How to Use Lean Six Sigma to Improve Your Content Marketing
Written by: Moniek James, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Lean Six Sigma is a process improvement discipline commonly used to improve working conditions to improve customer service. The ultimate goal is creating flow and eliminating waste in existing processes. Depending on the nature of your business, flow could mean purchases, output, or whatever the ultimate objective is.
I became certified in Lean Six Sigma in 2012. Over the years, I’ve applied the principles to various activities in my business, including my content planning, creation, and publishing.
If you are a business or brand owner who wants to get clear about knowing what to create, publish, and how to be more consistent, the 5S Method of Lean Six Sigma can help.
The first S in the 5S method is Sort. This means to separate what is needed from what isn’t needed. When you apply this to your content marketing activities, ask yourself the following questions:
What is the primary objective right now for my business?
What type of content will help me achieve that objective?
What is the most important conversation that my audience needs right now?
What does my audience want to hear/read/watch/need right now? What would push them to take the types of actions I need them to take right now?
Once you’re clear on your immediate need, the second step in the process is to Set in Order.
Let’s imagine that your content marketing process was on an assembly line. How would you need to arrange things in an order so that when they are ready to be used, they are readily available?
During this phase, you’re creating a content marketing workflow that’s efficient, aligning with your objectives, and supporting the sort phase. Focus on the difference between what needs to be done versus what needs to be done now because everything can’t be a priority.
Now you’re ready to Shine. If you were a factory owner, you would be adding oil to the gears and doing maintenance to ensure that your equipment runs smoothly. The shine phase is focused on eliminating breakdowns.
When it comes to your content, perhaps you would create templates or guides to follow every time you publish. This saves time and ensures that your content is consistent in its appearance, reinforcing your brand identity.
The Standardize phase intends to create process maps or standard operating procedures to support growth. This prevents overwhelm and allows for consistency. With a standardized process, you’ll maintain the quality you want to create in your workplace. You can maintain the quality that you want to create in your content, whether that is the tone of your writing, your graphics, or your video quality. Regardless of who's implementing your plan, the quality stays the same.
The last phase of the 5S Method in Lean Six Sigma is two-part, Sustain, then Scale, and this is where the rubber meets the road. This is where you maintain the norms that you’ve put in place while planning for growth.
At this point in your content marketing journey, you may be looking to branch out to new platforms or do more using your current channels, which will require a higher level of input and investment. Mastering your content marketing process at your current level will prepare you to expand.
I encourage you to apply the 5S model from Lean Six Sigma to step up your content marketing efforts so you can be credible, be visible, and you can be paid.
For mindset, marketing, and business ownership tips, connect with Moniek on Instagram or her website! Read more from Moniek!
Moniek James, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Moniek James is a Master Content Strategist, veteran, military spouse, speaker, author, columnist and online entrepreneur. Her passion is teaching purpose-driven business and brand owners how to leverage strategic content marketing to build awareness, establish credibility and create their profitable digital footprints.
Moniek has been featured in the Huffington Post, Fit Small Business, VoyagePhoenix and the Association of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs and believes that entrepreneurship is a building block to economic empowerment.
