This post was co-written by Monica Norton.
We’ve all been there.
Someone suggests a content marketing tactic or topic and you immediately think, “That’s a terrible idea.” We can’t do it.”
Maybe it’s a new tactic that doesn’t fit into your content strategy. Maybe it’s an idea that has already been implemented. However, the proposal may require significant resources and your content and marketing teams are already stretched.
Instead of telling them “no” right away, what if you figured out how to turn the disappointing idea into compelling, audience-engaging content? It is not a pipe dream, but rather skills and frameworks that you can learn.
We divide the process into two parts – gathering information and developing a communications roadmap. Let’s get started so you don’t waste more time thinking about less exciting ideas.
Part 1: Prepare an informed response to the bad idea
Let curiosity guide the journey to transform the bad idea into something wonderful, or find the direction to kill it. Follow this framework to make each transformation step purposeful and impactful.
Step 1: Understand the question
“Let’s do a podcast,” says the CMO.
“Let’s create a microsite that tells everything about our new customer,” says the CEO.
“Let’s write a blog post about all of our updated product features,” says the vice president of product marketing.
Requests like these raise a question: “Why?” Try to get to the origin of the request. Is the CMO asking for a podcast because he enjoys listening to them? Does the CEO want to celebrate the new customer big? Does the product marketing team believe that a blog post is the only way to inform customers about a product’s new features?
To gain insight into motivation, ask the applicant a few questions, such as:
- Why is this idea at the forefront?
- What do you like best about the idea?
- How did this idea come about?
- Have you done it or seen it at another company?
Then ask what success would look like.
Sometimes, even with the best intentions, your partners suggest results that could be better achieved in other ways. Knowing the background of the request can help you consider other options. For example, this blog post could work better as a newsletter. This microsite could be more successful as a case study on the main page. And this podcast may never deliver the expected result.
Step 2: Determine the intent
Successful organizations have goals that range from company-wide to individual team performance indicators. So focus on the intent of the idea and answer these questions:
- How does his goal fit in with existing goals?
- Do the goals match?
- Where did they go and why?
Identify the overlap or discrepancies between what the applicant sees as success and your team’s KPIs. Now you can develop the idea into something new.
For example, when our CMO wanted a podcast, the podcast’s goals and metrics didn’t align. The team’s content KPIs relate to driving traffic to the website and moving people through the funnel to acquire leads. However, the podcast hosting platform only tracked subscribers. We couldn’t track listeners who visited our website or became a lead. Ultimately, this misalignment contributed to the CMO accepting to stop doing the podcast and instead pursue activities that better fit the goals.
Step 3: Focus on the real audience
Typically, you start a content initiative by understanding the needs of your brand’s target audience. However, it is the third step in this framework because your first audience is the one requesting the bad idea. Once you understand their request and expected results, you can then redirect the conversation to the customer.
Look for ways to transform the idea to meet the customer’s needs. Use the “yes-and” method with the requester, such as: “Yes, I love your idea of a blog post about the product features, and let’s start the article by explaining how our customer can solve their problem.”
Step 4: Identify where the idea fits in the content journey
Now you need to figure out how the request fits into the planned editorial calendar. Are there gaps in the content along the way that could be closed with this idea? Can you optimize other assets to meet this requirement?
You may need to review your published content to understand what is really working with your audience and why. This data can help you steer the conversation toward a better idea.
Step 5: Look at your resources
Not-so-great ideas are often accompanied by a lot of enthusiasm and urgency – leading to delays in other activities and stress in implementation. Instead of giving in to this disruption, consider what your team needs to facilitate the conversation about what to do next:
- Do you need more budget or resources?
- Do you have the right tools to measure the impact of the request?
- Do you have the time to do it right?
With all the insights gained in Part 1 of this process, you now have enough information to move on to the next framework and develop a better idea.
Part 2: Work together to get a better idea
Now you are ready to communicate and collaborate so that you and the applicant can move forward together. You will likely need written communication and face-to-face meetings to finalize the proposal or strategy document, as well as a creative brief.
Step 1: List the similarities
First, state your direction, for example: “I’ve spoken to everyone involved in this project and we all agree on who the audience is and that we don’t want this project to hijack work this quarter.”
Such a statement lays a solid foundation for what lies ahead.
Step 2: Identify obstacles
Be open about what might stand in the way of success. Be open about the uncovered challenges, anticipated issues, and areas of disagreement. Is the budget sufficient? Is the execution team overloaded, forcing reprioritization? You don’t need to spend a lot of time on this step. Simply naming the challenges makes it easier for everyone to discuss them and work together to overcome them.
Step 3: Rephrase the goals
Next, create the business case for the revised idea. Outline the objectives identified in the information gathering steps. You don’t need a complete list. Capture key top goals from key stakeholders and goals expressed by more than one person or team.
Step 4: Find a common goal
If you’re lucky, step 3 will reveal a common goal or at least identify Overlap to create one or two common goals.
More often, however, shared goal setting requires a face-to-face conversation or debate. To make this discussion productive, use everything you learned in Step 3 to narrow down the list. Begin the debate by suggesting three to four likely targets.
Have the applicant and other stakeholders narrow the list down to a single, common goal. (If a goal is not possible, identify a primary and secondary goal.)
Establishing the shared goals anchors the brainstorming session in the next step to ensure the new ideas can achieve that goal.
Step 5: Let the ideas flow
Now comes what may be the hardest and most fun part. Your approach to exploring new ideas depends on your situation, the culture of the organization, and the nature of the request.
A brainstorming session with most or all players will likely produce several options. If this number of participants is too large, brainstorming with a smaller subset may be more productive. Include an outsider in each brainstorming group – someone in your organization who is not a stakeholder or directly involved in the project. This fresh, straightforward perspective may be just what you need to experience the aha moment that often precedes the creation of a winning idea.
Another option is to jump-start the ideation process by creating a short list of alternative ideas. To get buy-in, present more than just your “great idea.” Even if the decision-making process is not democratic, asking for a say in the selection can help ensure that everyone supports the chosen idea and does their best for the project.
As you work through the ideas from the brainstorming exercise or your shortlist of options, align them all with the common goal identified in the previous step. Set aside really cool ideas that don’t achieve this goal for later discussion. Making your colleagues aware of the goal can also help prevent new “bad ideas” from popping up.
Step 6: Repeat if necessary
It’s time to admit a hard truth: This process may not be linear. It’s completely normal to take two steps forward and one step back. You may need to go through previous steps again or even start from the beginning. But even that signals progress – your previous learning makes it easier and faster the second (or third) time.
Step 7: Get a Final Agreement
While each individual’s journey through these steps may be unique, the feeling of triumph in moving in a better direction is universal. At this point it is helpful to summarize the trip and thank everyone for their commitment. You want them to feel invested in the process and the outcome, as you will likely need their help and support to implement it.
Work together to get a better idea
Even though the information gathering and transformation process isn’t easy, it’s incredibly satisfying to turn those not-so-great ideas into something wonderful. They work together to explore more options and get everyone on board to ensure a smooth transition from idea to action.
So instead of immediately answering “no” to a bad idea, say, “Come to us.” Give us everything you’ve got. Let’s turn the terrible into great to discover the true magic of innovation with world-class content.”
Updated from a November 2023 article.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute