Are you one of those people who loves making lists? As a child, did you buy fresh notebooks and flip through the pages, inhaling the scent, before finally committing that first, perfect stroke in glossy ink, tingling in anticipation over the moment you’d later cross through it with a single, straight line?
You sound like kind of a weird kid. Were your parents worried?
The good news is that, today, your geeky obsession no doubt serves you well as a content marketer since running a complex, multi-element campaign requires a lot of list making.
The Definition of a Content Marketing Workflow by @amanadathehun
A lot of it.
And one of the most satisfying lists you’ll ever get to make is your content marketing workflow.
A content marketing workflow is a sequence of processes that govern the tactical elements of your campaigns.
This is the step in the process that comes after your content strategy and before content production. Your content workflow will vary with each campaign (and sometimes with each content piece), so you’ll need to make a new list almost every time a new project arises. Unless, of course, you come up with a handy template or two or six.
I know, I know. Simmer down.
A typical content marketing workflow includes a few basic elements:
1. Tasks
What individual tasks need to happen between assignment and “go live”? For example: creative brief, kick-off meeting with writer, first draft, first review, second draft, final review, design first draft, design review, publishing, etc.
What tasks need to happen after the content is live? For example: Twitter promotion, newsletter article, website integration, etc.
2. Task Owners
Who will be responsible for executing each task? For example: writer, designer, manager, product VP, social media team, etc.
3. Approval Structures
Who makes the final decision about what’s approved at each step of the process? For example, is the VP involved from the first written draft, or will he/she review the piece only once it’s been designed? Does your legal team need to be involved at any point?
4. Deadlines
Start from the completion date and work your way backward, being sure to leave enough wiggle room for potential missed deadlines or lengthy review processes. (The larger the committee, the longer the review process.)
5. Editorial Schedule
When will the content go live, and when will it be promoted across social media and internal channels?
Even though some projects are much simpler than others, creating a documented content marketing workflow is a good habit to get into, especially when you’re running multiple campaigns each month.
But I don’t have to convince you, do I? Now stop sniffing that notebook and get to work.