Content Strategy
Quarterly planning ritual, KPI framework, feedback loop protocol, Q2 2026 plan.
Content Strategy
Writing Production Studio — ProActive ReSolutions / Richard Version: 1.0 Created: March 2026 Review cadence: Quarterly (see Governance section) Status: Active — Q2 2026 plan in effect
This document is the strategic governance layer over the Topic Map and Channel Map. It answers: "Of everything we could write, what should we write next, and why — and how will we know if it worked?" The Topic Map is the backlog. The Channel Map is the venue guide. This document is the quarterly planning process that drives both.
What This Document Is (And Isn't)
Is: A living quarterly planning instrument. A KPI framework. A feedback mechanism that returns performance data to update content priorities.
Is not: A replacement for the Topic Map or Channel Map. Those documents remain authoritative for topic-level detail and venue-level intelligence. This document operates one level above them.
Strategic Anchors (Stable)
These do not change quarterly. They are the fixed constraints within which every quarterly content plan operates.
Business Objective
Re-establish ProActive ReSolutions as Canada's leading practitioner of conflict transformation. Grow the Canadian client base, with BC as the primary market and national expansion as the 12-month horizon.
Content's Role in the Business
Content does three jobs simultaneously: 1. Credentialing — establishes Richard's intellectual authority with audiences who have never encountered ProActive. Replaces cold outreach. 2. Referral channel activation — lawyers, HR leaders, and OH&S professionals who read ProActive's content become the referral network. The content does not sell; it earns the relationship that enables a conversation. 3. Thought leadership compounding — each piece makes subsequent pieces more credible. The framework (institutional betrayal + procedural justice gap + relational accountability) becomes visible to the market over 20 pieces. No single piece carries the whole argument.
Audience Hierarchy (Stable)
Priority order for content investment. SSOT: Full audience profiles in BUSINESS_STRATEGY_BRIEF.md. Reproduced here for quarterly planning context.
- Employment and Labour Lawyers — highest referral value; hardest to reach; require legal credibility first
- HR Leaders (CPHR/HRPA members) — broadest addressable audience; highest volume channel
- Health & Safety Professionals — regulatory-driven; growing psychosocial mandate
- Executives and Boards — approve spend; require risk/governance framing; influenced by lawyers and HR
- Academic Peers — credentialing function; slower cycle; enables all other audiences long-term
Non-Negotiables (Always)
- Every piece must carry at least one element of ProActive's theoretical framework visibly
- No piece targets an audience we cannot serve (sector, geography, scale)
- Quality over throughput — a piece published without Richard's intellectual authority is worse than no piece
- Brand alignment required — No Blame, Normalize Don't Pathologize, Behaviors First (see brand skill)
Quarterly Planning Ritual
Run at the START of each quarter. Takes ~2 hours. Produces a locked quarterly plan.
Step 1 — Business Context Check (15 min)
Answer three questions before touching the Topic Map:
| Question | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| What is ProActive actively selling or pitching this quarter? | Richard / Suzanne | Content should support open conversations |
| Which sectors are currently generating the most conversations? | CRM / client notes | Amplify signals from market |
| Are there any regulatory events, sector news, or seasonal hooks this quarter? | Current Awareness Queue | Reactive content opportunities |
Step 2 — Performance Review (20 min)
First quarter: skip to Step 3. Subsequent quarters: mandatory.
Review the Performance Tracker (knowledge-base/publishing-intelligence/PERFORMANCE_TRACKER.md) for the previous quarter:
| Signal | What to Look For |
|---|---|
| Engagement leaders | Which topics/channels outperformed? → increase investment in that territory |
| Engagement laggards | Which underperformed? → diagnose before repeating |
| Conversion signals | Did any piece generate an inquiry, proposal request, or speaking invitation? → Note topic + channel |
| Referral source data | Did any client say "I read your article on..."? → Note topic + channel |
| Academic citations | Any response from scholarly community? → Note for academic track |
Rule: Any topic cluster that generates a conversion signal in Q-1 gets elevated priority in Q+1. Any topic cluster with two consecutive quarters of low engagement gets reviewed before next deployment.
Step 3 — Priority Setting (30 min)
Using the Topic Map as the backlog, select the quarter's portfolio by applying three filters:
Filter A — Business Alignment Tag each candidate topic: HIGH if it directly supports an active sector conversation or referral channel ProActive is developing; MEDIUM if it builds the framework but no immediate business hook; LOW if speculative or longer-horizon.
Filter B — Sequencing Logic The Topic Map has built-in sequencing. Respect it: Phase 1 topics (March–May 2026) establish the foundational arguments that Phase 2 and 3 topics presuppose. Do not publish a depth piece before the entry-point piece exists.
Filter C — Capability Only commit to topics where the writing infrastructure supports them: - Scholarly voice required? → Wait for Voice Profile Section A - Academic journal? → Wait for PATTERN-BOOK-CHAPTER-v1 and research tool setup (Phase 1B) - Indigenous content? → Richard must be directly involved; no AI-driven mode
Step 4 — Quarter Portfolio (Output)
Produce a locked table:
| Slot | Topic ID | Working Title | Target Venue | Audience Priority | HITL Mode | Target Publish | Business Hook |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2-01 | |||||||
| Q2-02 | |||||||
| Q2-03 | |||||||
| Q2-04 |
2-4 pieces per quarter is the Phase 1 target. Quality over volume. A quarter with 2 excellent pieces outperforms one with 4 adequate ones.
Step 5 — Distribution Plan (15 min)
For each piece in the portfolio, specify the repurposing cascade BEFORE production begins. This prevents the dead-end publication pattern.
| Project ID | Primary | LinkedIn post(s) | Newsletter | Speaking use | Proposal language | Visual assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Current Quarter Plan: Q2 2026 (April–June)
Business Context
- Re-establishment phase. First two articles (POPUP-2026-01, POPUP-2026-02) in final production.
- No active sector intelligence yet — first quarter operates on strategic sequencing only.
- No performance data yet — will establish baseline this quarter.
Q2 Portfolio
| Slot | Topic ID | Working Title | Target Venue | Audience | Mode | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2-01 | Topic 1 | When Healthcare Workers Can't Speak Up | ProActive Blog + LinkedIn | HR / OH&S | AI-driven | April 2026 |
| Q2-02 | Topic 2 | Beyond Investigation | Canadian HR Reporter / OHS Canada | HR / Lawyers | AI-driven | April 2026 |
| Q2-03 | Topic 13 | Accountability Without Blame | ProActive Blog | Lawyers / HR / Executives | Collaborative | May 2026 |
| Q2-04 | Topic 18 | Conflict Capability | LinkedIn long-form | HR / Executives | AI-driven | June 2026 |
Rationale: Topics 1 and 2 are already in production (Stage 4). Topic 13 directly addresses the primary objection to ProActive's approach ("no blame = no consequences") — essential before other pieces land. Topic 18 introduces the signature ProActive concept that subsequent pieces reference.
Q2 Distribution Plan
| Project | Primary | LinkedIn Extractions | Newsletter | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| POPUP-2026-01 | ProActive Blog | 3 posts (silence = systemic signal; three registers of pain; psychological safety as structural) | Excerpt for first newsletter | Opening talking point for healthcare sector presentations |
| POPUP-2026-02 | Canadian HR Reporter or OHS Canada | 3 posts (investigation paradox; procedural fairness vs justice; relational accountability defined) | Feature in first newsletter | Core framework for any speaking engagement |
| Topic 13 | ProActive Blog | 2 posts (accountability defined; what relational accountability produces) | Excerpt | Objection-handling resource for sales conversations |
| Topic 18 | LinkedIn long-form | 2 short-form posts (conflict capability vs. conflict resolution; capability as organizational competence) | Feature | Full session topic |
Q2 Baseline KPIs
No targets yet — Q2 establishes the baseline that Q3 targets will be set against.
| Metric | Source | Track From |
|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn post impressions | LinkedIn Analytics | First post |
| LinkedIn post engagement rate | LinkedIn Analytics | First post |
| LinkedIn article views | LinkedIn Analytics | POPUP-2026-02 cross-post |
| Blog page views per article | Website analytics | First blog post |
| Time on page (blog) | Website analytics | First blog post |
| Inquiries mentioning content | Richard / Suzanne note | Each client intake |
| Speaking invitations | Richard | Quarter end |
KPI Framework (Full)
Activated when baseline data exists (Q3 2026+). Targets set at start of each quarter based on previous quarter's actuals.
Tier 1: Reach Metrics (Lagging — measure distribution)
- LinkedIn post impressions per post
- LinkedIn article views (for long-form pieces)
- Blog page views per article
- Email open rate (when newsletter launches)
- Trade publication readership (estimated — use venue data)
Tier 2: Engagement Metrics (Leading — measure resonance)
- LinkedIn engagement rate (reactions + comments + shares / impressions)
- LinkedIn saves (strongest signal — saves = "I want to use this")
- Blog time on page (>2 min = genuinely read)
- Comments: quality > quantity (practitioner comment = signal; generic comment = noise)
- Direct messages referencing content (note topic + channel)
Tier 3: Business Impact Metrics (Ultimate — measure conversion)
- Inquiries mentioning a specific piece ("I read your article on...")
- Proposals where content was referenced in the conversation
- Speaking invitations from content exposure
- Referrals from professionals who follow ProActive's content
- New followers in target professional communities (lawyers, CPHR members, OH&S professionals)
Benchmark Framework
For Tier 2 targets once baseline exists: - LinkedIn engagement rate: industry average ~2.5–3.5% for thought leadership. ProActive target: ≥4% (distinctive content earns more) - Blog time on page: ≥90 seconds = engaged read; ≥3 minutes = deep read - Saves-to-impressions ratio: >1% = strong resonance signal
Feedback Loop Protocol
This is the mechanism that makes the content strategy self-improving.
After Each Publication
- Note the publication date, venue, and topic ID in the Performance Tracker
- Set a 2-week review reminder in Dart
- At 2 weeks: collect Tier 1 + Tier 2 metrics, note any Tier 3 signals, append to Performance Tracker
Quarterly Review (Step 2 of planning ritual)
- Review all pieces published in the previous quarter
- Identify the top performer and the bottom performer
- Hypothesize why (topic? channel? format? timing? framing?)
- Apply filter to next quarter's portfolio selection
Topic Map Update Triggers
The Topic Map should be updated when: - A piece performs 2x+ expected engagement → elevate sister topics in that cluster - A piece consistently underperforms across channels → review the framing, not just the topic - A Tier 3 signal (inquiry, referral, invitation) is traced to a specific topic → note in Topic Map entry - A competitor publishes on the same topic with high engagement → note gap/opportunity - A regulatory development changes the relevance of a topic → update priority and notes
Signal Log Entry (Every piece)
Append to _architecture/signal-log.yaml after each publication:
- date: [YYYY-MM-DD]
type: outcome_signal
project_id: [PROJECT-ID]
venue: [venue]
tier1_metrics: [brief summary at 2-week mark]
tier2_metrics: [brief summary at 2-week mark]
tier3_signals: [any conversion signals, or "none"]
topic_map_update: [any changes to Topic Map triggered, or "none"]
Governance
Who Updates This Document
Richard updates the Business Context and Strategic Anchors. Agent runs the quarterly planning ritual and drafts the quarterly portfolio. Richard approves the portfolio before it locks.
Review Cadence
- Quarterly: Full planning ritual (Steps 1–5 above). Draft by agent; approved by Richard.
- Monthly: Light check — is the quarter on track? Any topic priorities to adjust? Any new business signals?
- Ad hoc: Any Tier 3 signal triggers an immediate note in this document.
Version History
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | March 2026 | Initial document. Q2 2026 plan established. |