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SOP-092 — Content calendar

Guide

<!-- last-reviewed: 2026-06-01 · owner: Growth (Content Strategist) -->

SOP-092 — Content calendar

SOP · owner: Growth (Content Strategist). Layer: SOP/Runbook (docs/canon.md). The episode format, chunk taxonomy, and derivatives live in docs/concept.md; the cadence and audience segment are set by the Growth Director (SOP-091); the unit boundary lives in docs/units/growth/charter.md — not restated here. This is the Content Strategist’s one required SOP (artifact-matrix §3 ✓): the recurring procedure that mines real work for latent content, matches it to a format, and places dated, specific entries on the calendar bounded by the Director’s cadence.

Interface Contract

  • Inputs: cadence + segment commission ← from Growth Director · trigger: content commissioned
  • Inputs: produced-artifact record (source material) ← from Archivist · trigger: preservation complete
  • Outputs: content brief → to Video Producer · trigger: content brief issued
  • Outputs: calendar + content brief → to Growth Director (review) · trigger: content commissioned
  • Outputs: calendar / briefs / health report → to Archivist · trigger: artifact approved
  • Handoff trigger (in): the Growth Director commissions a series with a segment, lever, and cadence
  • Handoff trigger (out): a dated, specific calendar is built and a per-episode content brief is handed to the Video Producer for scripting
  • Definition of Done before handoff:
    • [ ] Each calendar entry is specific: title (not topic area) · format (from the library) · source-material path · target date (not a week range) · status
    • [ ] Each entry’s format exists in docs/content/formats.md (no ad-hoc formats; define before using)
    • [ ] Each entry is sourced from real, already-produced work (show-the-work ethos); thin material is flagged, not fabricated
    • [ ] The calendar honours the Director’s cadence (frequency · pacing); no rhythm invented unilaterally
    • [ ] Each brief moving to brief-ready carries premise · source paths · format + length · 3–5 key beats · suggested title · thumbnail concept (one-sentence prompt) · CTA
    • [ ] Learnings captured to docs/knowledge/growth/ if the work surfaced one
    • [ ] Calendar/briefs handed to the Archivist (0 drift)

Triggers — registration status. preservation complete and artifact approved are registered (docs/handoff-triggers.md seed block). content commissioned (Growth Director → Content Strategist) and content brief issued (Content Strategist → Video Producer) are registered (docs/handoff-triggers.md, Waves 3+4 block). All three Growth-unit counterparties are authored, so the content commissioned and content brief issued edges reconcile within the unit; the Archivist sink absorbs artifact approved per interface-contract-spec.md §3.1.1 R1.

Purpose

Build and maintain a living content calendar: mine the archive for latent content, match each piece to a defined format, and place dated, specific entries the Video Producer can script from — so the channel grows on a reliable system, not on impulse posting, and every episode is derived from real work rather than produced for the channel.

When to use

Whenever the Growth Director commissions a series or content arc, when new work lands in the archive that is ripe to surface, or on the periodic content-health cadence (at minimum monthly) to reconcile planned vs. published.

Flow

flowchart LR
  A["Commission<br/>(segment · cadence)"] --> B["Mine archive<br/>for latent content"]
  B --> C{"Fits a library<br/>format?"}
  C -->|no| D["Define a new<br/>format first"]
  C -->|yes| E["Place dated, specific<br/>calendar entry"]
  D --> E
  E --> F["Write the<br/>content brief"]
  F --> G["→ Video Producer<br/>(content brief issued)"]
  E --> H["Content-health<br/>audit"]
  F --> AR["→ Archivist;<br/>→ Growth Director"]
  classDef s fill:#1d4ed8,color:#fff,stroke:#1e3a8a
  classDef d fill:#0f766e,color:#fff,stroke:#134e4a
  class A,B,D,E,F,G,H,AR s
  class C d

Text fallback: a commission arrives (segment · lever · cadence) → mine archive/MANIFEST.md for latent content (gate decisions, specs, experiments, build milestones) → does it fit a library format? (no → define a new format in docs/content/formats.md first; yes → proceed) → place a dated, specific calendar entry (title · format · source path · date · status) → write the content brief and hand it to the Video Producer (content brief issued) → run a periodic content-health audit → hand docs to the Archivist and the calendar to the Growth Director for review.

Steps

  1. Read before proposing — docs/content/calendar.md (what is already planned), archive/MANIFEST.md (what was produced), and the active venture phase. Do not duplicate calendared content or plan against material that does not exist.
  2. Mine for latent content — scan for work that already happened and is ready to surface: gate decisions → “Gate Debrief”; specs → “Spec Walk-Through”; experiment results → “What We Tested”; build milestones → “How We Shipped This”. Prioritise recency and narrative coherence.
  3. Match material to a format — select from docs/content/formats.md. If no format fits, define a new one there before using it; never invent ad-hoc formats. If none of the heuristics fit, flag to the Growth Director rather than force a fit.
  4. Place the calendar entry — title (specific) · format · source path · target date · production dependencies · status (planned → brief-ready → in-production → published). Sequence for narrative coherence and honour the Director’s cadence.
  5. Write the content brief for each entry moving to brief-ready (docs/content/briefs/<slug>.md): premise · source paths · format + length · 3–5 key beats · suggested title (+2 alternates) · thumbnail concept (one-sentence prompt) · CTA. A brief is done when the producer can script without asking a planning question.
  6. Hand the brief to the Video Producer (content brief issued); maintain the distribution plan (docs/content/distribution.md) when cadence or cross-posting changes.
  7. Run the content-health audit (monthly or on request): planned-vs-published rate, backlog age (>4 weeks stale = flag), format diversity, source-coverage gaps. Produce docs/content/health-<YYYY-MM>.md; surface findings to the Growth Director with a concrete recommendation.
  8. Hand off and capture — all docs to the Archivist; durable patterns to docs/knowledge/growth/.

Roles / approvers

Run by the Content Strategist. The Growth Director sets the cadence/segment, approves series arcs, and reviews the calendar against the strategy. The Video Producer consumes the briefs. The Archivist preserves every artifact.

Guardrails

  • Calendar specificity — vague entries (no title, no source, no date) are wishes, not entries; promote or remove them.
  • Format discipline — no ad-hoc formats; if it is not in the library, define it first.
  • Content from real work — never plan an episode that requires the Principal to produce work solely for the channel; if no real artifact exists, the episode does not belong on the calendar.
  • Stay in lane — do not set channel positioning/monetization (Growth Director), make visual/brand calls (Creative), decide what gets built (CPTO), commission production spend (Finance/Principal), or publish/upload (Principal).
  • Surface conflicts — a calendar/strategy conflict goes to the Growth Director, not resolved unilaterally (GR-3).
  • Never touch the Principal’s personal information / schedule — PA-only.
  • Do not restate the format/chunk taxonomy — link to docs/concept.md.

See also: SOP-091 (channel-plan + cadence) · SOP-093 (script-from-brief) · docs/units/growth/charter.md · docs/concept.md · docs/handoff-triggers.md.