---
title: Editorial Workflow - Definition & Examples | RGM® Glossary
url: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/editorial-workflow/
updated: 2026-06-10
source_html: https://realgrowthmatters.com/glossary/editorial-workflow/
---

Growth Glossary — Definition

SHT EDITORIAL-WORK

# Editorial Workflow

Synonym for content workflow A working definition from the RGM marketing glossary.

Synonym for content workflow

Term
:   Editorial Workflow

Field
:   Brand & Content

Category
:   Marketing

## What the term covers

Start here.Editorial Workflow is a marketing concept your team should define once. A loose definition misaligns budgets and reporting.

Synonym for content workflow

Brand and content efforts build long-term equity and demand that performance marketing harvests. They are notoriously hard to measure short-term but increasingly tracked through brand-lift studies, share of search, and MMM.

Within Marketing, Editorial Workflow is a marketing concept. Get the definition right and the work that follows gets easier.

## How it operates

Pick one definition.There is no single setting for Editorial Workflow. It bends to the audience, the channels, and the wider plan.

Think of Editorial Workflow as context-bound. A small shop reads it simply; an enterprise reads it with more nuance. That is normal -- Editorial Workflow is shaped by audience and channel mix. Read Editorial Workflow without care and the plan wobbles; be precise and the read holds.

One rule always holds. Settle the scope of Editorial Workflow up front, then build the plan. Get it backwards and Editorial Workflow becomes a word everyone uses and no one shares. Pick one definition.

## When teams use it

Keep this in mind.Editorial Workflow earns attention at three moments: setting budget, choosing a metric, comparing options. Away from those, it waits.

Bring Editorial Workflow in when a live choice hangs on it. In marketing work, that usually means one of three moments. Away from a decision, Editorial Workflow is background, not a lever.

1. **Setting budget.** Editorial Workflow clarifies which budget line deserves more.
2. **Choosing a metric.** Editorial Workflow separates a causal read from a coincidence.
3. **Comparing options.** Editorial Workflow evens out a comparison that would otherwise mislead.

## A worked example

One idea, plainly put.The example below traces Editorial Workflow through a real Liquid Death scenario, with real limits and a number to read at the end.

Take Liquid Death. During a brand-voice overhaul, the team made Editorial Workflow the deciding input, not an afterthought. They set a baseline first, agreed one definition of Editorial Workflow, and only then read the result: earned-media value tripled year over year. The number matters less than the order.

Example walk-through for Editorial Workflow -- figures illustrative, RGM analysis

| Stage | The step taken | The reason |
| Baseline | Read the starting point before any change to Editorial Workflow. | Something concrete to compare to. |
| Define | Locked the scope of Editorial Workflow so it stayed stable. | Two people, one meaning. |
| Act | A brand-voice overhaul — one variable. | One change, a clean read. |
| Result | Earned-media value tripled year over year | A call backed by the read. |

These Editorial Workflow numbers are illustrative -- RGM analysis. The structure travels; the specific figures do not.

## Failure modes to watch

Keep this in mind.Teams slip on Editorial Workflow in four familiar ways. Each makes a soft assumption look like a precise number.

- **One-size thinking.** Using Editorial Workflow flat across every segment. The right cut differs by channel and margin.
- **No anchor.** Quoting Editorial Workflow without a starting point. Always pair it with a baseline.
- **Chasing the word.** Optimizing Editorial Workflow for its own sake. Check it tracks a real outcome.
- **Bad compares.** Benchmarking Editorial Workflow with no adjustment. Account for the model differences first.

## Common questions

How is Editorial Workflow defined?

Synonym for content workflow Settle what Editorial Workflow covers first; the strategy follows from there.

What makes Editorial Workflow worth knowing?

Editorial Workflow matters because vague vocabulary breaks strategy. A precise, shared definition keeps a team aligned.

How do teams use Editorial Workflow?

Editorial Workflow supports a real choice: where money goes, what gets measured, which option wins. The Liquid Death case traces it.

What is the most common mistake with Editorial Workflow?

Treating Editorial Workflow as one blanket rule and reporting it with no baseline. Both hide a soft assumption.

How is Editorial Workflow defined?
:   Synonym for content workflow Settle what Editorial Workflow covers first; the strategy follows from there.

What makes Editorial Workflow worth knowing?
:   Editorial Workflow matters because vague vocabulary breaks strategy. A precise, shared definition keeps a team aligned.

How do teams use Editorial Workflow?
:   Editorial Workflow supports a real choice: where money goes, what gets measured, which option wins. The Liquid Death case traces it.

### Read next

### Related terms