A workflow is a system for accomplishing a particular goal, with steps that proceed in a particular order. Workflows appear in a wide range of contexts, from office work to manufacturing to a typical school day.
In a publishing workflow, each piece of content may be different, but the steps you’ll take to create and distribute that content tend to be the same for each channel. Because many of these steps are simple and repetitive, they’re ripe for automation.
Whether one person or an entire team is responsible for content creation and publishing in your organization, a content publishing workflow can keep everyone on the same page and ensure more efficient and organized content creation.
Using content publishing workflows to stay nimble
For many organizations, content publishing begins as a simple process: Create a piece of content, review it, and publish it on the internet or in another format.
As an organization grows, its approach to content may expand as well. As content generation, production, and publication become more complex, that complexity itself can create drag, undermining the organization’s ability to stick to a schedule of releasing quality content.
Complexity can trip up the most determined companies. In one Bain & Company study, 85 percent of surveyed CEOs said that internal factors like complexity, not external pressures, were responsible for their companies’ struggle to create value. Streamlining processes to combat complexity is essential for lasting results, write Bain & Company’s Ron Kermisch and Jed Fallis.
Content workflows help simplify things. They clarify the steps in the process and who is responsible for them. But automating a workflow can itself seem like a complex task.
One way to remove the challenges of automating content publishing workflows is to look for software that makes each step easy to understand and execute, writes Akal Sujlana at software development company Clavis Technologies. The right software can help guide the automation process, making it easy for your content publishing team to stay on track and keep their focus on producing excellent content.
Using Jotform to create content publishing workflows
While software can help your team automate content publishing workflows, the first step is to understand what you need to automate and who’s involved in the process.
“Each task should have clear directives, an assigned person who is ultimately responsible for getting it done, a deadline and quality thresholds,” writes Danka Jankovic at workflow automation platform DivvyHQ. The best workflows are scalable, allowing them to grow with the organization.
Jotform offers a number of tools that can help teams think through their content approach and automate routine tasks.
Track requests
What’s next in the content pipeline? Often, those who are generating topic ideas or are looking to create content aren’t the ones responsible for actually writing it.
Whether ideas come from other parts of the company or from outside clients, tools like Jotform’s SEO content request form and website content request form automate and standardize the process of collecting key information related to requested content. The Jotform templates collect contact information, data about the proposed audience and topic, and other key details. This tool ensures that no good idea gets lost in the content shuffle.
Stay on schedule
A key aspect of a good content campaign is consistency. Whether your team releases new content weekly, daily, or frequently in a day, a regular publishing schedule helps your audience know when to expect new information and inspiration.
Jotform’s content calendar template tool helps brands organize their content plans. The template allows teams to organize content ideas, track the status of the assignments, and ensure each piece of content ends up in the right place.
Get approval quickly
The content process gets more complex when one team member creates the content and another one has to approve it. Automating content workflows can make it easier to get content approval.
Jotform’s website content approval template allows teams to make approval part of the workflow. By making the approval process simple, teams can reduce disruptions and ensure the content process goes more smoothly.
Automating content production workflows also helps standardize the process, keep information in one place, and keep teams on track. The result is more consistent, high-quality content and a streamlined workflow.
Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash
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