Mapping and Merging Your Content Strategy
As part of my new book, I’m working out several easy (I hope) systems that nonprofits can use to develop content strategies and manage their editorial calendars. Two big parts of that system are Mapping and Merging. I shared some of this with my e-newsletter subscribers last month, and thought I’d post it here too, just in case you missed it.
Mapping Your Content Strategy
The first step is mapping out your big-picture communications timeline.
You chart out the big events outside your organization’s control, like seasonal variations in your work (kitten season for animal shelters, election days for advocacy groups). Next you map out the big events within your organization’s control, like your fundraisers and other major events. Then you lay your major story arcs over that. Read the full article on big-picture communications timelines.
With these big milestones and stories in place, it’s now much easier to start breaking down this big picture into smaller chunks of time, like a quarter or a month, and to develop a more specific editorial calendar from there.
Merging the Unknown into Your Content Strategy
But naturally, not everything goes as planned. In fact, you can plan on that! And that’s where the Merging comes in. You’ll need to make room in your editorial calendar for at least four different kinds of content that you can’t quite plan out in advance:
- Crisis communications
- Newsjacking
- Social media conversations
- Little bets
Read the full article on merging what you can’t predict into your editorial calendar.
Does mapping and merging make sense to you? Share your ideas and experiences in the comments.
