September Right Now Report
The Right Now Report gives you the high-level updates and insights you need without the unnecessary clutter. This month, we’re putting the spotlight on content marketing with updates on how marketing budgets are shifting to prioritize social media, Instagram’s latest features and how a content calendar can set you up for success.
Social Media is Taking a Bigger Share of Marketing Budgets
Sprout Social’s 2025 Impact of Social Media Report revealed that over 80% of marketers are moving funds away from other channels to social media. Of those, 87% are growing paid social budgets, and 80% are expanding their focus on organic and influencer marketing.
The shift makes sense since social media is where audiences spend a lot of their time, but more money doesn’t automatically mean better results. Social can deepen relationships with your community, strengthen loyalty and drive conversions, not just visibility.
To make those dollars count, here’s what we recommend:
- Tie your social strategy to your goals. Decide whether your priority is awareness, engagement, lead generation or sales, and build campaigns around that.
- Track what matters. Likes and follows can be helpful indicators, but they might not reflect what is important to your business. Use metrics that connect to your goals, such as website traffic, email signups or sales.
- Invest in systems that allow for consistent reporting and clear attribution tracking. A clear picture of ROI is helpful no matter how you’re spending your budget.
If you’re interested in reallocating dollars to social, keep in mind that you don’t have to go all-in at once. You can start small, test what works and scale from there.
Start a conversation to see how we can help you create and measure social campaigns that maximize your budget.
What’s New on Instagram
Instagram has rolled out several new features aimed at making sharing and discovering new content easier for users and creators. Here are the highlights you should know:
Reposts to Feed
Users can repost content directly to their feeds from other accounts. Previously, sharing was limited to Stories. Now, when someone reposts your content, Instagram still gives you credit, and your post may be shown to that person’s followers, even if they don’t follow you. This creates more opportunities to reach new audiences. Learn how to repost a Reel or post here.
Friends Tab in Reels
Within Reels, you can now toggle between the general feed and the new Friends tab. The Friends tab shows Reels your friends have liked or commented on. Instagram has also announced that they plan to add more settings soon, giving you greater control, such as hiding your own likes and comments or muting Reels updates from specific people you follow.
Instagram Map
Instagram has introduced a new map feature that lets users see their friends’ locations and explore posts, stories and Reels by location. Users can choose to share their location with friends, close friends, selected followers, or no one at all. When location sharing is turned on, Instagram updates your location whenever you open the app or return to it from the background. When the feature first rolled out, some users raised privacy concerns that their location was turned on without their permission, but Instagram clarified that visible locations of users who haven’t opted in are based on where posts have been tagged, not live tracking. Learn more about location sharing here.
If you’re looking to make the most of Instagram’s latest features but aren’t sure where to start, we’re here to help. Reach out today to start a conversation about your social needs.
Why a Content Calendar Is Essential
We believe that creating and using a content calendar is an essential practice for businesses and organizations of all sizes and types. A content calendar is simply a framework for the content you’ll share. This can include social media, emails, blog posts, videos and more. For most small or medium-sized businesses, the focus tends to be on social media and email content.
The common pitfall we often see around social media, in particular, is the tendency to create and post whenever something is needed. This reactive approach can lead to missed opportunities and inconsistent messaging. There will always be times when quick-turn content is necessary, but having the majority of your content planned out in advance can make those moments more manageable.
Follow these Steps to Build an Effective Content Calendar
- Determine Your Content Pillars
Identify the core themes or categories that align with your brand and audience interests. These pillars will guide your content creation and ensure consistency across platforms. - Choose Your Management Tool
Decide how you’ll manage your calendar. There are countless tools and formats; the most important thing is to choose one that your team will actually use. Your options range from project management platforms like Asana to simple tools like Google Sheets. You might also consider social media scheduling tools like Sprout Social. While you can plan and then schedule content directly on each platform, schedulers streamline the process and often include helpful features like post previews and approval workflows. - Incorporate Key Dates
Fill in key dates you know in advance. Holidays, sales campaigns and seasonal events should be built in from the start so you can see the full picture of your year. - Outline Before You Create
Plan out your content by jotting down topics or key points you’ll cover before diving in. This will save time and keep your pillars consistent. - Block Time to Produce
Allocate dedicated time to write, design and finalize your content. This ensures that your calendar transitions from a plan to actionable content.
It’s important to avoid the temptation to fill every slot just for the sake of it. Quality should always come before quantity. If you only do one thing this month, map out your next 2-4 weeks of social media posts in advance. You’ll thank yourself later.
Need help getting started? If building a content calendar feels overwhelming or you want to make sure yours is working effectively, get in touch to learn how we can support your content planning and creation.
We’d love to hear from you! If you have questions or want support putting these trends to work, we’re here to help. Our goal is to help you stay on top of marketing updates without the stress.
Reach out today to explore how working with Right Relations can keep you ahead of the curve and get the most out of your marketing efforts.