NEW YORK—Understanding how a social media calendar can help you and your staff can go a long way in planning an effective and meaningful interaction with patients and customers on a regular basis.

The folks at HubSpot put us on to this helpful guide from the folks at Quicksprout who, through this infographic, take you through the steps to break up the tasks of managing social media on a few platforms and make sure that your goals match your process.

From simply describing the elements of a calendar, mapping out how to create one (for more than one social platform), showing a few case studies tips on promoting high quality content, the guide can cut down on the amount of time you waste as well as organize and curate content.

After you examine the infographic, check out the link from HubSpot which offers users a free download of their Social Media Calendar Template, a guide packed with info to organize your activities far in advance. The Excel template helps plan updates, format content and provides tips along the way.