Aug 4, 2024
Marketing Kanban Board: Project Management Tips with Hypertasks
Summary
Hypertasks is a Kanban board solution for marketing teams that makes task visualization and workflow management a breeze. The keyboard driven interface, custom columns and AI powered features makes it perfect for categorizing tasks into ‘To Do’, ‘In Progress’ and ‘Done’ states. This guide will show you how to use Hypertasks to supercharge your marketing project management with Kanban.
By using Hypertasks’ Kanban boards marketing teams can customize columns, cards and swimlanes to fit their specific projects and workflows. With Hypertasks’ unique features you can track, assign and monitor key metrics like cycle time, lead time and throughput. We’ll go into practical examples and best practices to help you get the most out of Hypertasks for your marketing.
What is a Kanban Board and How Does Hypertasks Do It?
A Kanban board is a visual system for managing work as it moves through a process. From Toyota’s Just in Time (JIT) approach the Kanban method aims to minimize waste and maximize resource utilization. Hypertasks has taken this concept and made it digital and user friendly for modern marketing teams.
The Kanban method has evolved beyond its manufacturing roots and is now a standard in knowledge work environments, including software development and marketing. Hypertasks has adapted the Kanban principles to marketing teams.
Hypertasks Kanban Board Components
Hypertasks Kanban boards consist of the following:
Columns: Represent different stages of the work process (e.g. ‘To Do’, ‘In Progress’, ‘Done’). In Hypertasks you can customize these columns to fit your marketing workflow.
Kanban cards: Represent individual tasks that move through columns. In Hypertasks you can create detailed cards with lots of information including descriptions, assignees, due dates and more.
Visual signals: Help team members quickly understand task status and priority. Hypertasks uses color coding, tags and other visual cues to make task management at a glance.
For marketing teams using Hypertasks a simple setup might be ‘To Do’, ‘Create’, ‘Review’, ‘Test’, ‘Done’. But Hypertasks is flexible so you can have much more complex and customised setups to fit your team’s workflow.
How Hypertasks Kanban Boards Work in Marketing
Hypertasks Kanban boards are great for marketing teams to manage their workflow. They are good for:
Task visualization: See what needs to be done, what’s in progress and what’s done.
Stage transitions: Move tasks through different stages of your marketing process.
Process streamlining: Identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in your workflow.
Project management: Manage multiple marketing projects at once.
For example marketing teams can create Kanban cards in Hypertasks for each type of activity, use swimlanes for different types of work (like social media, content creation, email marketing) and manage event cards with pre-defined to-do lists.
Real-world Example: Content Marketing Workflow
Let’s say a content marketing team is using Hypertasks. They might set up their board with the following columns:
Content Ideas
Research
Outline
Writing
Editing
Design
SEO Optimization
Scheduled
Published
Each piece of content would be a card that moves through these stages. Team members can use Hypertasks keyboard shortcuts to quickly add new content ideas (C), assign tasks to writers or editors (A) and move cards between columns as the content progresses.
Learn more about Hypertasks’ inbox for project management
Creating Your Marketing Kanban Board in Hypertasks
Setting up a Kanban board for your marketing team in Hypertasks is easy and customisable. Here’s how:
Define your workflow: Before you create your board, map out your marketing process. What are the stages your tasks go through?
Create a new board: In Hypertasks use the ‘CTRL + K’ shortcut to open the command center, then type “create board” to start a new Kanban board.
Set up columns: Start with basic columns like ‘Ideas’, ‘To Do’, ‘In Progress’, ‘Review’ and ‘Done’. You can add or modify these later.
Customise columns: Tailor your columns to fit your marketing projects. For example a social media campaign might have columns like ‘Content Creation’, ‘Approval’, ‘Scheduling’ and ‘Analytics’.
Add all custom project statuses: Make sure each stage of your marketing process is in chronological order.
Create swimlanes (optional): If you’re managing multiple types of marketing tasks you might want to set up swimlanes. For example you could have swimlanes for ‘Blog Posts’, ‘Social Media’ and ‘Email Campaigns’.
Workflow Stages in Hypertasks
Workflow stages are key to a marketing Kanban board. In Hypertasks you can set up common workflow stages:
Backlog: All ideas and potential tasks
Ready: Tasks that are ready to be worked on
In Progress: Tasks currently being worked on
Review: Tasks awaiting approval or feedback
Done: Completed tasks
But don’t be limited to these standard stages. Hypertasks lets you create custom stages that fit your marketing workflow. For example a content marketing team might use stages like ‘Ideation’, ‘Research’, ‘Draft’, ‘Edit’, ‘Design’, ‘Approve’ and ‘Publish’.
Customising Columns for Marketing Projects in Hypertasks
Hypertasks has powerful customisation options for your columns:
Naming conventions: Use clear, action oriented names for your columns. Instead of ‘To Do’ you might use ‘Plan Campaign’ or ‘Create Content’.
Colour coding: Use Hypertasks’ colour coding feature to visually differentiate between stages of your workflow. For example use warm colours for early stages and cool colours for later stages.
Column policies: Define clear policies for each column. What criteria must be met for a task to move to the next column? Document these policies and make them available to your team.
Blocked column: Create a ‘Blocked’ column to identify tasks waiting on external input or facing obstacles. This helps you quickly identify and address bottlenecks.
Example: SEO Campaign Board Columns in Hypertasks
Keyword Research (Blue)
Content Planning (Green)
Writing (Yellow)
Optimisation (Orange)
Publishing (Red)
Monitoring (Purple)
Blocked (Grey)
Adding Cards and Tasks in Hypertasks
Task management is at the heart of Hypertasks. Here’s how to get the most out of it:
Quick task creation: Use the ‘C’ shortcut to add new tasks at the top of a column, or ‘Shift + C’ to add them at the bottom.
Detailed task information: When creating a task include a clear title, detailed description and any relevant links or attachments.
Assigning tasks: Use the ‘A’ shortcut to quickly assign tasks to team members. This ensures clear ownership and accountability.
Adding comments: Encourage team discussion by adding comments directly on task cards. This keeps all relevant information in one place.
Attaching files: Upload relevant documents, images or other files directly to task cards for easy access.
Setting due dates: Use the ‘Shift + D’ shortcut to set due dates for tasks, so your marketing campaigns stay on track.
Moving tasks: Drag and drop tasks between columns as they progress, or use keyboard shortcuts for even faster management.
Task Creation Best Practices in Hypertasks
Use clear, action oriented titles: Instead of ‘Social Media’ use ‘Create 5 Instagram posts for product launch’.
Include all relevant information: In the task description include objectives, key points, relevant links and any specific instructions.
Break down large tasks: If a task is too big, break it down into smaller, manageable subtasks using Hypertasks’ checklist feature.
Use tags for filtering: Apply relevant tags to tasks (e.g. #ContentMarketing, #EmailCampaign) for easier searching and sorting later.
Set realistic due dates: When setting due dates with ‘Shift + D’ consider the task complexity and team workload.
Hypertasks Features to Get You More Efficient
Hypertasks has several features to help with your marketing project management:
Checklists
Use checklists within task cards to break down complex marketing tasks into smaller, actionable items. For example a “Publish Blog Post” task might include a checklist like:
Draft outline
Write first draft
Internal review
Revise based on feedback
Create images/graphics
SEO optimisation
Final proofread
Schedule for publication
Labels (Tags)
Use Hypertasks’ labelling system to categorise tasks and make them searchable. Some useful labels for marketing might include:
#ContentMarketing
#SocialMedia
#EmailCampaign
#SEO
#ProductLaunch
#MarketResearch
Time Tracking
Hypertasks doesn’t have built-in time tracking but you can implement a manual system:
Create a “Time Spent” field in your task description
Update this field each time you work on the task
Use this data to track how long different types of marketing tasks take
Integrated Communication Tools
Hypertasks has communication built in to the Kanban board:
Use comments on task cards for task specific discussions
Mention team members with ‘@’ to notify them of important updates
Use the Hypertasks inbox (‘G’ then ‘I’) to manage all your project related communications in one place
Managing Multiple Projects with Hypertasks Kanban
Hypertasks is great at managing multiple projects through:
Connected Boards
Create separate boards for different marketing campaigns or initiatives and use Hypertasks’ board switching feature (‘CTRL + B’) to switch between them.
Portfolio Board
Create a high-level portfolio board in Hypertasks to:
Track the status of bigger campaigns
Get a overview of ongoing, completed and upcoming marketing initiatives
Tie together team boards for better workflow and planning
Example Portfolio Board Structure:
Upcoming Campaigns
Active Campaigns
Campaigns Under Review
Completed Campaigns
Simulating Work-In-Progress (WIP) Limits
Hypertasks doesn’t have built-in WIP limits but you can implement this manually:
Decide on a maximum number of tasks for each column (e.g. 5 tasks in ‘In Progress’)
Visually monitor the number of tasks in each column
If a column reaches its limit, focus on completing those tasks before adding more
Use this to prevent overload and stay focused on completing tasks
Tracking and Adjusting with Hypertasks
Hypertasks has regular reviews and feedback loops:
Use ‘Shift + F’ to access advanced filtering options for progress tracking. Filter by assignee, due date, tags or any combination to get a clear view of your marketing projects.
Move or rename columns as your project requirements change. Your Kanban board should adapt to your marketing strategy.
Hold weekly meetings to review the data visualizations. Use the board view to discuss progress, bottlenecks and upcoming work.
Continuous Improvement Process
Review: Regularly review your Hypertasks board with your team.
Identify: Look for bottlenecks or where tasks get stuck.
Brainstorm: Discuss how to improve your workflow.
Implement: Change your board structure or process.
Monitor: See the effects over time.
Measuring Success and Continuous Improvement with Hypertasks
Hypertasks helps you measure success and continuously improve by tracking these key metrics:
Metrics to track in Hypertasks
Cycle Time: Measure how long tasks spend in each column. In Hypertasks you can calculate this manually by noting the date a task enters and exits each column.
Lead Time: Track the total time from task creation to completion. Use Hypertasks’ date fields to record when a task is created and completed.
Throughput: Count the number of tasks completed in a certain period. Use Hypertasks’ filtering options to see completed tasks within a certain date range.
Reviewing with Hypertasks
Use Hypertasks to review:
Weekly Stand-ups: Use your Hypertasks board as a visual aid during daily or weekly team meetings.
Monthly Reviews: Review your board for the past month. See what’s been completed, bottlenecks and overall flow.
Quarterly Planning: Use your Hypertasks board to plan upcoming marketing projects and set goals.
Retrospectives: Have team discussions on what’s working and what can be improved in your Kanban process.
Changing with the Market with Hypertasks
Hypertasks’ Kanban boards are flexible:
Add new columns or swimlanes for new marketing channels or strategies
Move tasks between columns or reorder within a column to reprioritize
Use tags to mark tasks related to a market trend or emerging opportunity
Marketing Kanban Boards in Practice with Hypertasks
Let’s see some examples of Hypertasks in action:
Content Marketing Board in Hypertasks
Create a content marketing Kanban board in Hypertasks with columns like:
Ideas
Research
Outline
Writing
Editing
Design
SEO Optimization
Final Review
Scheduled
Published
Use Hypertasks’ checklists within each task to ensure all steps are completed before moving to the next stage. For example, in the “SEO Optimization” column you might have a checklist like:
Keyword optimization in title
Optimize meta description
Add internal links
Optimize image alt texts
Check content for keyword density
SEO and PPC Campaign Board in Hypertasks
Create an SEO and PPC campaign Kanban board in Hypertasks with columns like:
Keyword Research
Ad Copy Creation
Landing Page Design
Campaign Setup
Active Campaigns
Optimization
Reporting
Use Hypertasks’ swimlanes to categorize tasks by campaign type or platform:
Google Ads Campaigns
Facebook Ads Campaigns
SEO Initiatives
Within each swimlane you can move tasks through the columns as they progress.
Event Management Board in Hypertasks
Organize an event management Kanban board in Hypertasks around the event planning phases:
Concept Development
Budgeting
Venue Selection
Vendor Coordination
Marketing & Promotion
Logistics Planning
Event Execution
Post-Event Analysis
Use Hypertasks’ swimlanes to separate tasks for different events, manage tasks specific to each event. For example:
Annual Conference
Product Launch Party
Customer Appreciation Day
Within each swimlane create detailed task cards for every aspect of the event. Use Hypertasks’ checklists to break down complex tasks, like “Venue Selection”:
Research potential venues
Request quotes
Schedule site visits
Compare amenities and costs
Negotiate contract
Secure deposit
Why Hypertasks for Marketing Kanban Boards
Hypertasks has unique benefits for marketing teams making it the perfect choice for marketing Kanban boards:
Keyboard-Driven Interface: Navigate and manage tasks fast with shortcuts:
‘C’ to add tasks at the top of a column
‘Shift + C’ to add tasks at the bottom
‘Ctrl + E’ to archive completed tasks
‘J’ and ‘K’ to navigate between tasks
‘Enter’ to open task details
This keyboard-centric approach lets marketers manage their tasks and projects faster than ever.
Powerful Filtering and Sorting: Use ‘Shift + F’ for advanced filtering and ‘Shift + S’ for sorting, essential for complex marketing campaigns:
Filter tasks by assignee, due date, tags or any combination
Sort tasks by priority, due date or custom fields
Focus on specific parts of your marketing initiatives
Integrated Communication: Combine Kanban boards with an inbox, all project related communication in one place:
Open your inbox with ‘G’ then ‘I’
Get notifications and updates without leaving your Kanban view
Archive messages from your inbox with ‘E’
Mention team members in task comments for seamless collaboration
AI-Powered Productivity: Use AI for task summaries and writing assistance, content creation and data analysis:
AI generated summaries for quick task overviews
AI writing assistance via the ‘/’ menu for content creation
Analyze campaign performance with AI insights
Customizable Workflow: Customize boards to your marketing needs with custom columns, tags and priorities:
Create multiple boards for different marketing projects or campaigns
Customize column names and order to match your workflow
Use tags to categorize tasks by marketing channel, campaign or any other criteria
Teamwork: Assign tasks, comment on cards and set due dates easily, keep your marketing team aligned:
Assign tasks with ‘A’
Set due dates with ‘Shift + D’
Comment on task cards
FAQs
What is a Kanban board and how does Hypertasks implement it? Hypertasks implements Kanban boards as a visual tool to manage work, visualise workflow and improve task efficiency in a digital, keyboard optimised format. It allows customisable columns, easy task movement and integrated communication features.
How can Hypertasks Kanban boards help marketing teams? Hypertasks Kanban boards help marketing teams visualise tasks, smooth transitions between stages and identify bottlenecks to increase efficiency. They improve workflow, productivity and collaboration through features like AI assisted summaries and integrated communication.
What are the key components of a Hypertasks Kanban board? Hypertasks Kanban boards include customisable columns for work stages, detailed task cards, visual signals to highlight important information, keyboard shortcuts and AI assistance all through an intuitive interface.
How do I set up a marketing Kanban board in Hypertasks? To set up a marketing Kanban board in Hypertasks use the ‘CTRL + K’ shortcut to create a new board, define your workflow stages as columns, customise these to fit your marketing projects and add tasks using the ‘C’ shortcut. You can then assign tasks, set due dates and add details using keyboard shortcuts.
What metrics should I track on a Hypertasks Kanban board? In Hypertasks you can manually track key metrics like cycle time (time in each column), lead time (total time from task creation to completion) and throughput (tasks completed in a set period). Use these metrics to optimise workflow and identify areas for improvement.
How does Hypertasks’ AI feature enhance marketing project management? Hypertasks’ AI features provide task summaries for quick overviews, assist in content creation through the ‘/’ menu and can help analyse campaign performance. This increases productivity in content creation, data analysis and decision making.
Can Hypertasks handle multiple marketing projects at once? Yes, Hypertasks is great at managing multiple projects. You can create separate boards for different campaigns or use a portfolio board for high level tracking. The ‘CTRL + B’ shortcut allows quick switching between boards.
How does Hypertasks facilitate team collaboration in marketing projects? Hypertasks facilitates team collaboration through features like task assignment (‘A’ shortcut), commenting on cards, mentioning team members and an integrated inbox for project related communications. These features keep all team members aligned and informed.
