From the objective
Before planning: what do you want? WhatsApp messages, bookings, enquiries from Italians, job applications, brand awareness. The objective decides pillars, channels and measurement. A restaurant wants bookings (lunchtime stories, dish videos); a real estate agency wants enquiries (property videos, area tours); a clinic wants appointments (services, team, testimonials).
Content pillars
Four or five fixed themes that repeat: the product or service (what you sell), the people (team, owner, customers), the place or area (where you are, what is around), education (tips, answered questions), offers and events. Typical proportion: 30% product, 25% people, 20% place, 15% education, 10% offers. Whoever posts only offers loses followers.
Formats
Vertical video (Reels, TikTok): the biggest reach. Carousel (multi-page photos or graphics): for tips and lists. Single photo: for people and moments. Stories: for the daily, questions, polls. Live: for events. Each pillar has its preferred format; every week has at least one video.
Rhythm
Instagram: three or four posts a week and stories every day. Facebook: two or three a week (often the same, adapted). TikTok: two or three videos a week. LinkedIn: one a week. In season (summer for the coast, December for shops) the rhythm rises; off-season it drops but does not stop. A steady rhythm is worth more than ten posts one week and zero the next.
The Albanian calendar
Holidays: New Year, Summer Day (14 March), Nowruz, Easter, Bajram, 1 May, Independence Day (28 November), Christmas. The tourist season May-September. The diaspora’s return in August and at holidays. School start in September. Long weekends. Every business has its own dates (opening, anniversary, local events). The monthly calendar follows them.
Languages
Posts for locals in Albanian; for tourists and foreign buyers in Italian and English, or both in the same post (text in two languages, English video subtitles). The calendar marks the language for every post. Coastal businesses switch to English in summer; Tirana ones stay in Albanian with English for LinkedIn.
Who does what
The “owner” column: the business owner gives information and approval; the social media manager writes, edits, publishes, replies; the photographer shoots once a month; the in-house person does stories. Without this column, everything waits for someone who “will do it”.
Example: a restaurant in Vlorë, July
Week 1: Monday video of the dish of the day; Wednesday carousel “5 things to do in Vlorë” (place); Friday photo of the team on the terrace; Saturday Reel of the evening. Stories every day at 12 and 6 pm. Week 2: Monday Reel of grilled fish; Wednesday educational post “how to choose fresh fish”; Friday family offer; Saturday live from the music. Weeks 3 and 4 with the same structure and new topics. Three languages for posts, English for stories. Boost the best Reel each week to tourists.
Example: a real estate agency in Tirana, September
Week 1: video of a 2+1 in Blloku; area tour “Komuna e Parisit”; the agent introduces themselves; post “the diaspora returns: what they buy”. Week 2: video of a villa in Lundër; tip “the tapi in 60 seconds”; the client with the keys; new build with prices. Weeks 3-4 the same. Facebook: properties in Durrës for Kosovars. LinkedIn: quarterly price analysis.
Approval and production
The calendar is shared with the owner two weeks before the month: approval of topics and texts. Material shot in one day. Editing and scheduling in the tool. Automatic publishing at set times. Stories and DMs in real time. At month end: what worked (reach, messages), what did not, and next month’s plan.
Measurement
Per post: reach, saves, shares, messages generated. Per month: results against the objective (bookings, enquiries, messages), best posts, best formats, best times. Next month’s calendar is built on these: more of what works.
The mistakes
Posting without a calendar. Offers only. The same post everywhere. Forgetting stories. Not marking the language. Not splitting who does what. Stopping in winter. Not measuring. Not reusing: one shooting day should give content for a month.
The table template
Columns: date, time, channel, format (video/carousel/photo/story), pillar (product/people/place/education/offer), topic in one line, full text (with language versions), material needed (link to photo/video), owner, status (idea/for approval/ready/published), result (reach, messages, notes). One sheet per month. With this table, anyone on the team knows what goes out tomorrow and what is missing. It is the simplest and most underrated social media tool.
Reuse: one day, one month
A single monthly shoot produces: 6-8 short videos (Reels, TikTok), 30-40 photos (posts, stories, Google), 2-3 horizontal videos (site, YouTube), the material for carousels. A long video is cut into three short ones; a dish photo serves the post, the stories, Google and the menu; a customer testimonial becomes a post, a story and an ad. Planning the shoot from the calendar (not the other way round) is what makes a month of posts possible with one day of work.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the monthly plan take?
One or two hours with method and one material shoot.
Can I do it myself with a template?
Yes for topics and dates; production and texts in three languages take time and skill.
How many posts a month?
12-16 on Instagram, 8-12 on Facebook, 8-12 on TikTok, 4 on LinkedIn, depending on the business.
Also in winter?
Yes, at a lower rhythm: the profile must not switch off.