Marketing workflows: ultimate guide [examples, process & more]

Dear Santa, 

I’m writing to you about my marketing team. 

Our whole process is inefficient… 😢

We’re stuck in endless meetings. Feedback goes back and forth without an end in sight. And we can’t meet our deadlines. 

Could you help me, Santa? Please! 

Yours truly, 

A nice kid.

Sound familiar? Have you been through this before? We’ve heard hundreds of similar complaints. 

And while we’re not the real Santa, we’re the next best thing. 

Our solution is a marketing workflow. It’s a strategy that simplifies your life. And makes sure nothing slips through the cracks.

Interested? Maybe you’ll get an early Christmas present. 😉

Table of contents

What is a marketing workflow?

Why do you need a marketing workflow?

5 marketing workflow examples to inspire you

How to create a marketing workflow process

Best practices for better marketing workflows

3 tools to help you streamline the workflow process

What is a marketing workflow?

A marketing workflow is a series of steps teams can use to build a marketing campaign or complete a marketing project successfully. 

You use it each time you start a new marketing task. The goal, mostly, is to share who needs to do which task and to what deadline. 

Think of it as a recipe. 

You have the steps carefully outlined so you can follow them as you go and create the meal of your dreams. 😋

Usually, it solves problems such as:  

• Regular overlapping of tasks 
• People often asking themselves, “What’s next?”🤷 
• Losing vital documents or assets 

With a successful marketing flow, you bring order to your operations. By splitting them into multiple steps, you can get the bigger picture. And even measure the result of your project. 

What’s great about it? That it comes in all shapes and sizes. You can use a simple bulleted list. Or make it more complex. 

It all depends on your industry, project size, etc. 

But you might not see the benefits too clearly at present. So, let’s shed light on them! 

Why do you need a marketing workflow?

“Do I REALLY need a marketing workflow? Sounds like a chore. Can’t you just snap your fingers and make everything work?”

Now, now. Don’t underestimate this marketing strategy. With it, you can do so many things!

“Like what?”  

Well, for starters, you can improve your team members’ satisfaction with their jobs and boost their productivity and efficiency. Or…

• Keep everyone in the loop: Till now, your editors knew you needed to complete the project for Monday. 

So, they’re stressed when they receive nothing from the content department. But the writers know they have plenty of time till Friday to do it all. 

A workflow makes sure everyone knows what’s going on — the project’s status, who does what, how to move forward. Everyone is on the same page, which creates harmony in your team and boosts efficiency. 

• Improve your management process: When there’s harmony, there’s joy. People singing and dancing happily, helping each other to reach a common goal.

It’s nice to imagine, right? A workflow can make it happen as it enables better collaboration and communication, which means people will work faster and better.

Plus, you’ve brought visibility into the whole project. 

• Prevents errors and mistakes: Imagine writing an email for a client. You can’t send it to your editor because they’re too busy. With what? You don’t know. 

So, you send it as it is. And only later notice the glaring misspelling. 

A marketing workflow prevents such mistakes. Plus, you stop wasting time searching for assets or feedback in email threads. 

You’ll have them all in a single place. 

• Increase the success of your campaigns: Nuff said. 

When you streamline everything, what happens? In short, you can identify new opportunities and monitor the results of your project. 

But you also see where everything went wrong and assign tasks to the right people. This results in happier clients and more profits. 🤑

“Okay. I can see how it’s helpful.” 

Awesome! That’s all we wanted to hear. But can you picture such a flow in your head yet? 

“Not really…” 

That’s okay. We can show you in the next section. 

5 marketing workflow examples to inspire you

“Alright. Show me.”

Let’s start with a…

1. Social media content workflow example

Ah, social media. It’s a thing we can’t live without. We endlessly scroll on our favorite platforms, watching silly cat videos or sharing our opinion on a topic. It’s addicting! 

In a marketer’s eyes, it’s an opportunity to advertise a business. 

For a social media post, for example, you might need the following people: 

• Analytics specialist
• Copywriter
• Graphic designer
• Marketing or social media manager

Here are the steps for ensuring a good social media management flow: 

• Step #1: Find the right content to share 

You know who your target audience is, right? Then you know what content they like to see. Is it a video? Or how-to guides? 

Decide on this aspect. And find relevant content to share.  

• Step #2: Write your content

The text won’t write itself. It’s not a magical pen and scroll. So, assign the task to the right person, aka the content writer. Give them a clear deadline. 

• Step #3: Craft a design

You can’t just paste a text on a blank canvas. And call it a day. 

You need to make it POP! And only a graphic designer knows how to do that. Involve one in this process to create a unique image. And get more engagement. 

• Step #4: Review and approval

Done with your blog post? Okay. What now? 

You don’t just post it on your site. You submit it for feedback first to either your client or your team lead. 

• Step #5: Monitor reactions

Your social media specialist’s job isn’t over. 

They need to regularly monitor (almost every day) how many people engage with your post. 

Besides, maybe people do have some feedback to share. It’ll help you see what worked and what didn’t so you can improve future posts. 

Now, let’s move on to the video marketing workflow.

2. Video marketing workflow example

Are you dabbling in video production? How exciting! 

We love to work with cameras too! Taking that great shot. Finding the right subject. Spending hours editing the raw footage…

It’s truly an amazing experience! But not all do it right as some get stuck in the middle and miss deadlines. 

Before we dive into the steps, let’s see who’s usually involved in a video marketing workflow: 

• Copywriter
• Cameraman
• Video editor
• Social media specialist

No two video-production workflows look the same, but they follow the same basic steps: 

• Step #1: Pre-production planning 

This involves a few things. First, it’s about preparing the script. This is where your writers truly shine. They have an important role to play: making your video easier to digest. 

Then, you need to hire actors. And find a location for shooting. Most importantly, don’t forget to assign tasks! 

• Step #2: Filming

ACTION! This step involves (obviously) shooting your videos. You go to the shooting location and get the cameras rolling. 

Once you get all your shots and footage, you can move on to the next step. 

• Step #3: Edit. Review. Edit. Review. Rinse and repeat

It’s a fairly easy step. And it’s where the magic happens. You take your magic wand (your video editing software) and start editing your raw footage. 

Sadly, you can’t just say “Abracadabra” and get the video to edit itself. You have to put in the hours. So put the coffee on.

• Step #4: Share your video for feedback

Feedback is critical in every marketing workflow. So, don’t hesitate to share your creation with your stakeholders. 

You can streamline the process with MarkUp.io. It’s a collaboration tool that works from any web browser. 

Stakeholders can leave accurate comments on your work and you collect all the feedback in a single place.

• Step #5: Publish 

Alright! This is the fun part. You have the final version of your video. Now, you can schedule it for publishing in your content calendar. 

Don’t forget to create promos for it on social media! 

That’s a basic video marketing workflow. Next, let’s dive into email marketing workflow.

3. Email marketing workflow example

Email marketing. So misunderstood by everyone. “What do you mean?” you ask. 

Well, think of it like this. 

What is an email marketing campaign? You just draft some emails and then send them to random people. 

“Sounds about right.”

Except it’s not that simple. You don’t just push the “send” button and go on with your life. An email marketing workflow involves many people, such as:  

• Email marketing specialist
• Graphic designer
• Content writer
• Analytics expert

And, of course, you should follow these extra steps: 

• Step #1: Choose your content

Think about what you want from your campaign. 

Is it to get more leads? Is it a newsletter with company news? Are you updating people on new product features? 

• Step #2: Create your layout

You can craft a layout from scratch or use pre-made templates from email marketing automation tools like MailChimp, Moosend, etc. 

• Step #3: Write your copy

Using the email template, have a content writer craft the text. 

However, don’t forget about the email subject line. It needs to grab people’s attention and make them want to open your email.

• Step #4: Send a test email 

This means having people review your email. A new perspective will give you new insight into your creation and flag up mistakes (grammar, formatting, layout) you might have missed. 

Then, revise! 

• Step #5: Hit that “send” button

Send your creation to your email list or schedule it. The important thing is that your email ends up in your subscribers’ inbox. 

Alright, let’s move to a design workflow example.

4. Design workflow example

Why is graphic design important? Because otherwise, all your posts will look like this: 🤭

A design workflow could help you avoid such situations and create a safety net that’ll aid your marketing efforts. Not hinder them. 

So, for your next design initiative, follow these steps: 

1. Find your marketing goals: Before you start, you need to find your objective. It can be anything from making a design that’s easy to navigate or making a post for Facebook. 
2. Choose your software: Pro designers use design software to create content. Think of Canva, Photoshop, and Figma. Choose one that’s right for you. 

3. Write the content: After choosing the type of content you want to make, create the text for it. 
4. Make it ‘POP!’. Here, a graphic designer makes a text look beautiful. They add images, illustrations, and vectors to create a good design. 

Remember: make sure your branding is obvious. Add your logo, colors, and text so people can recognize the message is coming from you. Not some imposter. 

5. Promote your design: Time to spread the word. Choose your social media channel and post your design there. 

You might think such a workflow involves only a graphic designer, but you also have a copywriter and a marketing manager in the mix. 

Last but not least, let’s chat about a blog content creation workflow. 

5. Blog content creation workflow example

Want to create quality content? Then, your team needs a good content-writing workflow. Otherwise, you’ll lose credibility. 

“What?! Why?!” 

Imagine this: you craft content for your Instagram account. It’s fun and casual. 

When your followers go to your Facebook page, though…It’s like they’ve entered a whole nother universe. There’s no trace of the trademark humor they found on Instagram. 

Everything feels very formal and that disconnect, naturally, is a huge red flag for potential clients. 

Your content marketing workflow should look like this: 

• Step #1: Brainstorm some content ideas 

You can’t just publish anything that comes to mind. Ideas come after careful keyword research. The keywords need to be relevant to your business. Get them right and you’ll have a chance to rank first on Google. 

• Step #2: Write that blog post

Easy peasy. A content writer writes a blog post. 

• Step #3: Review the content

Please proofread the content! Mistakes will only turn people away. 

You can assign this task to another writer or a manager. 

• Step #4: Create fab visual content

Your blog post should have some custom graphics. It should use your brand’s logo, colors, fonts, etc., and you can add them in the text to make it easier on the eyes. 

• Step #5: Schedule your post

Your social media strategist knows best when to post something. Have him schedule it accordingly so you get the best engagement. 

Now you know how to craft different creative workflows. It’s not as hard as you’ve imagined. 

But we’ll make it easier for you. Let’s talk about how to optimize your own marketing process. 

How to create a marketing workflow process

You’ve got the basics of marketing workflow management. Congrats! 👏 

You’re one step closer to mastering it, but take a break first. Inhale. Exhale. Go stretch your legs and get a cup of coffee. 

We’re about to dive into how to create an excellent workflow process. 

Step #1: Set realistic objectives

A recipe leads to a delicious meal. A basketball team shoots baskets to score points. A video game has quests with different goals. 

If your marketing workflow doesn’t have a goal…

What’s the point?

So, start by setting your goals. Think of the milestones and objectives you want to reach through your project. 

Do you want to increase newsletter subscriptions by 20%? Or do you want to sell a certain product?

However, you must also think about the project scope. 

For example, in a social media workflow, how many posts do you need to deliver in a month? Think about what your client expects from you. And how many deliverables you need. 

Don’t forget to set a timeframe! 

For instance, if you need to complete a project in two months, everyone should be aware of the deadline. 

Step #2: Assign tasks wisely

You have a new project in the pipeline. 

You don’t really have time to deal with it, so you toss it to your team and ask them to take care of it on their own. 

They do. To the best of their abilities. But when the final draft gets sent to the client…

It’s a mess. You ask your team what went wrong. The only answer you get is this one: 

Keep your workflow transparent by defining responsibilities. Each coworker should know what their tasks are. And what their role in the project is. 

So, after setting your goals, assign the roles. For example, it can look like this:  

• A content strategist researches the keywords
• A content writer and graphic designer work together to make a post 
• A manager reviews and proofreads the content 
• The same content writer publishes the blog post
• An analyst tracks relevant metrics and the results 

Of course, it doesn’t have to look like this. Your workflow is unique. Just like you. 😉

Step #3: Understand your team’s capacity

You know your team best. You know your copywriter is a shy one who barely speaks, but can craft amazing texts. 

Or that your social media manager is rather strict when it comes to spelling meistakes. 😳

Plus, you have to hold a headcount. How many people do you need for this project? Maybe a single copywriter and designer can do everything on their own. 

If there’s too much work to do, outsource a part of the workload. You can’t make a single designer do all the work by themselves. 

On the other hand, let’s say you have 10 writers in your team that mostly sit around and do nothing. Maybe you can increase the number of social media posts per month. 

They’re capable of doing that since they’re hardworking people at heart. 

Knowing how your team performs is a key ingredient in any successful marketing workflow recipe.

Step #4: Create a review process that works

Attention! ⚠️ No review process found in your marketing workflow. Please create one!

You might think that a review-and-approval process is cumbersome. We can see why. 

It halts your operations, mostly because your team doesn’t have time to dive into the specifics of completed work. They want to dive into their next new task. 

Yet a reviewer who understood the assignment could have pinpointed issues before they reached your client. 

And spared you an unhappy customer. 

So, every marketing workflow needs an approval process. The best part, though, is that you don’t have to do it alone. 

You have MarkUp.io. A tool that makes feedback a breeze. ✨

With MarkUp.io, you can invite people to collaborate in a single centralized place. Leaving feedback here takes less time than long email threads or crowded Slack groups. 

Those notifications will drive you insane at some point. 

Plus, MarkUp.io works for every type of document. Text. Image. Video. Website. PDF. 

In a nutshell, it’s awesome for every video, email, or social media campaign. 

It’s also easy to use. First, you sign up. 

Then, you upload your content into the Workspace. How? By entering the URL. Or clicking the blue “Upload” button. 

When that’s done, you can open your deliverable and click anywhere to leave a comment.

Yep. You heard that right. It’s that easy to streamline your feedback process. No more wasting time begging people to leave feedback on time. 

It all happens naturally. 

Try it yourself today! You’ll get a free 30-day trial. 😉

Step #5: Improve your workflow (if necessary)

This step is optional. We all love situations where we create something, hand it over for feedback, and hear only, “Great job! I like it! No changes needed.” 

Your reaction: 

Hey, it’s nice to dream. But sometimes it happens. In these cases, you don’t need to do anything.

But what if you get extensive feedback (the good kind, hopefully)? Then, you must take time to address it. 

But another thing this step is about is optimization and tracking the effectiveness of the workflow. 

This means looking over your processes and finding ways to improve it for future reference. It could be KPIs like “deliverable quality,” “deadlines exceeded,” etc. 

You’ve done it. This section is now complete. Now, let’s add the finishing touches…

Best practices for better marketing workflows

Looking to spice up your marketing workflow? Great. Here are the secret ingredients for better task management. 

1. Keep your workflow simple

Simplicity is a way of life. 

It’s about appreciating the little things in life, which make you feel calmer. 

How so? Because it gives you simple and hassle-free choices in the way you spend your time, energy, and money. 

This can apply to workflow too. A well-structured workflow is easy to follow and helps everyone involved understand their roles and tasks, creating no confusion in the process. 

So, when building a workflow, think about how your coworkers will take it. Make it easier for them to know what to do and when to do it. 

If you’re unsure, ask them. 

Let your team review the workflow. Then, listen to their feedback. Make changes, if necessary. 

2. Make your workflow dynamic

You have your workflow down to a T. Awesome! Hopefully, everything will go smoothly from here.

Except it doesn’t. Your content writer comes down with the flu at a critical junction. You can’t push the deadline. And you have no replacement. 

What to do?!

You should keep your workflow dynamic. It applies to situations like: 

• A new internal policy
• A tool change
• A personnel switch

In these cases, you should learn to adapt and make adjustments if things aren’t on the right track. 

Here are some tips for doing this right: 

• Assess the situation — Maybe someone left your team and you added a new member to the mix. Maybe you want to use a new tool, but your people need time to adjust to it. 

Take a moment to understand what changed and let your team process that. Are there new expectations and deadlines? How do you communicate with people? It’s important to define the team norms and values so people stay on the same page. 

• Always communicate — You need to be proactive in letting your team share their thoughts, ideas, or concerns. 

Change scares people, so be there for them. Answer their questions and keep them updated on your progress, challenges, etc. 

• Be flexible — Speaking of communication, it’s super important to stay open-minded. You need to be willing to adjust your work habits and preferences even in unpleasant situations. 

This way, you’ll cope with uncertainty and embrace new possibilities. 

• Manage your time — A new team dynamic requires time. You’ll deal with distractions or interruptions, but it’s fine. You can plan ahead to anticipate such issues or set realistic goals. Let your team take breaks to avoid burnout or even outsource when possible.

You can do it! 

3. Keep your team in the loop

When you say, “Jump!” your team members should say, “How high?!” 

You are the leader. And you should guide your team to victory. So, don’t be afraid to take the reins.

You should explain to your coworkers why you need a marketing flow. Answer any questions they might have. 

Also, tick these boxes: 

✅ Make it straightforward. Your team should easily understand what you ask of them. 

✅ Communicate changes. Keep stakeholders in the loop. If you make a significant change, everyone should know about it.   

✅ Listen to feedback. Can’t stress this enough. The flow should make sense for your team members so, if they have any problems with it, make adjustments. 

4. Don’t make your workflow the absolute truth

A marketing workflow is a tool. Just like Adobe Creative Cloud is. Or Grammarly. 

Remember that. 

“Why are you telling me this?” So you know it shouldn’t control you. It’s not the absolute truth.

If you stick to your guns, you might ignore other fruitful opportunities. This leads to frustrated team members. And reduced satisfaction levels and productivity.  

Try to remain flexible. And adjust your process accordingly. 

Buuuuuuut you can’t create a workflow without a tool. Let’s look at them briefly.

3 tools to help you streamline the workflow process

If you want to bake a cake, you need a spatula. And an oven. Even a mixer. You must use all of these utensils to make a delicious cake.

You can’t create a workflow on pure will. 

You need certain marketing workflow tools. And we’ve made a small list of them. 

Let’s check them out. 

1. MarkUp.io

Used for: Reviews, approvals, annotations.

MarkUp.io can help you with…

Well, everything! You want to get approval for your social media workflow? Done! Or wanna share your next email marketing campaign with your big client? Sure. 

Need to go on? 

Well, maybe Max Feld, product marketer at Ceros, can convince you that MarkUp.io is the right choice for you: 

“MarkUp allows me to annotate and gather feedback on a slew of file types with ease. It’s a game-changer for streamlining collaboration on design and content.”

Plus, it’s affordable. MarkUp.io has several pricing plans for different use cases. 

2. Asana

Used for: Project management.

Asana isn’t just about yoga. 

It’s a marketing automation workflow that organizes and assigns tasks. When working in Asana, people can clearly see which tasks are a priority and when work is due.

It’s less time-consuming. Plus, you have workflow templates that make your life easier.

3. Notion

Used for: SOPs, wikis.

Notion is a connected workspace that enables teams to collaborate better and optimize your marketing activities. 

And, according to Reddit, it’s a “versatile tool that is utilized by a wide range of individuals and businesses for various purposes.” 

In a nutshell, people can create databases, write notes, and manage tasks. All from a single platform.

***

“Is this it?” Sad to say, but ‘yes.’ It’s time to say our farewells…

Your turn

Have we proved to be a good Santa? 🧑‍🎄 Did we offer you the best solution? 

We hope we did. Because we searched the globe high and wide to find you the best present. 

But we have another surprise for you. You can call it a bonus if you want. 

This one is your new best friend, MarkUp.io! 🎉 Ready to meet?  

Then, don’t hesitate to sign up today for a free 30-day trial. And give it a spin. You’ll be amazed.