Enter content planning tools—your ultimate solution to staying organized, saving time, and improving the quality of your output. These tools simplify content workflows, streamline collaboration, and ensure your marketing efforts align with business goals. Whether you’re a solopreneur or part of a large marketing team, the right tools can elevate your content game.
Creating and managing content can be a complex process, especially as marketing strategies become more sophisticated.
In this article, we’ll explain how content planning tools can help you, which ones you should use, and how to create your ideal content planning tool stack.
What are content planning tools?
Content planning tools are software solutions designed to help businesses and individuals organize, schedule, and manage the production of content. They provide a centralized platform to oversee every aspect of the content lifecycle, from brainstorming ideas to publishing and performance tracking.
Here’s what makes them essential:
- Enhanced efficiency: They streamline the process, reducing the time spent on repetitive tasks.
- Consistency: Ensure that your content maintains a uniform tone, style, and quality across all platforms.
- Facilitated collaboration: Teams can communicate, provide feedback, and work together seamlessly.
- Strategic alignment: These tools ensure that every piece of content supports your marketing objectives and broader business goals.
Without a reliable content planning tool, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by scattered ideas, missed deadlines, and inconsistent messaging.
What are the benefits of using content planning tools?
Content planning tools do more than organize your workflow—they transform how you approach content marketing. They empower marketers to produce impactful, high-quality content more efficiently.
Here’s how they add value:
- Streamline processes: Simplify content creation, scheduling, and publishing with organized workflows and task management features.
- Improve collaboration: Enable team members to communicate effectively, share ideas, and provide feedback in real-time.
- Ensure consistency: Maintain a consistent tone, style, and quality across all content to strengthen your brand identity.
- Strategic alignment: Ensure content supports your marketing strategies and drives your business goals.
- Save time: Reduce the time spent on manual tasks like tracking deadlines or monitoring performance, freeing up your team for creative work.
The best content planning tools to try out: our top 10
There are so many content-related tools on the market—how to make a pick?
Before getting overwhelmed, consider these five tool categories every marketing team needs:
- Task management and editorial calendar tools – Keep your team organized by assigning tasks, tracking deadlines, and visually planning content schedules, ensuring smooth workflows and consistent publishing.
- Social media management tools – Simplify the process of scheduling, publishing, and analyzing content across multiple social platforms, saving time and ensuring consistency.
- Collaboration and approval tools – Facilitate seamless team communication, feedback, and content approvals, ensuring alignment and reducing delays in the production process.
- Tools for SEO, analysis, and optimization – Provide data-driven insights to improve content visibility, track performance, and ensure your strategy aligns with audience search intent.
- Design and visual asset management tools – Help create, store, and organize high-quality visuals, ensuring your content is engaging, on-brand, and visually appealing to your audience.
Now, let’s assess examples of these tools and their use cases.
Task management and editorial calendar tools for easy content planning
1. Strive Calendar: a WordPress Content Calendar Plugin for blogs
Strive Calendar is a WordPress editorial calendar plugin that integrates seamlessly into your WordPress dashboard, providing a clear and intuitive way to manage your content workflow. Designed for bloggers, marketers, and content creators, it helps you schedule, track, and organize your content production directly within WordPress. This tool is ideal for simplifying your editorial processes, ensuring deadlines are met, and maintaining consistency in publishing.
Strive Calendar helps with content planning by giving you a visual representation of your schedule, making it easier to identify gaps or overlaps. Its built-in post checklists ensure that no essential steps are missed, keeping your content production smooth and efficient.
Essential features:
- Drag-and-drop functionality for easy rescheduling.
- Post checklists to ensure all tasks are completed before publishing.
- Content statuses to track progress (e.g., Draft, Published).
- Integration with WordPress for direct access to your posts.
2. Trello: a Kanban-based tool for visualizing tasks and workflows
Trello is a visual project management tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to help teams organize and manage their workflows. It’s a flexible and user-friendly platform perfect for content creators who need to keep track of multiple tasks, deadlines, and projects. Whether you’re brainstorming content ideas or assigning tasks, Trello’s Kanban-based approach makes the entire process intuitive and streamlined.
Trello simplifies content planning by providing a clear, visual workflow that ensures everyone knows what needs to be done and when. Its customization options let you adapt the tool to your specific content pipeline, making task prioritization and tracking effortless.
Essential features:
- Customizable boards and lists for different projects or content stages.
- Drag-and-drop cards to update task statuses.
- Integration with apps like Slack, Google Drive, and Calendar.
- Collaboration tools, including comments, attachments, and due dates.
Content planning tools for social media management
3. Hootsuite: a social media management tool for scheduling and publishing posts
Hootsuite is a comprehensive social media management platform that allows you to manage multiple accounts from one centralized dashboard. With features for scheduling posts, tracking engagement, and analyzing performance, Hootsuite is a go-to tool for businesses looking to maintain an active and organized social media presence. It’s particularly useful for teams managing multiple campaigns across various platforms.
Hootsuite helps streamline your content planning by enabling you to schedule posts in advance, ensuring consistent and timely publishing. Its analytics features allow you to track performance, making it easier to refine and optimize your strategy over time.
Essential features:
- Bulk scheduling for multiple posts across platforms.
- Social listening tools to monitor brand mentions and trends.
- Analytics and reporting to measure the content performance.
- Integration with platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
4. Loomly: a social media management platform
Loomly is a social media content planning and collaboration platform designed to simplify the process of creating, scheduling, and optimizing posts. Its user-friendly interface and content calendar make it an excellent choice for teams looking to maintain a cohesive social media strategy. Loomly is especially valuable for generating post ideas and streamlining the approval process, ensuring that your campaigns are aligned with your brand voice.
Loomly supports content planning by offering a structured calendar view for organizing posts and suggesting ideas based on trends. Its approval workflows and analytics ensure that content is not only well-prepared but also strategically impactful.
Essential features:
- Post suggestions based on trending topics and best practices.
- A calendar view for scheduling and organizing posts.
- Workflow approvals to streamline team collaboration.
- Performance tracking and analytics for ongoing improvement.
Content planning tools for collaboration and approval
5. Slack: a communication tool for team collaboration and feedback
Slack is a real-time messaging platform designed to facilitate team collaboration and streamline communication. It allows teams to create dedicated channels for specific projects or topics, ensuring discussions are organized and accessible. Whether you’re brainstorming ideas, sharing updates, or providing feedback, Slack keeps everyone on the same page.
Slack enables instant communication and quick decision-making, reducing delays. Its integration with tools like Google Drive and Trello ensures that all content-related discussions and resources are centralized for easy access.
Essential features:
- Dedicated channels for focused discussions.
- File sharing for easy collaboration on drafts or visuals.
- Integrations with task management and calendar tools.
- Searchable archives to quickly revisit past conversations.
6. Google Workspace: a complete suite of work tools for content teams
Google Workspace is a suite of productivity tools, including Docs, Sheets, and Drive, that enables seamless collaboration and approval workflows. With real-time editing and commenting features, it allows teams to collaborate on content drafts and share feedback efficiently. It’s particularly useful for distributed teams working on shared projects.
Google Workspace offers cloud-based tools for drafting, reviewing, and approving content. The ability to work simultaneously ensures that feedback is incorporated quickly, keeping the content production process on track.
Essential features:
- Real-time editing and commenting in Google Docs.
- Cloud storage and sharing via Google Drive.
- Collaborative spreadsheets in Google Sheets for tracking content schedules.
- Integration with tools like Slack and Asana for streamlined workflows.
7. Notion: a project management tool for collaboration and approval
Notion is an all-in-one project management and collaboration tool that combines note-taking, task management, and database functionality. It’s highly customizable, allowing teams to create shared workspaces tailored to their content planning needs. From tracking ideas to managing approval workflows, Notion is a versatile tool for content teams.
Notion supports content planning by centralizing tasks, feedback, and resources in one place. Its flexible templates and databases make it easy to organize content calendars, assign tasks, and track progress while ensuring everyone is aligned.
Essential features:
- Customizable templates for content calendars and workflows.
- Shared workspaces for collaborative brainstorming and planning.
- Integration with external tools like Slack and Google Drive.
- Kanban boards for visualizing project stages.
Analyzing and optimizing content with content planning tools
8. Ahrefs: a content analysis tool for keyword research and SEO optimization
Ahrefs is a powerful SEO tool designed for keyword research, backlink analysis, and content optimization. It helps content creators understand what their audience is searching for and provides actionable insights to improve search rankings and visibility. Ahrefs is particularly useful for identifying content gaps and opportunities in your niche.
Ahrefs facilitates content planning by offering data-driven insights into what works in your industry. Its keyword research tools help you target the right topics, while its site audit features ensure your content is optimized for search engines.
Essential features:
- Keyword research to identify high-volume, low-competition terms.
- Content gap analysis to uncover opportunities in your niche.
- Backlink tracking to monitor your site’s authority.
- Site audits to identify and fix SEO issues.
Design and asset management tools for content creation
9. Canva: a graphic design tool for creating visual content
Canva is an intuitive graphic design tool that empowers users to create stunning visuals, even without prior design experience. It offers a drag-and-drop interface and a library of templates, making it easy to produce social media graphics, presentations, infographics, and more.
Canva simplifies content planning by providing customizable templates for various content types, ensuring that visuals are consistent and aligned with your brand. Its collaborative features also allow teams to work together on designs, streamlining the creative process.
Essential features:
- Drag-and-drop editor for effortless design.
- A vast library of templates, stock photos, and illustrations.
- Brand kits to maintain consistency across visuals.
- Live collaboration tools for sharing and editing designs.
Content research and content planning tools
10. BuzzSumo: a research tool for identifying popular content and trends
BuzzSumo is a powerful content research tool that identifies popular content and trends across social platforms and the web. By analyzing the performance of articles, videos, and social posts, it helps you understand what your audience engages with the most.
BuzzSumo improves content planning by offering data-driven insights into trending topics and high-performing content in your niche. It allows you to stay ahead of the curve by identifying opportunities to create content that captures audience interest.
Essential features:
- Trend analysis to discover what’s gaining traction.
- Content performance metrics, including social shares and engagement.
- Influencer identification to find key voices in your industry.
- Keyword alerts to monitor topics and competitors in real-time.
How to choose the right content planning tool
What to look for in content planning tools, when there are so many to choose from?
Picking a perfect software stack for content management will demand some trial and error until you hone it down to something acceptable—because perfection doesn’t exist, and there will always be something you’re missing, or something that irks you.
Before you start experimenting with content planning tools, you first need to:
1. Consider your content marketing goals, content strategy, and objectives
Your content planning tool should align with your overall marketing strategy. If your primary goal is to increase organic traffic, you’ll need tools that emphasize SEO and performance tracking. For social media campaigns, prioritize tools with scheduling and analytics features.
Example: If you’re running a campaign to boost newsletter sign-ups, look for a tool that integrates email marketing, tracks conversions, and provides content performance insights.
2. Evaluate your team’s size and structure
Your team’s dynamics heavily influence the type of tool you need. Small teams may benefit from all-in-one platforms that cover multiple aspects of content planning, while larger teams often require tools with strong collaboration and task management features.
Example: A solo entrepreneur might prefer an intuitive tool like Strive Calendar, whereas a larger agency might choose Trello or Asana for task delegation and workflow tracking.
3. Consider your budget and pricing options
No matter how amazing a tool seems, it has to fit your budget. Many tools offer tiered pricing based on features or team size, so prioritize tools that deliver the best ROI for your needs.
Example: If you’re a startup with limited funds, free or low-cost tools like Google Workspace or Canva could handle your basics until you’re ready to upgrade.
When you have that cleared up, pay attention to the following:
- Consider the features and pricing of each tool – Look for tools that provide features aligned with your objectives, whether it’s task management, SEO tracking, or social media scheduling. Pricing should match the value and scalability the tool offers.
- Evaluate the user interface and user experience – A tool might have amazing features, but if it’s clunky or hard to navigate, it won’t serve your team well. Look for an intuitive interface that reduces the learning curve and boosts productivity.
- Read reviews and ask for recommendations – Learn from the experiences of others by checking reviews or seeking recommendations from peers in your industry. First-hand insights can help you avoid tools with hidden drawbacks.
- Test the tool with a free trial or demo – Many tools offer free trials or demos that let you explore their features without commitment. Use this opportunity to ensure it meets your expectations and works well with your existing workflow.
Conclusion
Content planning tools will ensure that every piece of content aligns with your strategy and meets your audience’s needs. From improving collaboration among team members and simplifying workflows to maintaining consistency in tone and quality, content planning tools will let you focus on what matters most: creating impactful, high-quality content.
Ready to simplify your content planning process?
Try Strive Calendar for free and experience the power of streamlined scheduling, task management, and post checklists—all within your WordPress dashboard. Take the first step toward better content planning today!