Document Review for Marketing Teams: Processes and Tools

Are mistakes sneaking into your marketing materials? Is your document review in need of a refresh?

Having a solid document approval process is key to catching errors and making sure everything is spot-on. It helps your team carefully review content, design, and messaging before anything gets finalized. Using the right approval software can make this process quicker and easier.

Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about reviewing documents and see how you can improve your review process to keep your marketing materials sharp and error-free.

What is a document review?

Document review is a process where you carefully check documents for accuracy, quality, and whether they follow the right guidelines. This means looking at each document closely to verify facts, correct grammar and spelling, and make sure branding and messaging are consistent.

In legal cases, document review happens before sharing documents. Lawyers examine them to decide if they are important, relevant, or protected. This step ensures everything is in order before giving the documents to the other party.

A good document review process can also make your organization’s written content creation process more efficient. It helps ensure that all marketing materials and other documents meet high-quality standards.

Steps to document review process in Planable

If you’re in the market to streamline your document review process, Planable allows you to create, review, and get approval on any written document.

Here’s how you do it and establish a consistent process.

Step 1. Draft your document

Start by drafting your document in Planable. Our Universal Content pages allow you to easily create content for blog posts, newsletters, whitepapers, ebooks, briefs and more. Whatever specific document you need to create, you can make it here.

Step 2. Invite people to review

Invite both internal and external stakeholders to review privileged documents. This stage of the review process can be done through Planable’s collaboration options. You can assign specific roles to individuals, create review teams, and ensure each user can only access relevant documents.

Step 3. Set due dates

Save time and keep the review process on track by setting due dates for the relevant document. Planable allows you to set automated reminders. This ensures that reviewers and stakeholders stay informed and deadlines are met.

Step 4. Use comments to collaborate on feedback

Effective document review only works with collaboration. Our comment feature allows reviewers and stakeholders to provide feedback directly on your document. This is particularly useful for subject matter experts to weigh in.

All these discussions remain organized at this single source, making them easier to track. You can also add private internal notes, reply to comments, attach files, and resolve comments.

Step 5. Compare versions

You can easily track changes and compare versions of your document on our platform. The activity log and version control features help you oversee activity, and keep a record of revisions. This is useful for maintaining quality control as the document changes.

Step 6. Approve when ready

Once the document has gone through the review process, you can use Planable’s approval feature to get the final thumbs up. This marketing workflow ensures that the document is the final product, ready for the next step in your marketing strategy.

Having a document approval process guarantees that all necessary checks and balances have been completed, allowing your team to ensure the highest quality and accuracy before moving forward.

5 examples of when marketing teams will use a document review

Let’s take a look at five real-life situations where marketing teams rely on document reviews to make sure everything is on point.

Creative document review

Creative document reviews assess creative marketing materials, including blog posts, video scripts, whitepapers, and email campaigns.

Reviewers check whether the content is informative and aligned with the target audience. They analyze whether the message of the document is persuasive, concise, and easy to understand. For content designed to convert and engage, this is a crucial step.

For me, the revision phase is the second most important part of the creative process, right after setting a clear scope of work. I find the reviewing steps to be valuable as they enable us to produce high-quality deliverables that truly hit the mark.

Alexandra Prodea, Creative Lead @Planable

With a creative document review process in place, marketing teams can:

• Shape positive customer perception through well-crafted creative materials.
• Create cohesive campaigns that align with the brand’s messaging and values.
• Review creative documents for international or multicultural campaigns to ensure cultural sensitivity and inclusivity.
• Maintain a consistent visual identity across all creative materials.
• Ensure brand consistency and messaging across different channels and touchpoints.

The first layer of revision is checking for any overlooked mistakes or omissions. Then, we assess whether the work aligns with the initial direction and has an overall brand coherence. Lastly, we emphasize the importance of consistency across all deliverables.

When giving feedback on creative work, it’s important to be as specific as possible, rather than sending out general ideas. It’s also helpful to point out possible issues instead of giving solutions, and always start by acknowledging the positives. This creates a relaxed and casual environment for constructive feedback.

Business document review

Business document reviews ensure there’s consistency across in-house business-related materials. Think strategy documents, from brand and style guides to standard operating procedures. Reviewing business documents helps maintain professional standards, enhance the brand’s reputation internally, and promote cohesive messaging.

With a business document review process in place, marketing teams can:

• Ensure alignment with the project’s objectives, target audience, organizational goals, strategies, and values.
• Protect from misinterpretation, misinformation, or misunderstandings.
• Identify and rectify inconsistencies, errors, or outdated information in operational procedures.
• Consider cultural, and regional nuances, especially in global organizations.
• Guarantee the clarity of marketing materials and customer-facing communications.

Technical document review

Reviewing technical documents requires collaboration between marketing and technical product teams. It involves assessing all materials that explain how technical systems work, such as ‘how-to’ guides for new users.

The review and approval process ensures that the content is accurate and actionable. Comprehensive, user-friendly tech materials are vital in keeping customers happy.

With a technical document review process in place, teams can:

• Minimize the risk of costly errors or rework during the implementation phase.
• Ensure interoperability and compatibility with other systems or components.
• Identify potential scalability issues or limitations within a system or solution.
• Ensure documentation completeness and clarity.
• Identify potential risks associated with third-party integrations.

Legal document review

Legal document reviews are required when dealing with agreements and contracts. Legal teams input is required for freelancer or agency contracts, venue contracts for events, and supplier contracts.

Qualified legal professionals or experts review legal documents to ensure that businesses minimize legal risks, identify potential liabilities, meet compliance requirements, and protect their interests. They’re also important in maintaining good business relationships with third parties.

By reviewing legal documents, you:

• Keep an eye out for any potential legal or copyright issues.
• Make sure your intellectual property rights and trade secrets safe.
• Pinpoint any loopholes, ambiguities, or conflicts in contractual agreements.
• Remember to consider both local and international legal requirements.
• Safeguard against potential risks related to data privacy, security, or information governance.

Regulatory document review

Regulatory document reviews are important for marketing teams that work in industries with external regulations from the governing body. For sectors like healthcare and finance, there are strict rules that dictate marketing language when dealing with international regulations or operating in multiple jurisdictions.

For example, medical teams review documents like pharmaceutical ads for compliance with language and safety regulations.

Similarly, financial teams need to adhere to regulations in investment brochures and loan ads. Regulatory document reviews ensure that these are all above board whilst aligning with the marketing objectives.

Comprehensive regulatory document reviews ensure you:

• Minimize reputation risk and seize business opportunities .
• Address gaps in meeting industry regulations.
• Foster transparency, accountability, and ethical practices.
• Identify risks related to consumer protection, safety, and environmental impact.
• Build compliance culture, trust, and sustainability.

Types of document review

Different marketing materials will require a different approach. Let’s take a look at the types of document review, their reviewers, and what they can be used for.

Self-review

Self-reviews are an important step in the initial creation of a document. It’s often the first review before it’s passed on to someone else. At this stage, content writers assess their work for clarity, spelling, flow, and engagement.

For example, a writer may review their blog post before they send it to their manager for approval.

Peer review

Peer reviews involve receiving feedback from a colleague or peer who might be the subject matter expert (SME). Sometimes you just need a fresh pair of eyes. Peers can look at content relevance, structure, and tone of voice, and offer constructive criticism.

For example, imagine a subject matter expert (SME) in a technology company collaborating with the content strategist. The SME, with deep knowledge in her field, shares detailed content briefs with the strategist. The content strategist then transforms the SME’s insights into engaging content for the company’s blog.

The two work closely, exchanging ideas and feedback, to ensure the content aligns with the company’s goals and brand personality. As a reviewer, the SME’s input is invaluable, as she provides feedback, guaranteeing accuracy and relevance. Together, they create compelling content that showcases the SME’s unique knowledge and the marketer’s persuasive content.

Editor review

Editors approach marketing materials with a trained eye. They assess content for grammar, punctuation, formatting, and structure. This type of review refines a document, focusing on clarity and readability.

An editor will examine written content against established document standards and formats before signing off on it.

Stakeholder review

Stakeholder reviews involve gathering feedback from subject matter experts and relevant approvers. These reviewers assess content for relevance and adherence to industry standards. They might also evaluate SEO, too if it’s applicable.

A new product feature release, for instance, will require stakeholder review to ensure all teams are aligned and the messaging is unified.

Compliance review

Compliance reviews ensure legal obligations and internal rules are met. Thorough compliance reviews reduce legal risks and ensure adherence to industry-specific guidelines. Without doing this, a company’s reputation could be affected.

For example, a financial institution is gearing up to release their new marketing materials. But before they see the light of day, the legal team steps in for a compliance review.

The legal team ensures that the marketing materials comply with all the relevant laws, and regulations, paying attention to potential privacy and data security issues. Ensuring that the materials are GDPR compliant is crucial to avoid potential fines and maintain customer trust. Working hand in hand with the marketing team, the legal experts provide feedback and suggestions. They help fix any compliance concerns, making sure the materials are transparent and that they meet all regulations.

Ready to streamline your document review process?

Document reviews ensure the efficient evaluation of the quality, accuracy, and compliance of written materials. Thorough document reviews help marketing teams ensure accuracy and compliance for all materials.

Planable’s document approval process makes sure every step is handled with care, giving you a smooth journey from the initial draft to final approval. You can experience it firsthand by trying the first 50 posts for free.