So much of what happens in a successful content and communications function can be boiled down to repeatable, predictable processes.
It’s challenging enough to create timely, relevant content for your target audiences. Now think about how exhausting it would be to face each day without a documented process.
Successful content teams have learned to use the tools of the trade – editorial calendars, content briefs, project plans, templates, review and approval steps, measurement, reporting methods. They’ve also learned to share these documents with others involved in creating and reviewing content.
This serves the obvious purpose of keeping everyone on roughly the same page. And maybe less obvious, it also gives the executives and subject matter experts you work with confidence that you’ve got a plan.
Process doesn’t have to be soul-sucking
Far from stifling creativity, repeatable processes free up brain cells to focus on developing ideas and bringing them to life. Business communication expert Ann Handley, in her book “Everybody Writes,” puts it this way:
“Process is one of those things that feels hopelessly boring and mind-numbing. Like peeling skins from raw tomatoes. Matching socks from laundry. Scrubbing dirt from beets.
“But process is necessary in writing. (And in many parts of life, now that I think about it.) We need a road map to get us where we’re going.”
In my health insurance corporate communications days I had the burden privilege of a process structure designed to make things more efficient – and keep the company out of trouble.
Several talented colleagues developed templates for communications plans. Everyone used them. Many on the team modified them as needed for their specific use cases.
Early in my tenure writing speeches, presentations, and messaging for the executive team, I put together a speaking engagements calendar and process document that seemed to stand the test of time. It became something I updated weekly. The most gratifying part? Working with the executive assistants and chiefs of staff who came to rely on the process as much as I did, at least when it came to external and internal events where Corporate Communications was involved.
So many channels…
Here’s another reason to become a fan of process: It helps wrangle complexity.
Focusing again on healthcare, it’s a notoriously complex industry. The communications plans we used at my former employer forced strategic thinking about the messages and channels we’d use to reach multiple, sometimes conflicting audiences:
- Consumers (members and patients)
- Hospitals and health systems
- Physicians
- Employers
- Brokers and third-party administrators
- Regulators
- Elected officials
- Employees
- Sales teams
Content planning for healthtech and digital health companies is equally complex. Some or all of the above audiences typically apply. And within each audience are decision-makers (CIOs, CTOs, CFOs, VPs, directors), decision influencers (staff and technical experts likely to use the product or service), purchasing and procurement managers, and buying committees made up of all of the above.
Having a process in place helps content teams reach consensus on topics, formats, channels, and more, understanding the audience segments and their preferences.
There will inevitably be times when teams should depart from standard procedures – and even rewrite processes. These should be revisited when they’re no longer working or needed, or when strategies and market conditions change.
External resources need to know too
Successful content teams know they need good processes to get input from a host of internal folks. Where do external resources fit in? That universe includes agencies, consultants, contractors, and freelancers for content strategy and production. It can also involve customers and influencers for content co-creation and amplification.
Having been a consultant/freelancer for two years, and an agency hand on three separate occasions, my must-have process list for working with clients has three parts:
Clear articulation of company positioning and messaging. Without clarity on these fundamental strategies, the counsel I provide and the content I develop will be off. Receiving it in a presentation is one thing. But it’s better to have one or more conversations to get a deeper dive on both positioning – defining the product/service to an identified audience – and messaging, or the language that’s used to articulate the positioning and related points of view.
Access to subject matter experts. This is closely related to understanding positioning and messaging. I want to hear from SMEs, interview them, challenge their thinking, and refine the topics and viewpoints that make content stronger. This is crucial for thought leadership content development.
Timely review and approvals. I get that approvals can take a long time, especially in healthcare. But no one wants to get caught in a vortex of revisions and approvals that never seems to end. Not all content is time-sensitive, but more often than not, any new or refreshed content has a shelf life.
Most of my content marketing peers in the solopreneur and agency realms have a similar, if not identical, list of must-have processes for a successful client engagement.
The whole idea is to follow enough repeatable steps to improve consistency – and business results – over time.
It might take time to agree on what successful, remarkable content looks like. And to see how shared understanding and standard processes lead to those successes.
On the other hand, it’s quite easy to spot a problem when processes are lacking:
“Everybody gets to decide what ‘remarkable content’ looks like from an individual or team lens. When someone says, ‘That sucks,’ and someone else says, ‘That’s awesome,’ they’re both right – because no standard exists,” Robert Rose writes in the post “Fast, Broken and Stuck? Your Content Team Needs Processes to Break” at the Content Marketing Institute blog.
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