The creation of online content begins and ends with the editorial meeting. In the truest sense of the word. The editorial meeting should not only serve the definition and planning of topics for future content items but also the performance analysis of already published content. At the same time, the responsible persons, processes, and communication channels should be taken into consideration. This can only be achieved with efficient meeting management. We'll show you how.
When you want to work creatively, you need freedom. However, in the context of a meeting, freedom often brings about inefficiency. Then the editorial meeting, which was scheduled to last two hours, suddenly lasts four hours. And what is discussed from hour three onwards often does not concern topics for a blog article rather than the strategic orientation of the entire company. That's why it's especially important in creative processes to provide a structure that creates space for free thinking but also respects time and task management. The following tips can be helpful in order to achieve that goal:
A clearly pre-defined creation, revision, and approval process, including the definition and assignment of the necessary roles, is a prerequisite for an efficient editorial meeting. In any case, define the task ownership in these areas:
The editorial meeting should serve to determine topics of future content that correspond to the findings of the performance analysis of past content. Against this background, previously generated and collected ideas as well as questions from customers are discussed and evaluated. The content calendar determines when which content items are published, which results in deadlines for the following elements:
Ensure that all participants have a common understanding of the goals and meeting points. Speaking of – pay particular attention to who you invite to attend the editorial meeting. The participants should consist of both sales and marketing staff. Together they form the so-called revenue team.
Bring as many people to the table as necessary, but as few as possible. Because two things are clear:
In addition: The members of the revenue team, especially the sales staff, should prepare a list of the most important and most frequent questions from customers in advance in order to be able to take this input into account in the content planning in the best possible way. This list is the basis of a good editorial meeting.
According to our project experience, the following structure or agenda for the editorial meeting - not considering industry-specific peculiarities – has proven its worth:
As in many other areas, the same applies here: Work that you save in advance often catches up with you afterward. So communicate the dates for the editorial meetings with sufficient lead time and clarify to what extent the participants can prepare for them.
The success of your editorial work depends on the technical infrastructure behind it. With professional tools, you can achieve considerable efficiency gains in the editorial process and eliminate susceptibility to errors. In our client work we use the following platforms and tools:
As you can see, there is a lot to consider in the run-up to an efficient editorial meeting. This is important so that the people in the meeting can keep their heads clear for what ultimately counts: Creative content with substance and relevance that creates real added value for the target group and answer the questions of potential customers.
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