Content marketing success rests on a foundation of streamlined creation and distribution. Yet the mere notion of “workflow” scares some creative teams. This guide frames adaptable content operations blending structure for consistency with fluidity for innovation.
Clarifying Goals Across the Funnel
Any optimization starts by examining business objectives. Common content aims range from:
- Brand awareness lifting
- Lead generation growth
- Sales cycle velocity increases
- Customer retention and loyalty gains
Drill down by channel as well. Set targets for email click-through-rates or cost-per-click on paid social campaigns. Establish benchmarks allowing strategic iteration.
Conducting an Audience Analysis
While goals focus direction, audience insights fuel relevant resonance. Core questions to explore:
- What motivates their purchase decisions?
- Where are pain points in their journeys?
- How do they consume media and content?
- What messaging and offers influence them?
Build detailed customer avatars guiding creative development and personalized distribution.
Mapping Content Across the Buyer’s Journey
Armed with goals and target audience understanding, chart ideal content types matching each stage from awareness to consideration and decision.
- Entice cold traffic with engaging education
- Nurture leads with valuable use case analyses
- Equip prospects to envision success with your solution
- Guide customers to maximize value realization
Conducting an audit highlighting content gaps focuses production priority.
Constructing Specialized Creative Teams
Creative roles demand unique talents. Attempting one-size-fits all drafting produces poor quality across content types. Instead, build teams with complementary abilities.
Dream Team Composition
- Data-driven marketers set content strategy
- Artistic designers develop visual assets
- Expressive writers bring narratives to life
- Analytical editors polish and proof pieces
- Technical specialists implement and optimize
Scheduling Aligns Efforts to Deadlines
With specialized teams tackling individual assignments, coordination becomes mandatory. Rather than cascading requests and bottlenecks, use shared calendars plotting intersecting workstreams. Highlight key dates like:
- Editing/approval windows
- Social media programming
- Campaign launch deadlines
- Event promotions
Calendaring enhances accountability to team members depending on certain pieces finalizing on schedule.
Automating Recurring Tasks Where Possible
Technology allows removing repetitive lower-value responsibilities from skilled team members’ plates. Consider automating processes like:
- Social media scheduling
- Email nurturing workflows
- New lead triage notifications
- File management protocols
- Reporting and analysis
Save creativity for higher judgement tasks only humans can accomplish.
Formalizing Consistent Performance Standards
In creative pursuits, some ambiguity around expectations and quality is expected. Still, content teams thrive when leaders formally define what excellence looks like for critical assignments. Codify style guides and process maps detailing minimum viable deliverables and ideal goals. Institute peer reviews for developmental feedback. Celebrate and reward standout work setting the pace.