9 Marketing Project Management Tips You Must Know

Marketers know that in between coming up with a campaign and executing it successfully, there are a lot of steps to keep track of and manage. If you don’t lead the project well, there’s a big chance that something could fall through the cracks. Whether that means miscommunication amongst your team, missed deadlines, or incomplete tasks, you could end up with less-than-impressive results. Worst-case scenario, a mismanaged marketing project could lose you a client.

You can easily avoid many of these mistakes with quality project management.

Marketing project management is its own special kind of project management. Below you’ll find our top tips on how to make project management work for you and your marketing team. 

What is marketing project management?

There’s so much that goes into project management, no matter what field you’re in. Whether you manage a team or are simply trying to get a handle on your own personal projects, there are a lot of moving parts that go into it.

That said, marketing projects can get even more complicated than say, a product development project. You often need to make sure that communication runs smoothly, deadlines are being hit, and goals are met. That’s not to mention keeping track of all of those email threads between your team, the client, and anyone else involved in the project. Quality marketing project management can make or break your marketing strategy.

Simply put, marketing project management is project management for marketing teams. You can use it as a guide for creating, executing, and delivering any type of marketing project.

Whether you’re working on a campaign, a product launch, lead generation campaign, logo design, or are just trying to beef up a client’s SEO ranking, marketing project management is a great way to keep on top of everything that your team needs to accomplish for any given client. 

When you implement marketing project management, you’ll be able to:

9 Top marketing project management tips you should consider

1. Choose a goal

Before you can work towards reaching a specific marketing goal (that will be supported by your project management strategy), you need to first determine what that goal is!

Choosing the right goal will help you plan your marketing project better. Begin with the end in mind and you can’t go wrong.

Your goal could be anything from increasing brand awareness to building an email list, to a product launch. Whatever it is, choose it, write it down, and share it so that your entire team can see it. When you keep everyone in the loop and make your goal crystal clear, everyone will benefit.

2. Come up with an organized structure

Next, you need to come up with a project management structure based on your goal (or goals) so that you’re able to reach it. Once you’ve identified your goal, agreed on the budget, and determined the deliverables, you have to come up with a marketing project plan.

Your plan should include several tasks so that you’re able to get all of those deliverables done. Depending on how your team works, as the project manager, you may be required to allocate tasks to certain people. Some marketing teams are more autonomous, with team members who are able to assign themselves their own tasks.

No matter how it works at your firm, once you have a general idea of your plan you can really determine how long the project will take. You’ll also be able to keep yourself and your team on track. 

3. Use the right software

There are a ton of project management software options out there to choose from. Start by considering your specific needs, determine your budget, and then do some research. 

Project management software will make staying organized and efficient even easier. The best option will work alongside other software your team is already using, like G-Suite, Slack, and Zapier.

Workast, for instance, works hand-in-hand with one of the most popular messaging apps to bring you the best project management tool for Slack. It’s a great option for teams that already live in Slack and so are comfortable with the interface and how it works in general. With Workast, you’ll be able to manage projects, delegate tasks, streamline your processes, schedule meetings, and more. It’s a one-stop shop for marketing projects.

4. Choose a view (Kanban, Gantt, Timeline, etc)

All project management software has different views. The most common are:

Each view suits a different project. For example, the Kanban view is better for SEO projects, while the Timeline view is better for social media or blog management. It also all depends on what you prefer. Some people feel more comfortable with a classic calendar view, while others like Kanban. Go with whatever feels right for your team.

5. Always have a timeline

Having a realistic timeline is essential in marketing project management. There’s no use in setting outrageous goals and deadlines if you know that you’re unable to achieve them. Don’t set your team up for failure.

Proper time management comes with experience, but you’ll also be able to determine it once you come up with your marketing project plan. Within your plan is the project scope, which is everything that needs to get done before the project is complete. Once you have that scope, you can begin delegating tasks to specific employees. This will give you a solid idea of when you’ll be able to deliver the project.

6. Create screen recordings explaining the process

One tenet of good marketing project management is knowing where you can cut corners and where you shouldn’t. Time management is key! One way you can save your precious time and brainpower is through the use of screen recordings. 

Screen recordings allow you to explain tasks, assignments, and processes that you know won’t change anytime soon. It’s a great resource to send to new team members or vetted employees who are assigned a task they’ve never been responsible for. 

7. Create templates

Once you start using project management software, you’ll notice that setting up a project workflow from scratch each time can be time-consuming. Remember: time management is a huge part of project management. Using templates is another place where you can save time and energy.

You can either use the templates provided by the software or you can make your own that you can adapt and use long-term. Take the time to discover the pre-made templates as well as create your own. You’ll make up for the time you spend doing so for weeks, months, and years to come. 

8. Use Agile methodology

The Agile project management method has emerged as one of the best ways to break down large projects into smaller, more manageable tasks. The small tasks are referred to as “sprints.” Once the sprints are delivered, they’re reviewed by the rest of the team. Those deliverables are then either implemented or handed back to whoever delivered them to make improvements.

This type of management strategy is great for encouraging teamwork and collaboration. It works best for ongoing marketing projects, such as content creation or website development. The biggest upside of using the Agile methodology is that it encourages constructive criticism within your team, which can only help people improve.

9. Constantly communicate

As in any relationship, communication amongst your team, and between your team and the client, is key. As mentioned, there are so many moving parts when it comes to a marketing project. These moving parts are usually managed by different people. In order for the parts to fit together, the people in charge of them need to regularly communicate.

A quality marketing project management software encourages easy and fast communication. It’s just one more reason to implement one into your project management strategy.

Now use these marketing project management tips

Marketing project management is essential to the success of your marketing campaign. The organized structure makes it easy for the entire team to execute the project and reach the goal on time. It is also something you can track and assess after the completion of the project. You can use this data to set realistic goals and plan more organized projects in the future.