Sometimes, Big Is Better

mlns='> Even when it requires words like planning, process, ownership, and standards [View Message in Browser]( / [Add Us to Safe Sender List]( Weekly News 4.1.22 Connect With CMI [9 Visual Content Tips and Examples From Creative Brands and Experts]( Take a fresh look at how your photos, videos, and graphics do the talking for your brand. Here are some of our top visual content tips – with examples – to help you find or reinforce your signature visual style. [Read more]( By Jodi Harris More of the week's best stuff: - [How Competitor Analysis Helps You Create Landing Pages That Convert]( by Sally Ofuonyebi - [What Your Brand Can Do To Win the Instagram Game]( by Michael Becker - [How To Develop and Create a Wikipedia Page That Sails Through the Approval Process]( by Ann Gynn - [How Strategic Content Planning Helps You Say Yes – and No [Rose-Colored Glasses]]( by Robert Rose  Sometimes, Big Is Better What happened to strategic planning – once a core element of marketing operations? You may be saying, “Strategic planning is still a core piece of what we do.” Is it, though? Today's “strategic planning” typically involves semi-annual or quarterly events consisting of “strategy making.” Managers and leaders get together (often over bagels and coffee) to listen to SWOT analyses, participate in brainstorming sessions, and hear summaries of new ideas for the strategy. Don’t get me wrong. Creating a strategy is essential. But when I asked what happened to strategic planning, I didn’t mean strategy making. I meant strategic planning. Strategic planning involves managers at the appropriate levels of the hierarchy meeting to agree on detailed and prioritized plans of action for a coming time frame. Once a strategy exists, strategic planning defines which activities, and in what order, will support it. But a lack of strategic planning is the common thread among every client I’ve worked with over the last five years, and it’s a barrier to scaling content strategies. So why doesn’t strategic content planning happen? The answer lies in how content as a marketing function evolved to feed the growing number of digital channels created over the last decade. Here’s what typically happens. Content teams work as small internal production houses for their companies. As the need for content grows, the business adds more resources. Soon, content needs outpace internal teams and require help from external agencies or freelancers. Teams get larger, but they don’t learn how to act in a “big” way. When the only function of the content team is to serve up more and more content assets based on requests, there’s no need to plan and prioritize. Everything is equally important to the strategy. The content team gets big without learning what it means to be big. I worked with a content marketing team that had doubled its content production, added six more content creators, launched two thought leadership media platforms, and helped marketing drive more business into the pipeline over the last two years. But the more they added, the more they struggled. The content leaders worry that: - The quality of content has declined - They’re losing executive support for the value of what they do - Other departments feel impatient with the pace of content production They wondered if they were trying to do too much and if they’d grown too big. When I asked about the planning workflow, the answer made me question whether they’d allowed the team to “get big” at all. In this week's [Rose-Colored Glasses]( I explain why their “planning” process won’t solve their challenges, why content teams resist strategic planning, and what you stand to gain if you knuckle down and do it. Let me know (in the [article's comments section]( or [by email]( how you plan your content and whether your approach works for your team. In the meantime, remember: It's your story. Tell it well. Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute Do you have colleagues or friends who would benefit from Robert's weekly updates? If so, please invite them to [subscribe]( here.   Sponsored Content Share your business ideas for a chance to win $500! .Online Domains is inviting women to share their business ideas for a chance to win a $500 cash prize every week. Head to @getdotonline on Instagram to participate. [Take me there → @getdotonline »](  Content Marketing Job Listings Currently on a job search? Thinking about switching gears with your career? Please check out our job listings below. Available positions: - [Director Digital Marketing]( Remote - Integra LifeSciences - [Learn More]( Interested in posting a job here? Please see our [CMI Careers page]( for more info.  More from CMI Content Marketing World 2022: Lowest Rates End TODAY! The [super] early bird gets the worm – and also $200 off their pass to Content Marketing World in Cleveland! Register today at the lowest rates, and get ready for a program jam-packed with informative and inspiring sessions from some of your favorite speakers and fresh voices in content marketing. [Register Now and Save »](   ContentTECH Summit Preview: Organic Traffic & Conversion Strategy Google Loves Google’s recent advances in AI have changed the rules (again!). This week, we sat down with Dale Bertrand, content & SEO strategist at Fire & Spark, to preview his upcoming ContentTECH Summit session on how to grow organic traffic and increase conversions with purpose-driven content marketing and SEO. Watch the video, and then make plans to join us May 31 - June 2, 2022 in San Diego! Use promo code COMMUNITY200 to save $200 on your pass. [Watch Video »]( [Register for ContentTECH Summit »](   [Content Strategy Resources]( Events [Content Marketing World]( [ContentTECH Summit]( [Content Marketing Awards]( Resources [Research]( [White Paper/eBook Library]( [Content VIPs]( [CMI Business Directory]( Education [Content Marketing University]( [Chief Content Officer]( [Webinars]( [Job Listings]( Interested in advertising with CMI? [Learn more.]( To stop receiving future Content Marketing Institute update emails, please respond [here](. Copyright © 2022 Informa Connect, All rights reserved Content Marketing Institute, an Informa Connect brand 605 3rd Ave | New York | NY 10158 [Terms of Service]( | [Privacy Statement]( [informa tech]