Editorial calendars: our content lifeline

We deliver ongoing content – e.g., blog posts, emails and newsletters – for many of our clients.

As a result, we manage a number of editorial calendars at the same time. And we love them.

Editorial calendars are our lifeline for content – they provide direction and insight day after day, week after week, month after month.

Here are a few stories about content calendars and how they’ve helped us.

Fresh content for a “new” campaign

One of our longstanding clients was launching a campaign targeted at people who are new to the country. Since we had already created and maintained a calendar that included months of content for this client, we needed to ensure that their new campaign aligned with the client’s editorial strategy.

An editorial calendar came in handy for a couple of reasons. First, we found out we had already scheduled some social media posts that would be perfect for the new campaign – with a few tweaks, of course. This fully integrated view saved time and money, and allowed us to pivot nimbly to accommodate new key messages. Otherwise, the potential of these posts may have been totally overlooked.

Second, when we added the new campaign, we could see how the pre-planned content would need to be designed to reflect holidays, industry events, etc. That way, we could ensure our client’s messages were deployed at optimal times.

And we were able to quickly assess the consequences of shifting existing messages, ensuring that the new campaign was seamlessly incorporated, with minimal risk to our client’s existing messages and objectives.

Years in, and still growing

Another ext. client has been building an industry-leading content hub. You can visit this hub and find insights into almost every single financial issue you could face. It’s remarkable, really. And, after years of producing content for this hub, we’re still going strong.

On one hand, the editorial calendar – with keywords, themes, titles and summaries – ensures we don’t repeat ourselves. We’re able to avoid any redundancies in content – except where we intentionally want to reinforce a particular theme or concept.

On the other hand, it helps us identify if and when we’ve neglected keywords, themes, etc., ensuring we stay focused on our audience’s needs. With a well-maintained calendar, these strategic gaps are easy to identify. Our client appreciates when we’re able to call out a neglected area, and give it some attention.

Finally, an editorial calendar is powerful tool to help us secure buy-in from our client on topics ahead of time, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.

Shoes for the shoemaker’s children

We’ve been running this blog since 2012. There’s a lot of brainstorming and inspiration that comes from the work we do. But of course, finding fresh content week after week can be challenging when you’re focused on your clients. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword that many firms face.

An editorial calendar gives us focus. It allows us to quickly switch gears from our client work to content that helps us win and maintain clients. We know more than anyone that it’s important to produce engaging and informative content our clients are interested in. We spend very little time struggling with a blank screen at ext.

What else can we say? Get working on your editorial calendar today, especially if you don’t have one.

Let us help you with your content needs. Contact us at 416.925.1700, 844.243.1830 or info@ext-marketing.com.

Read more:

Why (and how) you should take a stand with your content

https://ext-marketing.com/marketing-articles/four-quick-tips-for-creating-great-client-personas/