, engagement, post-event conversions
  Overall:  MQLs generated, content-attributed pipeline

Quarterly Planning View

QUARTER: [Q# Year]
THEME ARC: [Overarching narrative across 3 months]
CAMPAIGN: [Primary demand gen campaign name and goal]
GATED CONTENT: [White paper or major asset being produced]

Month 1: [Theme] — Build awareness, publish supporting content
Month 2: [Theme] — Drive engagement, launch campaign, webinar
Month 3: [Theme] — Convert, case study, bottom-funnel push

QUARTERLY TARGETS:
  Blog posts: [#]
  Webinars: [#]
  Email sends: [#]
  Social posts: [#]
  Gated content: [#]
  Press releases: [#]
  MQL target: [#]

Cross-Channel Coordination Rules

Content Atomization

Every major content asset should be atomized across channels:

White paper produces:

• 2-3 blog posts (excerpted/adapted sections)
• 5-10 social media posts (key stats, quotes, frameworks)
• 2 email sends (announcement + follow-up)
• 1 webinar (deep dive on the paper's topic)
• Paid ad creative (promote the gated download)

Webinar produces:

• 1 blog post (key takeaways summary)
• Recording available as on-demand gated content
• 3-5 social posts (highlights, quotes, key slides)
• 1 email to non-attendees with recording
• Slides repurposed as SlideShare or carousel

Case study produces:

• 1 blog post (narrative version or supporting context)
• 3-5 social posts (key metrics, customer quote)
• Email inclusion in nurture sequences
• Sales enablement one-pager
• Conference presentation material

Channel Sequencing for Launches

When launching a major piece of content or announcement:

Planning Process

Quarterly Planning (6 Weeks Before Quarter Start)

1. Review previous quarter performance metrics
2. Identify upcoming industry events and key dates
3. Set quarterly MQL and pipeline contribution targets
4. Select quarterly theme arc and primary campaign
5. Plan gated content asset and webinar topics
6. Align with product roadmap for launch timing
7. Draft quarterly content calendar at monthly-theme level

Monthly Planning (2 Weeks Before Month Start)

1. Confirm monthly theme and key topics
2. Assign specific blog post titles, keywords, and authors
3. Draft social media content plan by week
4. Finalize email send schedule and segments
5. Confirm webinar details (topic, speakers, date)
6. Identify ad campaigns launching or adjusting
7. Populate weekly calendar with all deliverables and deadlines

Weekly Standup (Monday)

1. Review this week's publishing schedule
2. Confirm all content is on track (drafted, reviewed, approved)
3. Identify gaps or delays and adjust
4. Review previous week's performance highlights
5. Flag any reactive content opportunities (industry news, competitor moves)

Output Deliverables

When creating a content calendar, provide:

1. Annual theme map with monthly themes and rationale
2. Quarterly plan with campaign focus, gated content, and targets
3. Monthly calendar in the template format above (all channels populated)
4. Content atomization plan for each major asset
5. Industry event alignment notes
6. Recommended metrics dashboard structure for tracking performance