Think back to your last content marketing brainstorm session. Did it go as smoothly as you planned? If not, we’ve got some pointers to improve your next team meeting. Hey, even if it went SUPER well, we bet these tips will take everything to the next level. Ready to get started?
1. Make your brainstorming session visual.
We don’t know about your company, but at our digital marketing agency in Atlanta, our brainstorming sessions have a lot of information. Make it easier to visualize with a cool tool called Whimsical (plus you can try it out fo’ free!).
We use this tool so we can quickly jot down all ideas, and then organize them so we are all on the same page. It’s not only useful for brainstorming sessions, but you can create flowcharts, wireframes, or have sticky notes all within their app. Here’s a glimpse at Whimsical:
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2. Conduct quick user research for a better SEO marketing strategy.
Did you know Search Console can provide valuable data on what users typed in Google before they landed on your website? It’s a fact. And it can really help your content land with the audience that is most likely to take action with your offerings.
To get started, first get your site set up. After that, you’ll be able to navigate to the “Performance” section in the new interface where you can filter to see mobile or desktop users, time frames, and very detailed data on key search terms. Once you’ve got those keywords, build out your editorial calendar to match what your users are searching for.
- Pro tip: Take it a step further by going to the “Page” tab under the results. There you can see which pages on your website are performing best through organic search. You can even see which blog posts are receiving the most traffic!
3. Plan for a cohesive content marketing calendar.
After we’ve had our original brain dump of information within Whimsical and saw what users are searching for within search console, you can organize those content marketing ideas into blog post topics. We love using a tool called Writkit at our digital marketing agency. It helps with everything from choosing topics and keyword research to finding blog post images and proofreading your posts. See what it looks like below:
4. Determine when your site is most active.
So you’ve developed an editorial calendar with the above techniques and tools, now it’s time to find out when your users are online. CoSchedule shared two wonderful custom reports that will help you see when your website is getting the most page views and page visits, and they are sorted by day and hour. Add these custom reports to your Google Analytics account, and then schedule your blogs to be published around the high volume times so your blogs get the most exposure possible.
5. Get organized with Teamwork.
Alright, you’ve had your brainstorm session, you’ve seen what users are searching for, you organized your information into an editorial calendar, and you’ve determined when to publish your blogs for the highest impact. Now we like to get organized in our favorite project management tool, Teamwork, and more specifically the Teamwork Calendar. The calendar view allows you to see your workload and your team’s workload so everyone can be held accountable, but not overworked at the same time. Create a filter for your tasks by going to Calendar > Filters > Select Viewer.
We hope with these tips you’ll be able to build a great editorial calendar, develop a more cohesive content marketing strategy, and hold better brainstorming sessions. Want help writing, reviewing, publishing, and developing your content marketing strategy? Learn more about our content marketing services or get in touch today to see how we can help your team succeed.
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