Effective digital campaigns need A LOT of content – emails, blogs, social posts, graphics, videos – and it all has to go through an approvals process. Unfortunately, this is often the bottleneck that slows a campaign down and reduces the overall output.
Here are 5 tips for streamlining your digital campaign approvals process and producing more content.
Write A Procedure
Without a written standard operating procedure, it can be confusing about who is the responsible party and some decision makers may opt for over-including if there’s no certainty, which slows you down. Some tips for your policy:
- List, by name, the individuals needed to approve content before it is published.
- Specify which type of content needs to go through which approvals chain.
- Provide time limit expectations on responses.
- Explain where and how approvals will be happening.
The policy can always be updated as needed, but writing it down eliminates any room for confusion or uncertainty.
Assume Candidate Words Are Approved
If a candidate said it, they own it. Whether that’s in an interview, a town hall meeting, or op-ed, campaigners should assume that the language is approved for the purposes of digital content. If not, your campaign has bigger problems!
For the approvals process, make a note of where the original words came from.
Designate A Separate Approvals Channel
Keep communications about approvals separate from other conversations where they could be crowded out. A dedicated Slack channel is one way to keep these discussions organized, but stick with a platform your campaign already uses. If text is best for your team, have a separate group text.
The keys are to have one place for approvals that everyone who needs to see them can.
Keep Everyone In The Loop
The more everyone on your team understands the campaign’s priorities and key messages, the more aligned your digital content will be. Whether that’s inviting more people to calls or CC-ing more consultants on emails, the more information they have the better your content output.
Some campaigners get into the habit of controlling information unnecessarily. Doing this limits the effectiveness of your entire team.
Give Feedback For “No”
Sometimes the answer on an approval is “no.” But unless you explain why it’s a “no” in concrete terms, the content creator doesn’t know how to improve. Give clear guidance like, “We don’t want to talk about this topic” or “You can mention this but it can’t be tied to fundraising.” Even if it’s obvious to you, the elaboration is essential for ongoing improvement.
People hate hearing the word “no”, and if that’s what they get from you most often, the quantity and quality will slip.
Conclusion
Your digital campaign thrives on content. The more efficient your approvals process, the more effective your campaign will be overall. Time is the only thing a political campaign never gets more of – so move fast with these tips.
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