Nurtering strategy and success into a business within the heart of Newcastle

As previously mentioned, the client’s digital department had been working quite reactively in terms of scheduling and posting content on their various digital platforms. The client was in need of a streamlined digital pipeline and workflow with a focus on a direct and concise pro-active approach.

The client’s current pipeline was reliant on approaching the leadership teams of the companies various subsidiary businesses to discuss deals or promotions on a weekly business and re-crafting or reposting older content to meet their needs where possible.

While this strategy may be effective for a smaller business, this particular approach for a department that is managing multiple businesses’ digital presence was simply not sustainable for growth and was causing more harm than good. With short turnarounds and a lack of wider strategies, this approach cultivated and fostered a chaotic environment and delivered content that was not necessarily cohesive to a wider brand.

Identifying these core issues, I developed a new digital workflow pipeline in which all of the teams would be able to work cohesively and efficiently in order to facilitate growth. Distancing the client from weekly phone calls and discussions on what to post, I proposed the company instead move to a pro-active monthly content calendar approach.

Implementing this process would allow the client to develop clear short and long-term goals, all while facilitating a stronger understanding of their audience, providing a flashlight in the dark on how to pivot and navigate the digital world of each respective industry when necessary.

Moving towards monthly content calendars allowed the client to take a step back from the looking at each metaphorical tree and see the forest as a whole. Instead of chasing managers or team members for content each week, the team would now operate from a streamlined digital plan.

Each plan would cover a single calendar month for each respective business and would allow the client to have a much wider insight into when, where, and how the digital landscape would look. It would cover every post or piece of digital content. Each of those posts would then come with its own content brief and would highlight key information to ensure delivery. The content briefs focus was to act as a digital function sheet - allowing designers, videographers, or whomever to download and view everything necessary for delivery.

By implementing these steps, the client was not only able to develop a clear path for the digital team on a monthly basis, it also:

• Championed collaboration amongst departments (ie; Sales team could see and ensure that they would have promotions tailored to certain event and could tailor their approach)

• Built out brand personas by tailoring content to certain target audiences and testing performances

• Improve alignment of digital content with key business targets and goals

• Develop a singular source of information for all involved departments

• Establish baseline core budgets for paid advertising

• Build out a database of expected vs actual reach for reporting from social platforms

• Easing pain-points for content creation / design by developing content briefs and establishing accountability through deadlines and expectations

• Encouraged ideation sessions and encouraged further-form long-term thinking

• Identified areas-of-improvement where lack of content may exist and provide opportunity to remedy before pain-points occurred

• Identify needs for hiring or freelance opportunities based on strategies and goals

• Reduced stress within the team and improved productivity