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A nail salon content calendar you can copy and fill in within an hour
One page, four weeks, 16 posts. Copy the monthly plan below, add your own dates, and you will know what to post before the week begins.
- A content calendar is one table that says what you post, on which day, on which platform and who is responsible.
- Fill in fixed dates, quiet days and the one or two services you want to sell this month before you choose any post.
- Sixteen planned posts a month, four a week, is a plan a salon with four technicians can keep all year.
- Keep three spare posts ready so a sick day or a rush week does not leave the page empty.
- Spend ten minutes at the end of each month noting which posts brought messages, and plan more of those.
A nail salon content calendar is a single page that says what you will post, on which day, on which platform and who will do it, for the next four weeks. It replaces the daily question "what do we post today?" with one hour of planning a month. Below is a monthly plan you can copy as it is, a seasonal planner for the year, and the routine that keeps it going when the salon is full.
What goes in a content calendar
You do not need software. A sheet of paper on the back-room wall works. So does a shared spreadsheet the whole team can open on their phones. What matters is the columns.
| Column | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Date | The day it goes out | Wed 4th |
| Type | Which kind of post | The work |
| Idea | One line, specific | Three reds for December, swatches by the window |
| Format | Photo, short video, Story | Photo |
| Where | Platforms | Instagram, Facebook |
| Who | One name, not "everyone" | Mai films, Hanh approves |
| Done | A tick when it is posted |
The "Type" column uses the five kinds of post from our nail salon social media content ideas: the work, the transformation, the people, care and trust, offers and practical info. That article gives you the ideas. This one puts them on dates.
Three lists to write before you plan
A calendar copied without your own dates is just a list. Take ten minutes with the appointment book and write these down first.
- Fixed dates. Public holidays, school holidays, proms or formals, local events, the days the salon is closed, technicians' time off. Dates such as Mother's Day differ by country, so check your own.
- Quiet days and full days. Look at the last two months. If Mondays and Tuesdays are thin, those are the days that need an openings post or an offer, published two or three days earlier. If the week before a holiday always fills up, clients need a "book early" post two weeks ahead.
- One or two services to sell. Not everything. Pedicures before sandal weather, a new technician's speciality, a design set for the coming holiday.
The monthly nail salon content calendar you can copy
Four posts a week, each week with its own job. Change the days to suit your salon.
| Week | Monday | Wednesday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1: what is new this month | This month's hours and any closed days | Three colours of the month, swatched | Short video: one set from prep to top coat | Best set of the week |
| Week 2: trust | Openings left this week | How we clean our tools, or one aftercare tip | One question clients ask at the desk, answered honestly | A client's kind words with her set (with her yes) |
| Week 3: people | Openings left this week | Meet a technician: name, speciality, languages | Before and after | Best set of the week |
| Week 4: book ahead | "Book now for" the next big date | Design menu for the coming season | Quiet-day offer with an end date | Thank you post: the month in five photos |
Two things stay outside the table because they cannot be planned. A last-minute opening goes into Stories the moment someone cancels. A lovely set that walks out of the door on a Tuesday can replace any "best set" slot.
Short on time? Keep only Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Twelve posts kept all year are better than sixteen kept for six weeks.
Plan the year by seasons
Seasons fall in different months in the United States, Europe and Australia, so this planner uses moments, not months. Write your own dates next to each.
| Moment | What clients want | What to plan |
|---|---|---|
| Lunar New Year (Tết) | Red and gold sets, a tidy look for family visits | Design menu, a greeting in Vietnamese and English, holiday hours |
| Valentine's Day | Pinks, reds, small hearts | Three designs with names, last booking day |
| Mother's Day | A treat for two | Mother and daughter appointment post, gift card reminder if you sell them |
| Prom, formals, graduation | Sets that match a dress | "Bring a photo of your dress" post, group bookings |
| Wedding season | Bride and bridesmaids | Bridal set examples, how early to book a group |
| First warm weeks | Pedicures | Pedicure before and after, the chair-cleaning clip |
| Back to school | Short, practical nails | Short-shape guide, quiet weekday mornings |
| Year-end holidays | Party sets, everyone at once | "Book early" post, design menu, closing days |
A simple rule for any of these: a first post early enough that clients can still choose their slot, a reminder about a week before, and holiday hours on every page. Put the hours on your Google Business Profile too, since that is where many people check whether you are open.
The one-hour monthly routine
Pick a quiet moment in the last week of the month. One person leads, and the team adds ideas.
- Look back, 10 minutes. Which posts brought messages, calls or bookings? What did clients ask at the desk? Circle two things to repeat.
- Write the dates, 10 minutes. The three lists above go into the calendar first.
- Fill the 16 slots, 20 minutes. Copy the table, then make each line specific: which colours, which technician, which offer.
- Write week one, 20 minutes. Captions for the first four posts, in the three-line shape: what it is, who did it, how to book.
Then give filming its own small slot each week. Half an hour on your quietest morning is enough to shoot three or four clips and photos for the days ahead.
In a salon with four technicians, roles can be simple. One person films. The owner reads every caption before it goes out. Whoever sits at the front desk replies to comments and messages. Write the names in the "Who" column so nothing is left to "someone".
Schedule ahead so busy days do not break the plan
Once the captions are written, most posts can be loaded in advance. Facebook and Instagram posts can be scheduled with the free tools at Meta for Business. TikTok offers scheduling on some accounts, and the options change, so check TikTok for Business for what yours can do. Keep Stories and last-minute openings live, because they depend on today.
The same clip can go to three platforms, but each wants its own caption and cover. Our TikTok ideas for nail salons explain what changes there.
If you would rather not build this yourself, it is the add-on we set up at Bunchasake: social media automation for nail salons. You get a 30-day content calendar, an AI assistant trained on your brand voice that writes the drafts, your approval before anything goes out, automatic scheduling and automatic replies to common inbox questions. Your own team runs it. For how AI fits into planning, read AI content calendar for small business.
When the plan breaks
It will. A technician is ill, a wedding party fills Saturday, the phone that holds the videos falls in the pedicure basin.
- Keep three spare posts ready. The price list, the walk from the car park to your door, one aftercare tip. They are true every week of the year.
- Skip, do not double up. A missed Wednesday does not become two posts on Thursday.
- Move, do not delete. An idea that did not get filmed goes to next month's list.
- Protect Monday. If only one post survives the week, make it the one about openings and hours. It is the post closest to a booking.
Common mistakes
- Planning for a bigger team than you have. Thirty posts on paper, eight in real life. Start with twelve.
- A calendar full of offers. Clients learn to wait for the discount. One offer a month, aimed at your quiet days, is enough.
- The plan lives in one person's head. When the owner is away, posting stops. Put the calendar where the team can see it.
- Remembering the holiday in the week of the holiday. By then the chairs are either full or the clients have booked elsewhere.
- Vague lines. "Post nails" is not a plan. "Milky pink almond by Trang, photo by the window" is.
- Never looking back. Without the ten-minute review, you repeat what was easy, not what worked.
Frequently asked questions
How many posts a month does a nail salon need?
Twelve to sixteen planned posts is a realistic range for a small salon, plus Stories on days with openings. Choose the number your team can keep for a whole year.
How far ahead should we plan?
Plan one month in detail and keep a simple list of the year's big dates. Planning three months in detail usually goes out of date before you use it.
Paper, spreadsheet or app?
Use whatever your team will really open. Paper on the wall is fine for one location. A shared spreadsheet helps when the owner is not in the salon every day.
Should the calendar be in English or Vietnamese?
Write the plan in the language your team reads most easily, often Vietnamese, and write the captions in the language of your clients, usually English.
What if a trend appears that is not in the plan?
Swap it into the nearest "best set" or video slot. The calendar is there so you never start from an empty page, not to stop a good idea.
Can AI write the whole calendar for us?
AI can draft ideas and captions quickly, but it does not know your quiet days, your technicians or your clients unless you tell it. Give it your three lists and read every draft before it is posted.