Crystal Clear Communications Blog

One of our content marketing workshop attendees asked, “How can we grow ideas generated at weekly meetings into actual acts?” It’s among the Top 100 Questions on content marketing.

Many marketers see this happen time and time again. Someone suggests what everyone in the meeting thinks is a great idea.

But since everyone has more than enough work already, you all run to the next meeting.

As a result, what could have been a great new idea goes nowhere.

By following simple tips, you can turn great ideas into actions that improve your content marketing results.

Is your idea on mission, on strategy?

Before you do anything else, make sure the idea and its expected results fit well within your written content marketing mission and strategy.

 For best results, do this alignment during the meeting where the idea is brought up. That way, you ensure buy-in from the entire team.

Real-time, face to face discussion is also much faster than email exchanges that can drag on for days after the meeting.

Who will see the idea through?

Sometimes the person who suggested the idea is the natural project owner. But that’s not always the case.

Before the meeting adjourns, make sure you designate an idea owner who’s in charge of seeing the idea through to completion.

Better yet, do a quick RACI chart to ensure more than just one person is involved. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. By putting at least one name in each area, you help ensure there’s accountability to put the idea into action.

Treat each idea like a key project

New ideas are fragile. They need a framework in which they can succeed.

Even if your project could be completed quickly, create a project plan and timeline. This is the step I see a lot of my clients skip. Too often, it derails the entire project.

Because the idea wasn’t in the original marketing plan, if it doesn’t get documented, it most likely won’t get done.

When you use a RACI chart, it includes deliverables and deadlines all in one chart, making it easier to stay on track.

If the idea is simple to execute or you decide not to use a RACI chart, even a simple plan can help guide you. Make sure you include checkpoints and deadlines to hold people accountable for reporting on progress.

Test ideas before you execute

Since you’re implementing a marketing action you’ve never done before, test the idea before full execution. For marketing content, A/B testing is a good way to find out how your audience will react to your content or call to action.

For example, I remember working with a group tasked with coming up with a new marketing campaign. We came up with two different approaches to our messaging.

Every single one of our executives voted for message A. But when we conducted A/B testing with our target buyers, they overwhelmingly chose message B. Buyers know best.

Always make sure to test the message with your target audience, regardless of what your internal stakeholders like best.

If you’re trying a new headline approach, use a headline analysis tool to help you find the one that will resonate best with your audience.

Good ideas prove value through measurement

We’ve all heard the statement “what gets measured gets done.” While it may not always be true, there are good reasons to measure new marketing ideas.

If you’ve asked for more budget or other resources to implement your idea, you’ll need to measure results to justify those resources and to get more resources to implement future good ideas.

Beyond that, you’ll want to measure if and how the idea impacted your marketing pipeline or other key performance indicators.

At a loss for how to measure your content marketing idea? You’ll find some good tips here.

Turn ideas into results worth celebrating

It’s always exciting to hear a new marketing idea in a meeting, especially if you’re the one who came up with it. But when we’re all so busy with work already scheduled, it can be hard to turn that new idea into action.

By ensuring the idea fits with your current content marketing mission and strategy, creating and implementing a RACI, and finding a way to measure success, you can turn good ideas into actions that benefit your organization.

Then, it’s time to celebrate success~

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