How do you govern content workflows?

Clarity on goals and roles is the foundation for success with your content strategy. However, making room for flexibility will ensure you maintain success over time. Every business is different, and no workflow model offers a definitive solution. For example, when is a detailed content brief needed and when does it become onerous? How much of your content should be calendarised and how far in advance? What happens when you need to pivot with your content creation to address pressing topics in the industry? The answers will often depend on specific business or stakeholder needs. With experience, content teams can learn to apply their judgement in each case and develop workflows that deliver the best outcomes with the available resources.

The cornerstone of effective content governance is clarity in goals and roles. Without a clear understanding of what you aim to accomplish and who is responsible for what, your content workflow can quickly become chaotic. This lack of clarity not only hampers productivity but also affects the quality of the content produced. Once the goals are set, define the roles within your team. Who is the content strategist, who are the writers, editors, and who is responsible for distribution? Make these roles explicit and ensure that each team member understands not just their tasks but also how their role contributes to the larger goals.

If you're a solopreneur or freelancer using content marketing to generate leads and build brand awareness, this step is extremely vital. In 'The E-myth Revisited', Michael Gerber talks about the importance dividing up those day-to-day tasks into well-defined roles to 1) help you see on paper exactly what goes into the your content creation process and 2) make it easier to train someone else should you decide to hire an assistant or outsource your content marketing. Plus, when you have a predictable, repeatable workflow, it's easier to schedule your marketing tasks so they don't clash with the other day-to-day activities of running your business.

These are the rulebooks that ensure your content is not just a random collection of words but a cohesive, accessible, and effective communication tool. I once worked on a project where the lack of content guidelines led to a chaotic and ineffective content strategy. We had multiple writers, each with their unique style and approach. The content ranged from highly technical to overly casual, confusing our audience. It wasn't until we implemented a rigorous style guide and conducted regular audits that we started seeing engagement and conversion rates improve. The exercise taught us that consistency isn't just about making things look and sound the same; it's about creating a unified brand voice that resonates with your audience.

Rules and guidelines are not about trying to look like everyone else, it's about building a playbook you can follow when doubt creeps in and you start questioning your choices. Borrowing from Michael E. Gerber's 'The E-Myth' again, standards and guidelines take so much of the pressure off, especially if you're a small business owner who is new to content marketing. What colours do you use? Are you all-in on video, do you prefer text-only posts? How formal should your writing be? Will you use emoji's and if so which emoji's are appropriate for your brand and your target audience. Finally, explain WHY you chose those guidelines so that future you has a record of the thinking process that went into each decision.

Defining your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are extremely important. When you have a small (2-4 person) content team, you can still get away with explaining the procedures to them over calls. But when you’re working in larger teams, always have SOPs in place that will not only help in setting the workflow but also you won’t have to waste time training new employees. They can simply checkout these procedures as part of their onboarding/training and get aquatinted with how the work has to be done. That being said, these should not be super complicated or rigid to follow. Keep updating them with time and as your business grows.

I use a whiteboard/flowcharts to build focus. Using scheduling tools, style guides, etc tends to erode creativity and work comes out flat and uninspired. The issue with content today is how it lacks impact and engagement which should be your guide. If you're fussing with boring structure and metadata, etc., you're off the track. Use work tools that keep you emotionally engaged and creatively inspired, because if you lose that, then the whole process fails. Review mediocrity again before you create your work production process.

I’ve found that tools like Basecamp, Zoho, Hubspot, and Teamwork have been incredibly helpful with communication about projects, helping to keep the team notified about changes or updates to the project or scope of work. Additionally, they are useful to house and organize content per client. The ability to share certain communications and files with clients or keep them between team members is also effective for project management.

Don't feel the need to lock down your workflow as soon as possible. As you go through the process a few times, you'll start to run into loopholes or kinks that need to be ironed out, or even ways that you can rearrange your workflow to be even more effective. Have the flexibility to make those changes on the fly.

To maintain optimum content quality, you can set checkpoints at different stages. It's ideal to have content reviewed for different parameters by different people. The loop for feedback and revisions should be properly established, defining aspects like stakeholders involved in the process, metrics for objective quality assessment, and allocated timeline.

Life happens and there are times when you're simply juggling too much. I'd suggest having a Bare Minimum plan to prepare for those times when the unexpected happens. For instance, I publish five pieces of content on my personal LinkedIn per a week. However, when times get rough my Bare Minimum is to publish one newsletter article a week (or every other week if it's beyond bad) using existing content. The BM rule lifts the burden off my shoulders for a bit while ensuring my brand is still visible.

Content marketing and creation can feel like a full-time job, which is why companies have TEAMS dedicated to this one aspect of business. For solopreneurs and small businesses, you're typically the marketing team in addition to all the other tasks you have to perform for your business. I've heard it said that you prioritize what you schedule. If you don't make time for each part of your content workflow, you'll feel overwhelmed and that could lead to inconsistency or poor quality work. So, take an honest look at your schedule and determine how much time you have each week to dedicate to planning and executing a content strategy. Set aside blocks of time DAILY or WEEKLY to get it done. Also, use the tools and resources available to you.