For more information on running a content meeting, see the Editorial Processes and Pitching Guide.
Every effective brand publishing team needs a dedicated content meeting. Ideally these happen at least every week. For bigger operations that produce more than 10 stories or posts a day, a daily meeting might be more beneficial.
Content meetings are one part of a larger editorial process. Content meetings can only work when a team has been able to put in place the right structure, the right pitching process and the right editing process. But a well-run content meeting can also mean the difference between confusion and lack of efficiency and a smooth, well-running brand publishing team.
It’s best to not let a wider marketing meeting subsume this content focused meeting. Ideally this may even be the only meeting writing staff attend. This is the time to ask writers to go through stories that editors or managers might want more information on or tweaked slightly. This is also a good time to open up for discussion on the big trends or news happening in the industry or the company that should be covered, but it isn’t clear exactly how.
Below is a sample agenda that can be adjusted to a team’s needs for a content planning meeting.
Sample
- At least three or four days before the meeting: Managers should send a call for pitches. The deadline for pitches should be 48 hours before the meeting
- 48 hours before the meeting: Managers should review pitches. marking the ones that are approved and green lighting them, with deadlines and word counts. Those needing discussion should be marked accordingly.
- Review: Open up the meeting by discussing the best performing work from the prior week or month to discuss what made it successful. (15 minutes)
- Content brainstorm. This time should be used for group discussion of any big events or news coming up that needs to be covered. This is useful in order to unearth stories that haven’t been pitched or thought of in a group setting. (30 minutes)
- Pitch discussion. A period of time should be set aside to discuss the stories that were marked as needing further clarification or those managers believe would benefit from a wider discussion. Writers can explain their thought process and help finesse angles and change formats. (15 minutes)
- Other matters. This is a good time to discuss metrics, other initiatives in the other parts of the company and sometimes even bring in guests to discuss, for example, site redesigns, new products or new initiatives. (15 minutes)