Content Approval SOP for Professional Services

# Content Approval SOP - Professional Services

## Purpose
Use to prevent off-brand or inaccurate content from being published while keeping your content pipeline moving efficiently.

## When to Use
A procedure for reviewing and approving marketing content, website copy, and social media posts with defined reviewers, turnaround times, and feedback protocols.

## Instructions
1. Review the template below and familiarise yourself with the structure
2. Replace all [bracketed placeholders] with your professional services business details
3. Customise the tone and formatting to match your brand
4. Save in your preferred tool (Notion or Asana)

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## Content Approval Standard Operating Procedure

### 1. Purpose and Scope
This SOP defines the review and approval process for all marketing content, website copy, social media posts, and client-facing collateral before publication. It prevents off-brand, inaccurate, or legally risky content from being published while keeping the content pipeline moving efficiently. This procedure applies to all content published under the company brand.

### 2. Roles and Responsibilities
- **Content Creator:** Drafts content and submits for review per this procedure.
- **Marketing Lead (Primary Reviewer):** Reviews for brand voice, messaging accuracy, SEO, and quality. Approves simple content types directly.
- **Subject Matter Expert (SME):** Reviews technical or specialist content for accuracy.
- **Director (Final Approver):** Required for high-impact content only (see approval matrix below).

### 3. Prerequisites
- Brand voice guidelines reviewed by all content creators
- Content templates available in Notion
- Review workflow configured in Asana

### 4. Approval Matrix

| Content Type | Reviewer(s) | Turnaround Time |
|-------------|-------------|-----------------|
| Social media post | Marketing Lead | 1 business day |
| Blog post | Marketing Lead + SME (if technical) | 2 business days |
| Website page | Marketing Lead + Director | 3 business days |
| Client case study | Marketing Lead + Featured Client + Director | 5 business days |
| Press release | Marketing Lead + Director | 3 business days |
| Paid advertising copy | Marketing Lead + Director | 2 business days |

### 5. Procedure

**Step 1: Draft and Self-Review**
The Content Creator completes the draft in Notion. Before submitting for review, self-check against the Content Quality Checklist:
- Aligns with the content brief
- Follows brand voice guidelines
- Uses Australian English (organise, optimise, colour)
- All facts and statistics are sourced and accurate
- No competitor mentions or disparaging references
- Includes a clear call to action where appropriate
- Free of spelling and grammatical errors
- Images meet brand visual standards

**Step 2: Submit for Review**
Move the content task in Asana to "Ready for Review." Tag the required reviewer(s) per the approval matrix. Post a notification in #content-review on Slack with a link to the draft and the review deadline.

**Step 3: Primary Review**
The Marketing Lead reviews the content against the following criteria:
- **Brand alignment:** Does the tone, language, and messaging match our brand voice?
- **Accuracy:** Are all claims, statistics, and references correct?
- **Quality:** Is the writing clear, concise, and engaging?
- **SEO (for web content):** Are target keywords used naturally? Are headings structured correctly?
- **Legal compliance:** No unsubstantiated claims, no copyright issues, disclaimers included where needed
- **Visual quality:** Do images, graphics, and formatting meet standards?

Provide feedback as comments directly in Notion. Use specific, actionable comments rather than vague notes.

**Step 4: SME Review (if required)**
For technical or specialist content, the SME verifies factual accuracy, industry terminology, and regulatory references. The SME has 2 business days to complete their review and add comments in Notion.

**Step 5: Revision**
The Content Creator addresses all feedback comments. For each comment, either make the requested change or respond with a rationale for an alternative approach. Resolve all comments in Notion. Notify the reviewer that revisions are complete.

**Step 6: Final Approval**
The designated final approver reviews the revised content:
- For simple content (social posts, routine blogs): Marketing Lead approves directly by moving to "Approved" in Asana
- For high-impact content (website pages, case studies, press releases): Director review required

The approver either approves (moves to "Ready to Publish") or requests further changes with specific notes.

**Step 7: Publish and Archive**
Once approved, the Content Creator publishes the content per the content calendar. After publishing, update the Asana task to "Published" and archive the final version in Notion with the publication date and URL.

### 6. Feedback Etiquette
- Be specific: "Change 'heaps of results' to 'measurable results'" rather than "Make this more professional"
- Focus on the content, not the creator
- Distinguish between required changes (must fix) and suggestions (nice to have)
- Respect turnaround times: if you cannot review by the deadline, let the team know immediately

### 7. Revision History
| Version | Date | Author | Changes |
|---------|------|--------|---------|
| 1.0 | [Date] | [Author] | Initial release |

### 8. Related Documents
- Brand Voice Guidelines
- Content Calendar (Notion)
- Content Brief Template
- SEO Writing Guidelines

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**Complexity:** simple | **Setup time:** 15 minutes | **Tools:** Notion, Asana, Slack

Note: This template has been tailored for professional services businesses in Australia. Adjust terminology and compliance references to match your specific context.