I’ve got a confession to make: there was a time when I thought that a creative brief was a waste of my time.

Today, as someone who loves figuring out how to streamline processes by creating templates and other tools, I finally understand why.

It’s because the creative brief wasn’t the right tool for the job (my job).

First of all, it didn’t reflect the B2B side of the business. The creative team created it for consumer brand projects.

It never felt relevant to the operational, mission-critical, yet decidedly unsexy urgent regulatory communications I managed.

It didn’t capture any of the relevant details I needed to express.

It was a hurdle I had to overcome to get to the point where I could ask our internal team for help.

What we needed was a separate workflow for these types of regulatory communications with its own intake form. Yes, it would share some DNA with the existing creative brief, but it would also encompass all the other things I had to hold in my head and communicate (and check for in review).

This situation was top of mind for me this Labor Day weekend in light of my CMI workshop on content governance last week.

Governance is an amazing tool for content teams. But there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

For governance to transform your content workflow, you have to take the time to understand the unique challenges and repeating elements that make up your most frequent content projects.

I know this can feel like just one more to-do on an already crowded list. But I guarantee that investing in governance has the ability to free you from carrying around all the processes and procedures that guide your work.

Governance is what truly unlocks the ability to scale your content creation across the organization while remaining true to your brand voice.

To get started on your content governance journey, read my recap of my content governance CMI webinar, and get in touch if you could use an experienced hand to help.

Coming Up on #ContentChat

Content Chat is my weekly LinkedIn Live video chat focused on sharing expertise and ideas amongst the content marketing community. Join the conversation on Mondays at noon Pacific / 3 p.m. Eastern. RSVP for our upcoming conversations by clicking the chat date below to get a reminder and to access the chat.

• There is NO #ContentChat today in observance of the U.S. Labor Day holiday. If you’d like to use the hour for some professional development, check out the free replays from CMI’s MasterTHIS: Content Strategy series.
• Next Monday (Sept. 9), on #ContentChat, I will be joined by Dane Frederiksen, founder and chief visual storyteller of Digital Accomplice, to explore how content marketers can overcome some of their biggest challenges—including creating high-value, relevant content consistently. We’ll explore how to plan for creative B2B content reuse from the start, and how video content, in particular, can help move your content strategy forward.

Get Involved with #ContentChat

• Do you have questions you’d like us to answer during #ContentChat?
  ​Reply to this email or join us on Mondays to ask them live!
• #ContentChat is now on Meetup!
  ​Join our community Meetup page to connect, learn, and share best practices in content strategy, management, and marketing with fellow #ContentChat members.
• ​Want #ContentChat on your calendar?
  ​Use this link to follow our calendar so you never miss a chat.
• We're booking guests for H2 2024—send us your pitch!
  ​Are you a content marketing practitioner, author, or consultant interested in being a guest for an upcoming edition of #ContentChat? We’d love to hear your topic pitch via our Content Chat guest submission form​

Content Marketing + Related Jobs

​Manager, Marketing Content & Campaign Strategy EMEA, Digital Realty.
​Digital Realty (disclosure: they’re a client) delivers a safe and open meeting place to fulfill a range of data center needs for leading enterprises and service providers. Its team is hiring a content strategy manager who will drive brand awareness and develop innovative content strategies to achieve the business objectives, focusing on EMEA audiences. This in-person role is based in London.

​Content Marketing Manager, Gartner.
​Leading analyst firm Gartner is seeking a content marketing manager to join its experiential marketing team. The role involves hosting live virtual sessions, moderating discussions and interviews, editing scripts, and supporting ad-hoc projects and strategic planning. The role is located in Stamford, CT, or Irving, TX.

​Director, Content Marketing, Riskified.
​Riskified empowers businesses to grow e-commerce sales with fraud-fighting capabilities and guaranteed protection against chargebacks. The company is hiring a director of content marketing to partner with its product marketing, demand gen, field marketing, and data insights teams to develop a content marketing strategy, roadmap, themes, and editorial calendar. This hybrid role is based in NYC.

​Director, Local Content Marketing and Social Strategy, Audacy.
​Audacy is a leading multi-platform audio content and entertainment company that reaches 200 million people. The organization is hiring a director of local content marketing and social strategy who will develop a close understanding of music, sports, and news stations, programming, and talent to help stations develop effective social media marketing. This role is based in NYC, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, or Chicago.

​Content Marketing Manager, Productboard.
​Productboard helps organizations build the right products faster with its intuitive, AI-powered product development solutions. The brand seeks a content marketing manager who will own its content strategy, content creation, and editorial calendar. The individual will also collaborate closely with product marketing, demand gen, design, and sales teams to support product launches and campaigns. This hybrid role is based in San Francisco.

​Content Marketing Manager, Skyflow.
​Skyflow is tackling the ever-growing data privacy problem with its data privacy vault that isolates, protects, and governs sensitive data. Its team is hiring a content marketing manager to bring the brand story to life and inspire its target audience. The manager will own the content strategy, grow organic traffic, and develop high-quality content across channels. This role is remote.

​Senior Content Marketer, Prompt.
​Prompt is revolutionizing healthcare by delivering highly automated and modern B2B software that helps rehab therapy businesses better serve their patients. The brand seeks a senior content marketer who will collaborate with leadership on content strategy development, case study production, and social media management. The position also involves live and recorded event execution, so video editing skills are a plus. This role is based in Hoboken, NJ.

​Content Specialist, Prometheus Group.
​Prometheus Group provides enterprise asset management solutions that power connected master data management, safety & operations, and maintenance needs. Its team is seeking a content specialist who will develop targeted content spanning white papers, e-books, best practices guides, blog content, sales enablement material, and more. This role is based in Raleigh, NC.

Send Us Your Content Jobs!

If you have a content marketing contract position, full-time job, or freelancer opportunity, reply to this email and let us know. We are always happy to share jobs with the community at no cost.

ICYMI

[Free On-Demand Webinar] CMI’s MasterTHIS: Content Strategy Series.
​These final days of summer are the perfect opportunity to review and refresh your content strategy—what’s working, what can be improved, and what new opportunities can you pursue? If you want to supercharge your planning, I highly recommend you check out the replays from CMI’s MasterTHIS: Content Strategy series. Six sessions walk you through the tools and processes you need to craft your content strategy, including my session exploring the content governance toolkit that will bring your strategy to life.

​Content Governance Is a Must for a Successful Content Strategy.
​I’ve partnered with countless teams to help get their content strategy on the right track—and their ongoing success often rides on effective content governance. In my new post for Content Marketing Institute, I share my proven content governance framework and break down what it takes to enable scalable, consistent content creation. This is a great companion piece to my MasterTHIS presentation.

​Is Cold Email Dead?
​I usually roll my eyes at “Is X Dead?” stories because they are often clickbait. However, this MarketingProfs article is a great exploration of the changing regulatory landscape around email content and whether marketers should move on to new channels. BTW I hate cold emails and rarely reply to any of them. Especially the ones that try to ‘neg’ me into a response.

[Free Template] Why Content Style Guides Are an Essential Brand Asset.
​Every organization needs a content style guide to enforce the brand voice and tone, no matter who’s writing (including AI). If you need help making a case for this essential investment or want a jump start on writing yours, read through my recent post about why content style guides are essential and access my free template.

Until next time, stay safe and be well!

Cheers,

Erika

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​Erika Heald, Founder & Chief Content Officer​
​Erika Heald Marketing Consulting​
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LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/erikaheald​
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misserikasf/
​Threads: @MisserikaSF​​
​YouTube: @ErikaHeald​