How to create an efficient content approval workflow with Loom

What is a content approval workflow?

A content approval workflow is the process your team follows to review, approve, and finalize content before it is published.

Let’s use a blog post as an example. The content approval workflow begins when a content writer creates a draft. An editor then reviews the draft for typos, grammatical errors, and inaccurate information. Once the editor finishes reviewing the draft, the piece may need to go to a PMM or legal stakeholder to ensure compliance. Only once it’s gone through all phases of editing does it move to a content manager for final approval before publishing.

An efficient content approval workflow benefits your business in several ways. A streamlined review and approval process reduces miscommunication between teams and speeds up approvals. Content approval workflows also help improve brand consistency and accuracy through thorough reviews.

How to create content approval workflows using Loom in 7 steps

Loom is an effective tool for creating streamlined content approval workflows, especially for small business owners. Loom simplifies asynchronous communication, letting you share videos with key stakeholders who can watch and approve content at their convenience.

Video tools like Loom help stakeholders understand context and reduce back-and-forth emails, which can streamline approvals and lower operational costs.

Step 1. Identify each stage of your content workflow

Before you begin using Loom, identify each stage of your workflow. The exact steps in a digital content approval process can vary depending on the team, content type, and level of review required.

Some workflows start with a content brief review and approval before drafting begins. Others may start directly with content creation. From there, teams may need peer review, manager approval, PMM or legal review, visual asset gathering, or final publishing prep. 

Clearly defining these steps upfront helps you understand who needs to be involved, where approvals happen, and which extra steps may need to be added along the way.

Step 2. Assign roles to clarify who is responsible for each stage

The next step is assigning roles so everyone knows who is responsible for each stage of the content approval process.

You can structure your content approval workflow based on the number of review stages each piece requires. Some content may only need one round of review and approval, while more complex pieces may require multiple editors, legal review, and manager approval.

Because the approval process can vary by content type, it is important to assign designated stakeholders for each type of review and approval. If you are creating content for a client, they can also be included in the review and approval process before publication.

Create a list of roles and assign a stakeholder to each one. Make sure each stakeholder understands their role and responsibilities to keep the workflow moving smoothly.

Step 3. Record a video walkthrough of your content with Loom

Once you have a clearly defined content approval workflow and assigned stakeholders, you can use Loom’s screen recorder to record a walkthrough of your content.

This video is an opportunity to showcase your content and highlight context that might be hard to convey in writing. Focus on the key points of your content, giving viewers a clear picture of the user interface and features. Explain what you are showing as you go to provide context and invite feedback from key stakeholders.

While it is important to give stakeholders enough context, you also want to respect their time.

Step 4. Share your Loom video with stakeholders so they can watch asynchronously

Once you’ve recorded a concise video presentation of your content using Loom, you can share it with stakeholders so they can watch it on their own time.

Sharing a Loom video is as simple as sending stakeholders a link. This link allows reviewers to watch your video at their convenience, so you don’t need to have everyone on the same schedule to review and approve content.

You can also set permissions in Loom to control who can comment or edit, making it easy for reviewers to share feedback.

Step 5. Collect feedback directly in Loom with timestamped comments

Collecting feedback via Loom helps reviewers flag potential issues so you can correct them before the content is published.

Make sure reviewers who have access to your Loom video also have permission to comment. Reviewers can leave timestamped comments to give precise feedback on a specific feature or part of the UI shown in the video.

Loom also provides a centralized hub for collecting feedback, so you can track all your comments in one place. This simplifies revisions and ensures you’re not missing any key feedback.

Step 6. Update your content based on feedback

After collecting constructive feedback through Loom, you need to use that feedback to optimize your content through edits and improvements.

Review each comment on the Loom video carefully, especially timestamped comments that point to specific issues. Work through comments one by one, making changes and checking that each update resolves the issue.

You can also record a follow-up video showcasing the updates you made based on reviewer feedback. This step is not always necessary, but it can improve transparency and give reviewers a chance to confirm the changes. If you do record a follow-up video, keep it short and focus on how you implemented the feedback.

Step 7. Finalize content and store the Loom video as a reference

The final step of the content approval workflow is to finalize your content for publishing. Take some time to do a quick review of your content to make sure all approvals are complete before publishing. You don’t need to collect more feedback at this stage; the goal here is simply to ensure designated reviewers were involved in the approval process.

Keep the video for future reference or training. After recording, it’s automatically stored in your Library, where you can organize videos into folders and access them later. Recordings remain available unless you delete them.