This post was co-written by Monica Norton.
We’ve all been there.
Someone suggests a content marketing tactic or topic, and you instantly think, “That’s an awful idea. We can’t do it.”
Maybe it’s a new tactic that doesn’t fit into your content strategy. Perhaps it’s an idea that’s already been done. Or, possibly, the suggestion requires significant resources, and your content and marketing teams are already stretched thin.
Instead of giving them an immediate “no,” what if you explored how to turn the underwhelming idea into captivating, audience-engaging content? It’s not a pipe dream — it’s a skill set and framework you can learn.
We break the process into two parts — gathering information and developing a communication road map. Let’s begin so you don’t waste more time fretting over less-than-thrilling ideas.
Part 1: Prepare an informed response to the bad idea
Let curiosity lead the journey to turn the bad idea into something marvelous or gain alignment to kill it. Follow this framework to make every transformational step purposeful and impactful.
Step 1: Understand the ask
“Let’s do a podcast,” says the CMO.
“Let’s create a microsite that talks all about our new customer,” says the CEO.
“Let’s do a blog post about all of our updated product features,” says the vice president of product marketing.
Requests like these raise one question: “Why?” Try to get to the root of the request. Is the CMO asking for a podcast because they like listening to them? Does the CEO want to celebrate the new customer in a big way? Does the product marketing team think a blog post is the only way to let customers know about a product’s new features?
To gain insight into the motivation, ask the requester some questions, such as:
- Why is this idea top of mind?
- What do you like most about the idea?
- How did this idea originate?
- Have you done it or seen another company do it?
Then, ask what success would look like.
Sometimes, your partners, even with the best intentions, propose deliverables that may be better achieved in a different way. By knowing the background for the request, you can consider other options. For example, that blog post could work better as a newsletter. That microsite might be more successful as a case study on the main site. And that podcast might never deliver the expected outcome.
Step 2: Determine the intent
Successful organizations have goals from companywide to individual team key performance indicators. So, focus on the idea’s intent and answer these questions:
- How does its objective align with existing goals?
- Do the goals align?
- Where are they off, and why?
Find the idea’s overlap or misalignment between what the requester views as success and your team’s KPIs. Now, you can evolve the idea into something new.
For example, when our CMO wanted a podcast, the goals and the metrics of the podcast were misaligned. The team’s content KPIs are related to driving traffic to the website and leading people down the funnel to acquire leads. However, the podcast-hosting platform only tracked subscribers. We couldn’t track any listeners who came to our website or converted to a lead. Ultimately, this misalignment contributed to the CMO’s acceptance of not doing the podcast in favor of activities that aligned better with the goals.
Step 3: Focus on the real audience
You usually start a content initiative by understanding the needs of your brand’s target audience. However, it’s the third step in this framework because your first audience is the requester of the bad idea. By understanding their ask and the expected outcomes, you can then redirect the conversation to the customer.
Look for opportunities to transform the idea to fulfill the customer’s wants. 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 pain point.”
Step 4: Identify where the idea fits in the content journey
Now, you must identify how the ask fits into the planned editorial calendar. Do you have content gaps along the journey that could be filled with this idea? Can you optimize other assets to help meet this request?
You may need to audit your published content to understand what is really working for your audience and why. That data can help you move the conversation to a better idea.
Step 5: Look at your resources
A lot of the time, not-so-great ideas come with a ton of enthusiasm and urgency — leading to delays in other activities and stress about how to execute them. Instead of succumbing to that disruption, assess what your team needs to facilitate the conversation on 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 correctly?
With all the knowledge gained in Part 1 of this process, you now have sufficient information to start the next framework and build a better idea.
Part 2: Collaborate to get a better idea
Now, you are ready to communicate and collaborate so you and the requester can move forward together. You’ll likely need written communication and face-to-face conversations to finalize the proposal or strategy document and a creative brief.
Step 1: State the common ground
Start by stating your alignment, such as: “I’ve talked 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 the work this quarter.”
A statement like that builds a strong foundation for what’s ahead.
Step 2: Acknowledge obstacles
Be open about what may get in the way of success. Be upfront about the uncovered challenges, anticipated problems, and areas of disagreement. Is the budget adequate? 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: Restate the goals
Next, build the business case for the revised idea. Lay out the goals identified in the information-gathering steps. You don’t need an exhaustive list. Capture the most important top-line goals from the major stakeholders and the 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 shared goals.
More commonly, though, shared goal setting requires in-person conversation or debate. To make this discussion productive, use everything you learned in Step 3 to narrow the list. Kick off the debate by suggesting three to four likely goals.
Let the requester and other stakeholders narrow the list to a single, shared goal. (If one goal isn’t possible, identify a primary and secondary goal.)
Setting the common goal(s) anchors the brainstorming in the next step to ensure the new ideas can achieve it.
Step 5: Let the ideas roll
Now comes the potentially hardest and most fun part. Your approach to exploring new ideas will vary to suit your situation, the culture of the organization, and the nature of the request.
A brainstorming session with most or all the players will likely generate several options. If that participant number is too unwieldy, brainstorming with a smaller subset may be more productive. In any brainstorming group, include an outsider — someone in your organization who isn’t a stakeholder or directly involved in the project. This fresh, baggage-free perspective can be just what’s needed to get that aha moment that often precedes the emergence of the winning idea.
Another option is to kickstart the ideation process by putting forth a short list of alternative ideas. To get buy-in, present more than just your “great idea.” Even if the decision-making process isn’t democratic, asking for input in the selection can help get everybody to support the chosen idea and do their best work on the project.
As you work through the ideas generated from the brainstorming exercise or your shortlist of options, orient everybody around the common goal identified in the previous step. Set aside really cool ideas that won’t achieve that goal for discussion at another time. Pointing your colleagues back to the goal is also a handy way to stop new “bad ideas” from emerging.
Step 6: Repeat as needed
It’s time to admit a hard truth: This process may not be linear. It’s perfectly normal to take two steps forward and one step back. You may need to revisit earlier steps or even start over. But even that signals progress — your earlier learning makes it easier and faster the second (or third) time around.
Step 7: Get a final agreement
While everyone’s path through these steps may be unique, the feeling of triumph in moving in a better direction is universal. At this stage, it’s helpful to summarize the journey and thank everyone for their involvement. You want them to feel invested in the process and the outcome because you’ll likely need their help and support in the execution.
Work together to get a better idea
Even if the information-gathering and transformation framework process isn’t straightforward, turning those not-so-great ideas into something wonderful is incredibly satisfying. You work together to consider more options and get everybody on board for a smooth transition from ideas to action.
So, instead of responding with an immediate “no” to a bad idea, say, “Come at us. Give us all you’ve got. Let’s transform the terrible into terrific to uncover the real magic of innovation with top-notch content.”
Updated from a November 2023 article.
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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute