Planning implies “knowing what you’re going to do before the period begins.” If it’s January 2020, you’re not planning. You’re reacting. #ContentChat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) October 7, 2019
2020 is almost here—have you started your content marketing planning? In this #ContentChat, we discuss the ways that marketers can approach content planning and trade tips on optimizing the success of your plan year-round.
Q1: Have you started your 2020 content marketing planning yet? And do you have an official planning process?
Now’s the perfect time to start 2020 planning, unless the holidays are a busy time for your team. We recommend developing an annual plan with quarterly editorial calendars.
A1 How far out does it make sense to plan when it comes to content marketing? Do you tackle it month to month, quarter to quarter, annually or some combination of them? #ContentChat
— Derek Pillie (@derekpillie) October 7, 2019
I do an annual strategy, but do quarterly editorial calendars to support that. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 7, 2019
I try to get started with annual planning in September, but often I don’t get started until October. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 7, 2019
Business: next week, and frankly I’m about 2 weeks behind on that.
Personal: Nov 1 I’ll start planning for 1/1/2020, and hopefully will start producing a week later. #ContentChat
— John Cloonan (@johncloonan) October 7, 2019
Skeleton plan for annual strategy, seasonal re-examination and adjustments. #ContentChat
— GreenRope (@GreenRope) October 7, 2019
The community is in various planning stages, most with a general outline of themes, topics, and pillars they plan to support. It is important to have at least something on paper as a base to build from.
A1: I have already started working with some clients on 2020 planning, but I haven’t gotten started on my own. My process involves reviewing last year’s plan, assessing how well we performed against the goals we set, and then creating a new plan, with new goals. #ContentChat https://t.co/xyEn84vJcw
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 7, 2019
A1: I have started the process of writing down things that I want to accomplish in 2020. Usually I start with overall themes and they pillars to support #ContentChat
— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) October 7, 2019
I try to keep it under 4 pillars and within reason of what I can really support. #ContentChat
— Bernie Fussenegger #Digital360Chat (@B2the7) October 7, 2019
A1: I have the first three months of 2020 Content in the works. It’s more outline of themes and topics. #contentchat
— Jennifer Navarrete (@epodcaster) October 7, 2019
A1 – we typically start with national holidays then work to internal monthly company events we have planned and go from there! We haven’t started yet but plan to in the next couple weeks! #contentchat
— thumbprint (@_thumbprint_) October 7, 2019
A1. I have to develop a plan for my content. The quote from Sir Winston Churchill comes to mind “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
— Coach Brian leads you to new realms of health. (@_IamCoachBrian) October 7, 2019
A1: I have started an overarching view of content strategy going into 2020. As soon as the strategy is established, I will drill down into what specific topics look like for the months ahead #contentchat – majority of my content is in real-time since it’s based on my life! https://t.co/QbafZaNZj4
— little wandering soul 🏳️🌈 (@wanderingbri) October 7, 2019
A1. Not as of yet. But when I do, I use a planning template I put together so everything is a “one page plan” for what I want to accomplish #ContentChat https://t.co/ERpo6jk40I pic.twitter.com/dzvd0ZnjhZ
— Eddie Garrison (@EddieGarrison) October 7, 2019
A1: I’m planning my 2020 content in a way that will let me easily repurpose blog content into print books.#ContentChat https://t.co/OlEwrxdTiQ
— Kathryn Lang (@Kathrynclang) October 7, 2019
Review your previous content marketing plan as a base for your new plan. Assess whether you can simply update the existing plan, or if it needs a more significant change in direction.
A1b: Some years, I only create an updated content marketing plan-on-a-page, and others it’s a whole new plan from scratch. It really depends on if I have incremental goals or something new/additional that needs more discovery. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 7, 2019
Modify as follows:
Start with annual #contentmarketing plan. To set your key content pillars & important events/conferences/promotions requiring content. Then modify quarter by quarter. When you do check last quarter results & last year’s results. #contentchat— HeidiCohen #CMWorld 2019 Speaker (@heidicohen) October 7, 2019
Stay realistic with your goals. While stretch goals can provide some extra pressure to succeed, your team will probably feel defeated if their goals are too aggressive.
I love that you mention “within reason of what I can really support”. I think some orgs really push for stretch goals. And while they are nice, if all your goals are stretch goals you can wind up accomplishing a lot yet feeling as though you failed. #ContentChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 7, 2019