With the growing focus on quality content, many B2B marketing teams are becoming more like editorial departments. They’re constantly planning, coordinating, creating and distributing content. To streamline that process and foster collaboration, some marketers are adding regular editorial meetings to the calendar.
Does the idea of more meetings make your head spin? When managed well, monthly or weekly editorial meetings have the potential to save time and help your team create better content. To help avoid time-wasting and wheel-spinning, we’ve compiled our top tips for running effective and efficient editorial meetings.
Compile an agenda prior to the meeting with input from those attending in order to keep on track. Kick things off by discussing priorities and what needs to be accomplished during the meeting. Key activities for a productive editorial meeting include: sharing and developing content ideas; selecting top ideas for execution; delegate and assign tasks; and set deadlines and schedules.
To keep the team on task, appoint a leader—someone such as the department head or a manager who’s organized and encouraging. This person’s responsibilities would include creating the agenda, moving through discussion items, and making sure all meeting goals are met. He or she may also be in charge of taking notes (or you could choose to rotate that responsibility among team members) so nothing slips through the cracks and topics that aren’t completely relevant get attention outside of the meeting time.
Include key people from each point of the content creation process. Inviting representatives from a variety of roles lends new perspectives and ignites brainstorming. Also, cross-department sharing of content means you’re not constantly reinventing the wheel. From time to time, invite “guests” from outside the marketing department to shed light on hot topics. And don’t forget that leaving out an essential team member may just mean wasted time during the meeting or in follow-ups.
A huge benefit of editorial meetings is the opportunity for collaboration. Set the stage for an open forum of questions, brainstorming, and collaborative thinking. By encouraging a team mentality, you’ll also build a collective sense of ownership—which boosts engagement and enthusiasm.
Coming prepared is crucial for an efficient use of time. Send out the agenda ahead of time so everyone can arrive with ideas. Throughout the discussion, keep your target audiences in mind and look at the big picture. Consider how each piece of content fits into the larger marketing strategy.
Use the editorial meeting to plan ahead, rather than simply recite what’s going on right now. While you might need quick status recap at the start of the meeting, keep any discussion of in-progress work focused on sharing what’s working well and gathering constructive feedback.
Would your marketing team benefit from regular editorial meetings?
Photo credit: Secretary of Defense
(Click here to expand)
