Read about how we use Trello, Jira, and Confluence for Marketing!
When I got appointed as the Marketing Specialist at TechTime in October 2019, I was introduced to the world of Atlassian. Working in tech, I knew about the tools - but never been exposed to it. At first, these tools were scary - coming from an environment where Microsoft Office365 was a go-to for everything, not having Word or the Planner, pinched. On this side, diving into Jira and Confluence felt scary. Agile methodology was something I only heard from developers. I didn't even know what Sprints were - don't judge!
I soon realized it was my assumptions that were holding me back from using these tools - assumptions that Jira is only used by developers, Confluence is too complicated and I don't need Trello.
Coming from a non-technical background, it seemed like a tough journey. But I couldn't have been more wrong! It was easy and it gave me this ultimate transparency that Microsft365 couldn't offer. Atlassian tools pushed me to plan my work, organize and stick to it - transforming the way I work.
Trello helps in planning my work, Jira like a great project management tool aids in tracking progress and Confluence is the perfect collaboration tool for all things marketing - I have all my marketing assets, Summit discussions, blogs and a marketing guideline stored here.
These 3 tools help me run the 'Marketing Ship' effectively - at least I think so, will need a confirmation from my bosses on that one.
Here's my account on how I use 3 popular Atlassian tools for marketing:
Trello:
Most of us have used Trello Free for personal or professional use. I always enjoyed using the product and after I joined TechTime, Trello was used primarily for all marketing plans and calendars. It gave me a good overview of the current marketing campaigns and status.
As a marketer, I tend to wear a lot of hats - and I have a Trello board for that too!
Trello is by far one of the most versatile tools. You can set up:
- Campaign Plans
- Event Plans
- Editorial Calendar
- Product Launches
- Work-Planner
- Incoming marketing requests - idea board
It is a light tool where you can store actionable and non-actionable ideas. It is less formal - unlike an issue on Jira. I consider Trello as my pre-Jira platform. I categorize tasks with labels based on priority - determining my issues in a sprint.
Something I particularly enjoy too about Trello is the ability to bring my Trello cards into Jira as epics, issues, and sub-tasks. This makes sure that my sprints are planned well, my issue queue is solid and most importantly I don't miss any important tasks. Without Trello, I would have to spend hours planning my sprint in Jira and recall follow-up tasks.
Trello can be a savior if you aren't 'technical' - it helps you plan your work well, helping you manage time and become more efficient at work. ALL things your employer will love you for!
Pro-Tip
There are ready to edit marketing templates available that make setting up your boards a dream. I edited the boards for my emails workflow board, blog calendar, social media calendar and product launch of EasyTime.
Jira:
Heard so much about Jira - but only had the chance to use it for the first time 4 months ago. What a fantastic tool! I created fixed versions for my campaigns with approximate end dates, organized my initiatives, epics and issues and was ready to go to town. If it isn't already obvious - I'm a massive planner. Jira feeds into that so well. With the click of a button on my Marketing Dashboard, I can see campaign progress, estimated story points, and even an estimated finish date. This has helped me plan my sprints and finish work on time-sensitive campaigns like Atlassian Summit 2020.
It's also convenient for managers to understand where you stand with progress, saving you from meetings to discuss progress. It offers transparency and you're accountable for set actions. Jira also integrates with various CRM tools like HubSpot and Salesforce making sure that all platforms you use are well integrated. Jira cloud now offers marketing templates you can use for planning your marketing - making it more user-friendly for non-technical teams. Jira acts as this perfect tool where technical and non-technical teams can collaborate.
Pro-Tip
I use this dashboard for all my marketing meetings, planning sprints, and my priorities. The predicted completion date helps you make commitments and the version report demonstrates your workload well.
Confluence:
I spend most of my day on confluence. With Confluence providing templates for marketers formatting content has become a dream. I use Confluence for planning, documenting and the perfect place to get feedback for my blogs and emails. Initially - I missed MS Word because I love formatting my pages. But I realized the power of Confluence soon enough. From planning our marketing campaigns to creating guidelines, Confluence has it all and more. I store customer feedback interviews, drip emails, meeting notes - everything. I absolutely love that when I'm preparing for my meetings, I can simply put links on the meeting notes for everyone to come prepared to the meeting. This helps all attendees to be on the same page and your meetings are automatically more productive without playing 'catch-up'. I'm always looking to learn to use this tool more efficiently and the Atlassian Community helps a lot with it!
Pro-Tip
Insert your Jira issues, or create them directly from the Confluence page. I use a lot of templates to make sure that the content isn't misplaced and most importantly I make sure to organize my pages so that everyone can easily find it.
Trello, Confluence, and Jira are the best together!
Trello, Jira, and Confluence are great tools individually - but when used in conjunction they're a powerful weapon to achieve your goals. The integrations available between the three give you a seamless work experience. The ability to integrate my Jira issues to my Confluence pages and vice versa saves me 15 minutes every day that I spend looking for a document. Being able to create issues straight from my Trello cards saves me 30 minutes each week. It saves me from guessing what needs to be done in the upcoming sprint or even setting priorities. I enjoy that these 3 tools work as a planner, campaign management and collaboration tool - all things imperative for a marketer. I continue to learn, explore and innovate my work using these tools to become more efficient and effective.
Most importantly Trello, Jira, and Confluence take the headache of planning, tracking progress and collaboration so that I can focus on the bottom line - generate quality leads, increase lead conversion and sales.
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