Behind every great brand publication, there’s a weekly editorial meeting.
As you rise the company ranks, you’ll experience a familiar rite of passage: the more responsibilities you take on, the more packed your work calendar will become with meeting after meeting — some more productive than others. While not every corporate gathering may seem like an effective use of your time, editorial meetings are essential to running a successful brand publication.
Because content marketing is a great way to strengthen your online presence and promote consumer engagement, you’ll want to make the most out of each meeting. Start by implementing these 10 ideas for enhancing productivity and encouraging participation.
10 TIPS FOR GREAT EDITORIAL MEETINGS
1. Determine Appropriate Frequency.
Get together with all required participants and establish an appropriate frequency for your editorial meeting. If you only publish one article per day, a weekly meeting should suffice; if you publish multiple articles per day, you may want to meet more often.
2. Invite Relevant Team Members Only.
Don’t invite everyone in the office to sit in on your editorial meeting. Instead, stick to the employees who absolutely need to be there. Anyone who is a part of the dedicated content team should be included. Everyone else can be emailed with updates as necessary.
3. Keep Editorial Meetings Short.
We all have that one weekly meeting that drags on longer than necessary. For a content meeting, 30 minutes is the perfect amount of time to cover the essentials. Some meetings may be longer than others, but try not to exceed an hour. Remember, every bit of time spent in a meeting is less time that could be spent producing content.
4. Stick to a Planned Agenda.
Outline key discussion points before starting the meeting. It’s easy to go off on a tangent or bring up a topic that isn’t relevant. Sticking to your planned agenda will also ensure you don’t run over on time.
5. Review Editorial Performance.
Employees will be more engaged if they can clearly see the fruits of their labor. Be transparent about the success of your publication. Give credit to top performing writers and give the team general tips for improvement on a periodic basis.
6. Check Progress of Current Assignments.
Use the meeting as an opportunity to receive updates on the progress of any outstanding assignments. This keeps everyone accountable for their commitments, while giving them time to ask questions and address concerns.
7. Brainstorm Content Ideas.
Hold a brainstorming session for future content ideas. People often feel more comfortable in a group setting, and this type of collaboration promotes creative thinking. Tell employees in advance so they’ll come prepared. During the meeting, compile a list of five to ten ideas to review at a later date.
8. Hold a Training Session.
If you think the team could benefit from a training session, have someone speak for 10-20 minutes about a specific skill. Be sure it is something that benefits everyone in the meeting. You may even want to ask team members to take turns hosting training sessions to discuss their individual areas of expertise.
9. Address Editorial Issues and Concerns.
Take some time to listen to any concerns that team members may have. Be sure the environment feels open and non-judgemental so you can be as helpful as possible.
10. Send a Follow-Up Email.
After each editorial meeting, send an email that briefly summarizes key takeaways. This will allow the team to focus their attention on the topics at hand instead of taking notes during the meeting, which often only serves as a distraction.
Not only do editorial meetings establish a content marketing plan, they allow writers to gain valuable feedback and apply that feedback to future assignments. With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to a more productive meeting that keeps your content team learning and growing.
