How do I plan a social media content rotation?

A content rotation is a plan that fixes three things for every post in a run before it is written: the format, the ask, and the content pillar. The rules are simple: no two posts of the same format back to back, never the same ask twice in a row, and the next pillar is whichever one is furthest behind its target share.

Write the plan as a table with one row per slot, fill it in top to bottom, and check each row against the one above it. The creative work then happens inside a much smaller decision.

Format is the shape of the post: a carousel, a reel or short video, a single image, a text post. Followers notice a feed that is all one shape long before they notice what it says, and each format suits a different kind of idea. A carousel carries an argument; a reel carries a moment.

The ask is the call to action, and it helps to grade it. A soft ask wants attention: save this, follow for the next one. A medium ask wants a small step: comment, reply, read the post linked in the bio. A hard ask wants a commitment: book, buy, sign up. An account that asks hard every time trains its followers to scroll past, and one that never asks gets nothing back.

Pillars are the three to five subjects the brand talks about, each with a target share of the run. Education, customer proof, product and behind the scenes are common ones. The target share is a planning figure you choose, not a rule anyone has measured, so pick shares that match what the campaign is for.

• Format: no two of the same format back to back.
• Ask: never the same tier twice in a row. As a rule of thumb, open soft and keep at least two softer posts between hard asks.
• Pillar: the next post serves whichever pillar is furthest below its target share.
• Audience, if you plan for more than one: as a rule of thumb, not the same one three posts running.

Say the run has four pillars with these target shares: education 40%, customer proof 25%, product 25%, behind the scenes 10%. The formats in play are carousel, reel and single image. Here is how eight slots come out when each is decided from the one before it.

1. 1Slot 1 — carousel, soft ask, education. Nothing is fixed yet. Open with the format that carries the opening idea, the lightest ask, and the primary pillar.
2. 2Slot 2 — reel, medium ask, customer proof. Format must change from carousel, and the ask cannot be soft again. Customer proof and product are both at zero against 25%; either will do, so take proof.
3. 3Slot 3 — single image, soft ask, product. Anything but a reel. The ask cannot be medium, and it is too early for hard. Product is now 25 points behind its share, the furthest of any pillar.
4. 4Slot 4 — carousel, medium ask, behind the scenes. Anything but a single image. Not soft again. Education, proof and product each have one post in three; behind the scenes has none against 10%, and is furthest behind.
5. 5Slot 5 — reel, hard ask, education. Format changes again. Four softer posts have come first, so this is the run's first hard ask. Education is at one post in four against 40%.
6. 6Slot 6 — carousel, soft ask, customer proof. Not a reel. After a hard ask, step back down. Proof and product are both five points behind; proof goes first.
7. 7Slot 7 — single image, medium ask, product. Not a carousel, not soft. Product has one post in six against a quarter of the run, now the largest gap.
8. 8Slot 8 — reel, hard ask, education. Not a single image. Two softer posts sit between this and the last hard ask. Education is back below its share. The run ends with education at three posts, proof and product at two each, and behind the scenes at one: close to the targets.

A spreadsheet is enough. Make one row per slot and these columns: slot, date, format, ask, pillar, audience, working title, status. Fill in format, ask and pillar for the whole run before writing any captions.

Add three check columns. The first compares the format with the row above and flags a match. The second does the same for the ask. The third counts how many posts each pillar has so far and divides by the slot number, so you can see which pillar is furthest from its target. Conditional formatting that turns a repeat red does most of the work.

The plan will change. A post gets dropped, two swap places, a launch moves. Every time a row moves, re-read the checks, because a swap that fixes one neighbour often breaks another. That re-checking is the part people stop doing around post seven, which is why the hashtags and figures in a campaign need the same treatment; see how to stop repeating hashtags and headline figures.

When you plan a campaign in CampaignFlow, every slot in the run gets a format and an ask before anyone writes. The rotation is drawn as a grid of format, ask and audience, and a repeat is flagged while the post is still a draft.

For the next post, the planner hands back the format and ask the rotation rules call for, with the reason for each, and names the pillar furthest behind its share. The rotation planner is not metered on any plan; the detail is on the features page.