Jumping on a Trend: How To Curate a Timely Content Marketing Calendar

Remember when every brand seemed to be having a “brat summer?”

I’m being a little facetious — I enjoyed the chartreuse memes and apple dances as much as anyone. But in recent years, the concept of timeliness in a content marketing calendar has become less about utility and more about jumping on trends for the sake of relevancy.

Don’t get me wrong: there’s a time and place for incorporating memes and internet discourse into your content strategy. Staying “with it” is important. But timely content doesn’t need to (and, in my opinion, shouldn’t) pander. Building timeliness into your content strategy also doesn’t require spending endless hours scrolling through social media just to make sure you don’t miss what the kids are talking about. With enough forethought and intention, you can easily put together a content marketing calendar that makes space for timeliness without adding more onto your already-full plate.

Plan around your industry-specific seasonality

While timeliness does not necessarily mean jumping on every and all conversation happening around the internet, it also does not necessarily mean bland acknowledgments of public holidays. Timely content should exist for a clear reason; sharing a social media post wishing your clients a happy and restful Labor Day is a nice gesture, but it’s not what I’m talking about here.

Seasonality, in regards to content marketing strategy, means aligning your content with what your audience is naturally thinking about. Below is a great example from Becker, a professional education organization with a core audience segment of CPAs and aspiring CPAs. By providing specific tips for accountants looking to manage the exhausting workload of tax season, they’re further positioning themselves as an expert resource for professional development while seamlessly directing readers to their larger library of resources.

And the best part? Tax season happens literally every year. (And don’t we all know it.) Not only is this seasonal milestone easy to anticipate, but Becker doesn’t necessarily have to reinvent the wheel with their content every fall.

When it comes to your own seasonal content, anticipating industry-specific seasonalities means you’re also not reinventing anything with your own marketing content calendar. You can even use these moments as an opportunity to refresh existing content. Let’s use a tax season example while we’re on the topic: since tax brackets, contribution limits, filing dates, etc., change every year, updating this information in your company’s existing tax resources every year is a straightforward way to keep your content marketing timely and relevant. You want to be there for your audience whenever you can anticipate a larger demand for information.

Yes, stay on top of trending topics

Please don’t interpret my downplaying of meme utilization in your brand strategy as encouraging you to avoid social media trends altogether. I think every content strategist should be aware of emerging trends within their industry, but that doesn’t mean being on top of every trend out there.

Take skincare, for example: remember when every other TikTok on your feed was a young woman sharing her slugging routine? (Just me?) This was a great opportunity for dermatologists, skincare brands, and health experts to weigh in on this “new” trend. Not because they were hopping on the bandwagon of something everyone online was discussing, but because this topic was actually relevant to their business.

Below is an example of how heritage skincare brand CeraVe did just that. Not only were they able to add their expertise to the slugging conversation, they were able to use it as an opportunity to organically highlight one of their core product offerings.

But, of course, how do you stay ahead of the discourse in your industry in an oversaturated online community? Delegating social media research to a team member can be a worthwhile move, but that doesn’t mean they need to spend half their workdays scrolling. Social listening tools like Hootsuite and Brandwatch and trend reports from Google Trends can easily cut down the time spent researching social trends. I also recommend subscribing to industry-specific channels and newsletters; as a freelance writer, I am deeply tuned into Freelancing With Tim, a Substack run by a former New York Times editor. And, of course, there is also good old-fashioned checking in on the competition. The more you understand your competitor’s strategy, the better you can curate your own.

Build a flexible content marketing calendar template

As I mentioned earlier, putting together your content calendar for digital marketing does not have to be the daunting task it sounds like. You’ll want to start by outlining the cornerstone events or seasonal themes that you can anticipate ahead of time, which you can plan bigger-lift content around (things like white papers with industry research or larger newsletter campaigns). Then, you’ll want to leave placeholders for more timely content — social media videos or blog posts that allow you to jump on trending topics, because they ideally don’t need as much lead time. It’s also always a good idea to have a backlog of evergreen content ready to post (or be updated) at any moment.

Here’s an example content marketing calendar template that a travel agency might use to help get ahead of timely content for the year ahead:

• Q1 content themes: New Year’s Resolutions, Valentine’s Day, early spring break planning
  • The best weekend getaways for your 2025 travel bucket list
  • Underrated East Coast travel destinations for couples
  • Where to take your kids on spring break (without breaking the bank)
• Q2 content themes: Spring flowers, Memorial Day, summer planning
  • A comprehensive guide to the unpredictable but otherworldly superbloom season
  • Last-minute Memorial Day travel itineraries for families
  • The rise of “adult summer camp”: the TK best group adventure trips for grownups
• Q3 content themes: late summer/Labor Day, off-peak travel, fall foliage planning
  • TK (literally) cool summer destinations to escape the heat
  • The best European towns to explore during the shoulder season
  • How to maximize fall colors during your New England foliage road trip
• Q4 content themes: autumn getaways, family gatherings, end-of-year holidays
  • Quirky and cozy autumn weekend getaways, from airstream glamping to treehouses
  • How to optimize your Thanksgiving travel schedule while staying sane
  • Last-minute travel packages for a truly memorable New Year’s weekend

Getting ahead of your content strategy always takes a little bit of up-front work, but trust me — your future self will be grateful for the time saved from scrolling.

As the Content Strategist: FAQs:

What tools can I use to keep my content calendar organized?

Project management tools like Trello, Asana, and Airtable are great for organizing and tracking your content calendar. These platforms allow for collaboration and real-time updates, ensuring your team stays aligned.

How do I measure the success of timely content?

Track metrics like engagement rates, website traffic, and conversions to assess how well your timely content is performing. Compare these metrics to your evergreen content to determine if your strategy is resonating with your audience.

What if a trend fades before I can publish my content?

To avoid missing the trend, prioritize quick content production for time-sensitive topics. If a trend fades, consider repurposing the content to align with more relevant discussions or evergreen themes.

For more tips on how to create and execute your editorial calendar, subscribe to The Content Strategist.