I’m the first to admit I run a tight ship. If you ask my family and friends to describe me, “organized” just about always makes the cut.
I go into every day armed with a list of what needs to get done, and it gives me great satisfaction when I can cross each and every item off. Some like to tease me for how organized I am, but I’ve come to embrace this side of my personality.
In fact, I’ve found it to be a powerful asset when it comes to my profession. It’s what keeps Version A running like a well-oiled content marketing machine.
Don’t get me wrong, organization alone won’t help you hit all your content marketing goals, but experience has taught me it can absolutely make a tangible difference.
OCD: 3 Reasons Why Organization Matters
- Opportunities: Whether you have a pressing submission date for a byline in a leading industry publication or need to craft and deliver a scheduled email campaign tied to a webinar series, meeting deadlines is critical. Missing that byline deadline is a huge missed opportunity to reach potential new customers and increase awareness of your products and services in the market. Failure to have those emails ready to go on time results in lower attendance and engagement. But when you’re juggling multiple projects, it can be easy to let a deadline slip. In the moment, it may not seem like a big deal, but over time these small misses add up and can have a big impact when it comes to hitting your content marketing goals.
- Consistency: We’ve written about consistency before, and it deserves attention here as well. A successful content marketing strategy is built upon consistent, quality content – from blogs to ebooks, white papers, and infographics. It’s not enough to simply churn out blog after blog. It requires careful planning and thought around what your audience wants to learn about and how you can help them reach their goals. Without a well-planned content strategy, it’s difficult to make this happen once, let alone time and time again.
- Details: Trying to keep your content marketing plan moving along isn’t always easy. Bumps will pop up along the way. A customer story may require external approval, a quote may need to be run by the CEO, or maybe an ebook needs to be reviewed by several different people. Steps like these can very easily bring your content workflow to a halt – unless you have a way of following up on approvals and giving them the proper attention (and gentle nudges) to keep things moving along.
3 Tips for Better Content Marketing Organization
Now that you know why organization is so important, you’re probably wondering how to do a better job at it. Not to worry – I won’t leave you hanging.
- Use technology. I admit I love a good old fashioned paper planner to organize my day, but when it comes to managing multiple projects that involve research, writing, editing, and design, it’s much better to leverage technology. Fortunately, there’s a great selection of project management tools out there to help content marketers create, assign, and manage projects from start to finish. Some suggestions for those just starting their hunt are Asana (which we use here at Version A and love), Zoho, and Teamwork, but the right choice really boils down to your must-have features, usability, and budget.
- Set reminders. While a good project management tool will send you reminders as deadlines approach, it never hurts to set additional reminders, especially for really important projects that need constant attention. Whether you choose to use pen and paper or an app on your phone, reminders can help you stay on track and even organize your day better. Ordering items based on priority helps you make sure you get the most important tasks done earlier in the day before something unexpected may derail you later on.
- Take a team approach. A little teamwork never hurt the organizational process. If your content marketing team is small, outside help can be just what’s needed to keep you on track and help you exceed your goals. An expert team of writers and editors can work on writing that byline or ebook while you focus on strategy and an overall content calendar. The end result is consistent, quality copy.
Organization may seem like a rather boring quality to have, but it’s a weapon for success when used properly. If your team needs to up its organizational skills, we’re here to help. You’re only a to-do list away from hitting those targets.
