As an agency, we’ve worked with a range of clients — from small businesses with no designated marketer to Fortune 1,000 companies that have marketing teams (yes, plural) and everything in between. And guess what? Bigger doesn’t always mean better. Yes, budget certainly helps. But we’ve seen plenty of small- and mid-size organizations absolutely nail their marketing strategies and exceed their goals.
Learn from our unique perspective. If you want to strengthen your results in the coming year, take a cue from our most successful clients. Here are six things they always do.
1. They have a documented content strategy.
Whether we worked on it with them or they produced it in house, our most successful clients have a content plan. They have a purpose. They have a content mission. They know what they are creating, who they are creating it for and, most importantly, why.
Of course, it’s not enough to simply have a plan. Successful teams refer to it often, follow it and refine it as they go.
2. They plan ahead.
The best-run teams aren’t reactionary. They aren’t in a rush with big projects. They don’t start every email subject with “URGENT.”
Successful teams plan ahead and have production schedules that ensure everyone has the time they need to do their jobs effectively. Yes, hot projects will still arise, but they’ll be fewer and farther between — and much easier to accommodate when everything else is humming along.
3. They value quality over quantity.
The teams we see moving the needle on their metrics are the teams that are focused on producing quality content. Their metric isn’t how much content they publish. It’s on the business impact their content has. That usually stems from creating the right pieces of content at the right time and promoting them on the right channels.
There is something to be said for publishing at a certain cadence, depending on the length of your sales cycle, the content you’re producing and the channels in which you’re publishing. But that doesn’t mean you should put out content just for the sake of putting out content. Invest in quality writing, design, video and photograph, and you will be rewarded with better-quality leads.
4. They are measuring content strategy outcomes.
The most successful communicators set annual benchmarks and goals that align with organizational objectives. They monitor their KPIs throughout the year and adjust their plans accordingly. And then they regularly share their impact with senior leadership. That’s how they retain their budget and staff: They illustrate their value.
5. They are true collaborators.
The most successful marketing teams are collaboration-minded. They check their egos at the door and focus on the final product.
Writer, director and showrunner for The Office, Parks & Rec and The Good Place Michael Schur summed up this philosophy, which he learned from Greg Daniels, in an interview with Vanity Fair:
“He taught me a billion things, but the thing that’s the most lasting is ‘best idea wins.’ And he didn’t care whether the idea came from a staff writer, a co-EP or an EP with 25 years of experience. … It’s such a simple thing to say that, but it takes an extremely egoless person to actually enact it.”
Adopt a project-first attitude on your team. Listen to all ideas and talk through what will and won’t work. Look at data where available. Then move forward with the best idea, no matter where or who it came from.
6. They know how to utilize outside help.
Plenty of clients bring us in because they’re short-staffed, overwhelmed or out of their element. We get it, and we are always happy to assist. But bringing in outside help isn’t always an act of desperation. Successful marketing and communications teams use agencies and contractors strategically.
Some clients turn to us for our expertise in copywriting and content strategy — they don’t have anyone on their team dedicated to these responsibilities. Other clients bring us in for a new perspective.
It’s easy to get stuck in your internal systems, unaware of what’s happening in other organizations. Working with an agency provides you with a window into how other organizations are handling various issues. How are they encouraging employees to promote on social media? How are they dealing with AI? How are they communicating reductions in force?
An outsider can also be an advocate for the end user. While communications teams are focused on key messages, an agency partner can help you determine what’s going to resonate with the average reader. We can filter out jargon that wouldn’t be understood outside of your organization and advise how to position your topics for employee consumption.
Your First Step to Content Strategy Success
Successful marcom teams are proactive and project-minded, and they focus their energy on producing quality content. The fastest way to get there is by developing a content plan. If your team doesn’t have one, start by learning the anatomy of a content plan. Then, use our Content Marketing Workbook to build your own strategy piece by piece.