Trello is one of our all-time favorite tools for marketing and in general. It is simple, intuitive, easy to use, and free.

You can use it for many things, including marketing. There are a lot of fancy paid tools available. But you don’t need any complex software to organize your marketing activities.

Trello can help you a lot in your business with very little time. It has more than one million active teams with 50 million registered users. Trello is a simple project management software based on Kanban boards with more integrations and power-ups.

In this blog, we cover how various marketing teams can use Trello to create a workflow.

We’ll talk about:

• Trello for content marketers
• Trello for content writers
• Trello for email marketers
• Trello for designers
• Trello for social media
• Trello for SEO

Trello for content marketing

Content marketing is an integral part of your marketing mix and has various aspects. As you know, Trello uses boards, cards, and lists for the ultimate workflow.

• Boards work as the parent topic
• List as the subtopics
• Cards as the main content

But before you jump on Trello and create random boards or lists—ensure you have a proper strategy in place. Once you have your strategy, it’s time to create a workflow with Trello.

STEP 01- Create a new board

Once you log into your Trello account, create a new board and name it—content marketing strategy. But if you create different forms of content, you need to create a separate board dedicated to each content form. Such as video marketing, blogs, eBook, and guides. If you don’t want to create different boards, you can mark the content format with various colored labels.

STEP 02- Create lists as per the content production stages

Whenever you create a new content asset, there is a set process for it. Here is how we at Contensify do it:

1. Idea list
2. Keywords approval
3. Content outline
4. Writing in progress
5. Reviewing
6. Editing
7. Publish

Each stage will require involvement from different members. You can assign the tasks directly by adding them to the card. This way, everyone stays accountable for each process.

NOTE- If you are segmenting the content forms as per the labels, don’t forget to add the labels to notify your team about the same. 

STEP 03- Create Trello cards for content

Add your different content pieces as cards inside the respective lists. To make your process easier, you can create template cards with basic guidelines common to every content asset you create.

You can include editing checklists, resources, or guidelines you would like your team to follow.

After you have created and saved your templates, customize them based on the topic, assign them to your team members, and set due dates.

Trello for content writers

If you have a large team of in-house or freelance writers, handling everything at once can be hectic. With Trello, you can manage a different board for freelance writers, assign articles, and track their progress. Here’s how you can do it.

Step 01- Create a new board

Create a new Trello board to manage content writers in your team. This will ensure there is no confusion and misunderstanding among other team members. You can also easily track the progress of your editorial calendar.

Step 02- Create lists

You can create lists according to the writer’s name or the writing stages.

For example:

1. Briefs assigned
2. Outline done
3. Outline approved
4. Writing in progress
5. Needs review
6. Working on feedback
7. Closed

Step 03- Add cards to your list

Start adding content for your cards and add writers to assign them the piece. You can also add the Countdown Power-up to remind your writers of the due date.

You can also create a writer’s checklist, which they can refer to before submitting the first draft. It can look like this.

1. Proofread the content
2. Added meta description
3. Added links to the sources
4. Added internal links
5. Checked the content for SEO
6. 7th grade in Hemingway editor
7. Formatted the content as per guidelines

Trello for email marketers

Emails are the direct marketing channel allowing you to connect with your customers. And Trello makes it easier for you to manage your email campaigns.

This is how you can create your email marketing Trello board from scratch:

Step 01- Create a new Trello board

Start with a new Trello board and name it— ‘Email Marketing Dashboard’.

Step 02- Create Trello lists

As an email marketer, you can create different lists as per your processes.

• Campaign ideas- Start by creating a list to store your campaign ideas. You can label them according to the month you’re supposed to push them out.
• Approval stage– Once you have jotted down your content ideas, you need to send them for review.
• Needs email copy– After someone has approved a campaign idea you need the email copy. So create this list and add your copywriter to notify them.
• Needs designing– Once you have the copy, pass it on for any design needs. Because some emails need a bit of HTML coding to make them appealing.
• Scheduled– Next, pass it to the scheduling list to notify the dedicated person.
• Results/Closed– The last list can differ according to your demands. Either you can create results and track the performance of your email campaign or close it.
  Trello for designers

Graphic designers handle different types of assignments. They receive projects from your social media, content writers, and developers teams. Rather than juggling through multiple software or boards—graphic designing teams can use Trello as their one-stop solution.

Step 01- Create a new board

Start with a brand new Trello board and name it. For example— ‘Team Graphics’ and avoid any project overlaps.

Step 02- Create Trello lists

Before you plan your workflow, create a list with all the information you need before or during work. You can name it ‘readme list’ and add all the information such as brand style guidelines, an editing checklist, fonts guidelines, and brand assets.

You can create lists according to the status of workflow or according to the type of project. If you’re creating the lists according to the type of projects, you can add things like:

1. Social media graphics
2. Animated videos
3. Website graphics
4. Short-form videos

But if you’re creating it according to the workflow, you can follow the below-mentioned way. And you can differentiate each through labels.

1. Readme
2. Backlog – for anything that lacks context or isn’t important right now
3. Design briefs
4. Request for review
5. Approved

Trello for social media

Like the previous process, you can use Trello as a social media management tool. You can store your resources, calendar, and ideas in one place. Once you have established a workflow, you can automate recurring tasks to create a seamless experience.

Here’s how you can use Trello as a social media management tool:

Step 01- Create your Trello board

We suggest adding a new board to avoid confusion and wrong deliverables. You can name your board—social media management and populate it with lists.

Step 02- Add your lists

As mentioned earlier, dedicating the first list to a ‘readme’ guide can help new members to get started with  the board without any confusion. If you have a set social media process or workflow, then name your lists according to the same. And if you don’t, you can have it like this:

1. Resources
2. Content inspiration
3. Needs copy
4. Needs design
5. In-review
6. Working on edits
7. Approved
8. Scheduled
9. Posted

Another option is to create lists as per your social media platform. For example, one list for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. You can create cards under each list concerning each platform for a clear workflow.

Level up your social media management game with Calendar Power-Up to your Trello board, and it will give you a comprehensive view of every ongoing task.

Trello for SEO

SEO is an integral part of content marketing. The SEO Trello board will be similar to the social media board. SEO has multiple aspects such as:

1. Keyword research
2. Technical SEO
3. SEO content
4. On-page SEO
5. Off-page SEO
6. User experience
7. Local SEO

To manage your SEO processes through Trello, you must create multiple lists dedicated to each of the above points. Each aspect is crucial, and we, at Contensify, pay close attention to each, so you don’t have to.

Wrapping up

Trello is a powerhouse and we are quite surprised by how accessible and easy it is. However, it might take some time for you to create and get used to the process. At Contensify, we manage everything from creating a balanced marketing strategy to executing it. Learn more here.