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Planable is the best client-facing social media tool we've ever used and we've used a lot.
Managing a social media campaign comes with a lot of exposure and responsibility. You've got the opportunity to make it big... or fail in the eyes of almost everyone in the company. You're balancing strict deadlines, high expectations, and a lot of moving parts to...
Feb 12, 2025
You know that feeling when a project you’ve put so much effort into comes together? That’s exactly what happened when we got the green light to integrate Planable with Canva.
After months of preparation, we could finally bring seamless design workflows to our users.
As the product marketer behind this launch, I want to share how we turned this integration from an idea into reality in a process that had challenges but also pleasant surprises.
Canva is one of the world’s most popular design platforms for a reason. And we love it too at Planable. That’s not just marketing speak. Its accessibility and versatility are unrivaled, making marketers’ lives easier every day.
We knew many of our users needed a regular supply of captivating visuals. We also knew they were Canva fans. However, they had to constantly switch between the two platforms: design in Canva, download files, then upload them to Planable to draft posts and populate their content calendar. This meant they were losing precious time in the creative process.
For social media managers who rely heavily on templates to maintain consistent branding and save time, this workflow disconnect was particularly painful. Each template modification meant another download-upload cycle.
As someone who’s always juggling multiple tasks and projects, I felt their struggle. Each extra (unnecessary) step feels like a small paper cut — individually minor but collectively painful.
We knew integrating Planable with Canva would eliminate those frustrating extra steps and create the smoothest possible path from design to publishing. So we got to work.
Let me walk you through what we created because it’s honestly one of the Planable features I’m most proud of. The integration works both ways, which is crucial for different workflow styles:
Users can design in Canva and send their creations directly to their Planable workspace with one click. No downloads, no uploads, just seamless transfers. This is particularly powerful for teams working with templates. Imagine updating daily story templates or creating multiple variations of a campaign design without ever leaving your creative flow.
For teams who already have approved brand images in their Planable Media Library, they can pull these into Canva to add text overlays or additional elements. Perfect for teams who need to maintain strict brand consistency while allowing for creative flexibility.
The integration isn’t just about moving single images but about supporting the entire content creation workflow.
Whether you’re working with templates for daily stories, creating educational content, or preparing promotional campaigns, the seamless connection between Canva and Planable means you can maintain your creative rhythm without interruption.
We made sure to add thoughtful details that would make life easier for our users:
These features serve different types of users:
With the technical solution taking shape, we needed a solid plan to bring it to market. Here’s how we approached it.
Product launches are not all about the big announcement day, though that’s what the public typically sees.
In reality, the magic happens in the weeks of preparation. While our engineering team worked on building the integration, our marketing team crafted a comprehensive campaign framework.
First came our campaign brief, the foundation of everything that followed.
We mapped out our goals, identified our target audiences (from existing users to potential leads), and created messaging for different audience segments.
What made this launch unique was that we weren’t just releasing a feature, we were creating a bridge between two essential marketing tools. This meant our messaging needed to resonate with both Canva enthusiasts and Planable users, showing how this integration would transform their workflow.
We particularly focused on understanding different user segments:
With our strategy mapped out, it was time to choose our channels carefully.
Not every marketing channel makes sense for every launch.
Through team discussions and research, we discovered some interesting insights. Take SEO, for instance: We found that targeting “Canva” keywords would be like trying to win an Olympic sprint against the world’s best athletes — unlikely to succeed and resource-intensive.
Instead, we got creative and focused on Instagram-related keywords, creating downloadable Canva story templates as our entry point.
Our channel strategy was broken down into three main audiences:
We focused on our changelog website, public roadmap, in-app messages, and user newsletters. These people already understood the value of Planable; we just needed to show them how much better it could be.
For people who knew us but hadn’t committed yet, we leveraged social media, our leads newsletter, website banners, and blog content.
Here, we got strategic. Rather than competing directly for Canva-related keywords, we created value-first content like Instagram templates and focused on retargeting campaigns.
Here’s what made our launch truly special: we were able to leverage our Planable workspace and use the platform’s features to the fullest for a successful campaign.
Planable’s calendar for Canva integration campaign
Every piece of campaign content lived in Planable weeks before the launch. We created placeholder posts, tagged team members, and used our campaign label feature to keep everything organized. It was like having a mission control center where every team member could see the full picture.
Planable’s weekly content calendar with scheduled posts for Canva integration
Our design team became content-creating ninjas, preparing assets for every channel while juggling the strict requirements of the Canva Apps Marketplace.
Meanwhile, we published our SEO-focused content early, leaving space to add integration details later — like setting the table before the main course arrives.
We also did something clever with our existing content: we identified all our blog posts and articles that could benefit from mentioning the integration. This wasn’t just about promoting the new feature but about making our existing content more valuable to readers.
Of course, launching an integration with a platform like Canva came with its own unique challenges. The approval process tested both our patience and our preparation abilities.
One unique aspect of this launch was the Canva marketplace approval process. It wasn’t just about building the integration. We needed to meet Canva’s stringent requirements for functionality and design. This meant adapting our brand visuals to their style guide and ensuring every detail of our marketplace presence was perfect.
Instead of seeing this as a roadblock, we used the approval waiting time to our advantage. We refined our messaging, perfected our assets, and made sure every team member knew their role in the launch sequence.
Then came the moment we’d been preparing for: launch day. And thanks to all our preparation, it went smoother than we could have hoped.
When Canva gave us the green light, we were ready. Most teams scramble when launch day arrives but we simply hit the “go” button.
The only assets we needed to create on the spot were help center articles and product screenshots. Everything else? Already approved and ready to go. All this was possible in no small part due to the seamless collaboration made possible by the Planable platform.
Our launch announcement emphasized the simplicity of the integration:
While the launch itself was successful, what happened next surprised even our optimistic team.
Here’s something we hoped for but couldn’t predict: The Canva marketplace became a new discovery channel for Planable. People found our integration while browsing Canva’s marketplace and signed up for Planable as a result. It’s like opening a store on a busy street and taking advantage of the traffic.
Canva integration page for Planable
This discovery aspect has been particularly rewarding because it brings us users who are already invested in improving their content creation workflow. They understand the value of efficient tools, making them perfect candidates for Planable.
But a successful launch is just the beginning. Here’s how we’ve kept the momentum going.
Launch day was just one (very visible) step in the journey to making this integration valuable and successful in the long run.
We’ve continued to weave the integration into our marketing efforts:
We’re already seeing creative uses of the integration, like great Instagram Story templates, which show how seamlessly Canva and Planable work together for content creation and scheduling.
What’s fascinating is watching how different teams adapt the integration to their specific needs, from daily story templates to full-scale campaign management.
Leading this launch reinforced the crucial importance of preparation. Even with the uncertainty of approval timelines, having our campaign assets ready meant we could move fast when it mattered.
Here’s a summary of my framework that got us a successful launch:
The experience also demonstrated (once again) the power of streamlined workflows and seamless collaboration.
Having our entire campaign organized in Planable meant every team member could see how their piece fit into the bigger picture. Marketing, design, and content teams collaborating in one space, seeing content evolve in real time, and moving smoothly from ideation to publication — it’s exactly the kind of efficiency we wanted to bring to our users through the Canva integration.
We lived our own product’s value proposition, and it made all the difference in executing a coordinated, multi-channel launch.
Finally, what makes me proudest isn’t just the successful launch but seeing how teams of all sizes are using the integration to transform their content creation process.
Whether it’s an agency managing multiple client templates or an in-house team streamlining their daily stories, each use case confirms we built something truly valuable.
The integration connects two essential tools in a marketer’s toolkit, making the journey from creative concept to published content smoother than ever. For me, that’s what product marketing is all about — not just launching features, but transforming how people work.
Start your free trial of Planable today and see how our Canva integration can transform your content creation process. With 50 free posts available, you can test the entire workflow, from designing in Canva to planning, collaborating, and scheduling your content in Planable. Sign up and say goodbye to those tedious extra steps!
As a senior product marketer, Monica leads product marketing campaigns, drives competitive intelligence initiatives, and contributes to Planable’s growth strategy through extensive user research and data analysis.
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