Eight days. That’s how long the average approval process takes for content.
That’s a lot! Especially for PR pros who need to get the news out quickly.
The struggle to push content through the endless cycle of reviews, edits, and approvals is real. And let’s face it, no one has time to wait around while content sits in limbo.
We live in a world where the 24-hour news cycle demands immediate action and responsiveness. It’s a competitive industry, and getting your story out first can make all the difference. In fact, recent reports show that 39% of PR pros struggle with getting responses from journalists due to increased competition and challenges in effective story pitching.
If you’re finding that your current approval process (or lack thereof) has you missing deadlines, printing mistakes, and pulling out your hair, then it’s time to streamline it.
This guide will show you how to do just that. We’ll give you the lowdown on five simple strategies to speed up your content approval process. From figuring out who needs to be involved to using the best tools to setting clear deadlines, we’ve got you covered.
Let’s get started.
What’s a content approval workflow?
A content approval workflow is just a fancy way of describing the structured process we use to make sure our content doesn’t suck before it reaches the public eye.
Now, different types of content need different approvals. We’re talking:
- Bylines articles
- Video content
- Media pitches
- Social media posts
- Email newsletters
- Press releases
- Podcast episodes
Each one has its own special set of rules. We scrutinize tone of voice to maintain consistency, check branding to reinforce our identity, and meticulously verify accuracy and ethicality to build trust with our audience.
By having a content approval workflow, you can kick back and relax, knowing that every piece of content you publish for your company or clients has gone through the necessary hoops and hurdles.
What does a content approval workflow look like?
The content approval process usually involves multiple steps, with different stakeholders involved. Here’s an example:
Say you’re a PR manager for a company that makes enterprise architecture software.
You’ve just secured a thought-leadership article on the benefits of enterprise architecture in a reputable publication – hooray!
No matter what type of content you’re working on, the process typically goes like this:
- Request: Someone—a client, a media outlet, or another requester—asks for a particular piece of content or seeks proposals.
- Create: The creative team gets to work crafting and producing the content to meet the specified requirements.
- Review: Important stakeholders review the content, offering their feedback and suggestions.
- Publish: After incorporating any necessary changes and receiving final approval, the marketing team publishes and distributes the content as scheduled, often following a content calendar.
So, for the above example, that might look a little something like this:
- The journalist loved your pitch for your thought-leadership piece on enterprise architecture benefits and wants it by next Thursday.
- You write the first draft of the article.
- Your clients give you their feedback, either giving you the go-ahead to send it to the journalist or asking for some changes.
- You send the piece on to the journalist (hopefully, once you’ve learned how to streamline this process way before the deadline).
Looks pretty simple on paper, right? Well, the process can be straightforward with just a couple of review rounds and a small number of key stakeholders.
However, it can also be super complex when there’s a ton of reviews and an endless amount of stakeholders (we’re talking both on your team and your clients).
It all depends on the type of content, the project, your role, and your company. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to content approval workflows, but by the time you’ve finished reading, you should have a pretty good idea of what yours could look like.
Why having a content approval workflow matters
You know what it is. Now it’s time to understand why having a seamless content approval workflow is crucial. Let’s talk benefits.
By setting up a content approval process, you’ll cut down on endless back-and-forth during content creation. It also keeps everyone on the same page. Design, Copy, PR, Client Services, Compliance – everyone can see what’s happening in real time and make decisions faster.
A streamlined content approval workflow can:
- Cut down on delays around change requests.
- Save time finding stakeholders and updating the team on project status.
- Improve client project management by meeting or even beating SLAs.
- Speed up project delivery timelines.
- Make managing, sharing, and tracking the latest versions of media assets easy.
- Keep your project management procedures consistent.
Recent industry research found that while 45 percent of comms leaders say content creation is a top priority, only 33 percent think they’re “excellent” at telling a compelling brand story. These tweaks might seem small, but when you apply them to all your PR projects, the time and cost savings are huge. Plus, you’ll be in a better spot to create content that truly represents your brand.
Five strategies to streamline the content approval process
Buckle up PR pros, because we’re getting into the meaty stuff now (no more spinning wheels in the content approval mud)! Here are some killer strategies to streamline your content approval process and get things moving like a well-oiled PR machine.
1) Figure out who needs to be involved
Before you start, it’s key to figure out who needs to give the thumbs-up to your stellar content. Different projects usually mean different people need to sign off.
Let’s say you’re a PR agency with a mix of B2B and consumer clients. One client, a tech-savvy B2B bunch, wants a detailed byline article on cloud integration platforms.
For this, you’ll likely need approval from their tech team, marketing experts, and maybe even their top brass to ensure it aligns perfectly with their business goals.
Now, you also handle a fab consumer skincare brand. They’ve tasked you with creating a media pitch to get their new product line featured in top magazines’ gift guides. Ready, set, pitch!
This task will probably need fewer eyes because it’s more focused—getting a product into gift guides is much simpler than a detailed article for your call center in cloud client.
Here’s a list of who to consider:
- Your PR director (if you’re still climbing that PR ladder).
- Project manager.
- The client’s content, creative, design, SEO, marketing, brand, product, social, legal, sales, PR, HR, or customer support teams.
- The client’s C-level team.
But don’t go overboard—too many approvers slow things down. Keep it lean for quicker approvals!
Once you’ve nailed down who’s involved, group them to plan out your approval process, ensuring it aligns with your business capabilities. We’ll dig into that more in step two.
2) Outline the stages your content needs to go through
Here’s the lowdown on how to get your PR content approved smoothly. Start small by sharing it with your content and design teams first. They’ll fine-tune the look and feel. Once they’re on board, loop in your broader PR, brand, and client service teams. If you’re dealing with specific topics like SaaS trends or customer relations, bring in those experts, too.
For the final say, run it by the big shots or your client. Here’s how it goes:
- Step one: Content and design teams.
- Step two: Wider PR/brand/client service teams.
- Step three: Experts in specialized areas.
- Step four: Senior leadership or client.
Oh, and keep your reviewers in their lanes. As much as you might have great writers on your legal team, they’re only role here should be to spot any compliance issues. Your creatives should be the ones focusing on creativity. This keeps things moving smoothly, and everyone stays on target.
3) Establish clear deadlines and milestones for each stage
This one’s a biggie. A 2023 report on The State of Creative Collaboration found that waiting to receive feedback is the number one problem slowing teams down in the creative process.
Has this ever happened to you? You’ve just written the best attention-grabbing press release for your client. It’s a big story, and you think it’ll get a lot of attention from national publications. You need to put it out on the newswire quickly. If not, it’ll be old news quicker than yesterday’s TikTok trend.
But then it hits you. Feedback delays. You end up waiting (for what feels like an eternity) on approvals from the client’s product team. Days pass, and the urgency fades. Meanwhile, the news cycle marches on without you.
To avoid this headache, you’re going to want to establish clear deadlines and milestones for each stage of your workflow. Here’s some tips to do this:
- Clearly communicate deadlines to your team and stakeholders from the get-go.
- Keep everyone in the loop with regular updates on progress.
- Break down tasks into manageable chunks with specific dates.
- Stay flexible and adjust timelines when unexpected hiccups pop up.
- Use tools like Trello or Asana to track and manage deadlines effortlessly.
This keeps the process moving smoothly and prevents delays that can throw off your entire timeline. When everyone is on the same page about deadlines, you can focus more on creating awesome content and less on playing email tag.
4) Use workforce management tools
Let’s talk tools! Ever tried juggling a dozen PR projects without dropping a single ball? It’s like being a circus performer without the safety net. No pressure, right?
That’s where workflow management tools swoop in to save the day. Think Trello, Asana, or Monday—they’re like your personal assistants, but without the coffee runs. These gems help you schedule tasks, assign roles, and track progress in real time.
Imagine this: you’re overseeing a major press campaign for a client. With these tools, you can easily see who’s working on what, when deadlines are looming, and if any tasks need a gentle nudge (or a swift kick). Plus, they keep everyone synced up, so there’s less chaos and more high-fives for hitting milestones.
5) Regularly review and optimize
Time for a content check-up. Just like tweaking your Instagram bio for maximum likes, it’s really important to give your content approval process a regular once-over.
This can include monitoring PR metrics, like media mentions, website traffic, turnaround time (including number of missed media deadlines), and engagement, as well as getting the stakeholders together—maybe over a Zoom call—and brainstorming ways to smooth out any kinks.
And remember, just like workforce management tools helped earlier, there are plenty of PR and marketing tools out there to streamline this step, too, including:
- Media monitoring and analytics: Use these top tools to track media coverage and understand what people are saying about your brand. You can tweak your tone based on accurate sentiment analysis across different media outlets.
- Web analytics tools: Think Google Analytics, Ahrefs, and SEMrush. They go deep into your site stats, showing how well your PR efforts bring in visitors.
- CRM integration: This lets you link PR data with your CRM system to see how your PR work turns prospects into customers. Track the whole journey from interest to sale and fine-tune your PR strategy accordingly.
- Social media management tools: Platforms like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, SocialPilot, and Buffer are great for tracking how people engage with your posts. They help you measure the buzz and see what’s getting attention, so you can keep your PR efforts on point.
Final thoughts
So there you have it. Our complete guide on content approval workflow, packed with everything you need to know about streamlining it.
These tips aren’t just about saving time; they’re about making your life easier. Keep everyone on the same page, streamline those approvals, and use tools that keep things running smoothly. With these tricks, you’ll breeze through content creation like a pro, no matter if its a press release, media pitch or byline article.
Here’s to smoother workflows and killer content that gets noticed!
