Planning Content with the Ideas Board

The Ideas board is where every content idea for your brand lives. Jot an idea down the moment you have it, then follow it from first draft to published post.

Each idea has a title, a short description, a status (like Draft or Review) and the content you make for it: designs, video scripts, docs and emails.

You’ll find it in the sidebar under Organize > Ideas, or go straight to your Ideas board.

Quick start (5 minutes)

Open your Ideas board.
Click New Idea.
Under Content Group, pick a group. Not sure? Pick All Content Ideas.
Type a Title, like “3 ways to style our linen shirt”.
Add a Description if you like, like “Carousel. One outfit per slide. Post before the summer sale.”
Click Create Idea. It appears at the top of the board as a Draft.
Click the idea to open it and start adding content. See Working on an Idea.

Create a new idea

Open your Ideas board.
Click New Idea. The Create New Idea window opens.
Choose a Content Group. Every idea belongs to one group. Your brand always has a group called All Content Ideas. Archived groups aren’t listed.
Type a Title. This is required.
Optionally type a Description: the angle, the format, or why it matters.
Optionally click + Add sub-pillar and tick the sub-pillars this idea belongs to. They’re grouped under their pillar.
Click Create Idea.

Example: A neighborhood bakery creates an idea with Title “Behind the scenes: our 4 a.m. bake”, Description “Short video of the morning shift, ending on the first tray out of the oven”, and the sub-pillar “Morning bake”.

Good to know

Create Idea stays greyed out until you’ve picked a group and typed a title.
Every new idea starts with the status Draft.
You choose the group when you create the idea. The idea page shows its group, but there’s no option there to move it to another group.
Sub-pillars come from your brand’s Pillars tab. If the list says No pillars. Please create one in your brand, add a pillar with at least one sub-pillar there first. See Content Pillars.
Groups let you keep different kinds of ideas apart, each with its own extra fields. See Content Groups and Custom Fields.

Create an idea from something you found in Discover

When a post or article in Discover inspires you, turn it into an idea in two clicks. The idea remembers where the inspiration came from.

Open Discover.
On any post or article card, click the lightbulb (Create idea from this).
The Create New Idea window opens with the post’s title already filled in. Change it to your own angle.
Pick a Content Group, add a description and sub-pillars if you like.
Click Create Idea.

The original post or page is added to the idea’s Inspired By list, so you can always open it again from the idea. The lightbulb is on cards in the Discover feed and the Signals tab. In the Swipe File it’s on saved articles, web results and Reddit posts, but not on saved social posts or items you added by hand. See Signals and Discover Feed.

Example: A fitness coach sees a competitor’s Reel about “desk stretches” doing well. They click the lightbulb, change the title to “3 stretches you can do at your desk in 60 seconds”, and pick their “Reels” group.

Switch between Table, Grid and Kanban

The Ideas board has three layouts. Click View (next to Filter) and choose one under Layout:

Table: a spreadsheet-style list. Best for editing many ideas quickly and for seeing every status and content column at once.
Grid: a card for each idea, with its status, group, description, small previews of its designs, and when it was last updated.
Kanban: one column per status. Drag a card to another column to change its status.

The layout you pick is remembered in this browser.

Kanban columns

The columns are Draft, In Progress, Review, Approved, Published and Archived. Ideas whose status doesn’t match any column appear in an extra No Status column. You can’t drag an idea into No Status.

Example: Every Monday, a social media manager opens Kanban, drags finished scripts from In Progress to Review, and checks what’s sitting in Approved ready to schedule.

Group ideas by status, sub-pillar or content group

Click View.
Under Group by, choose Status, Sub-pillar or Content Group. Choose None to turn grouping off.

Ideas are split into sections with a count next to each heading. Click a heading to collapse or expand it. Ideas without a status, sub-pillar or group go in a No status, No sub-pillar or No group section at the end.

Group by works in Table and Grid. Kanban is always arranged by status, so Group by is hidden while Kanban is on.
An idea with two sub-pillars appears under both of them.
Your choice is remembered in this browser.

Example: Group by Sub-pillar to see at a glance that “Morning bake” has eight ideas but “Customer stories” has none. That’s next week’s gap to fill.

Work in the Table

The Table shows one row per idea. The first column shows the title with the description underneath. Next come Sub Pillars, Status and the content columns (like Designs and Transcripts). The last column is Custom Fields.

Edit right in the table

Click a title or description to edit it. Click away to save.
Click Status to pick a new status.
In Sub Pillars, click + to add one, or the x on a sub-pillar to remove it. If there are more than two, click +N more to see the rest.
In a content column, click + Add design (or the matching label) to link something you’ve already made.
Click the Custom Fields pill (like “3 custom fields”) to see and edit this idea’s extra fields. Click Done to close it.

Row actions

At the right end of each row:

The expand icon opens the full idea.
The three dots open Copy Link, Duplicate and Delete Record.
The + opens Quick create. See Start content for an idea with Quick create.
A message icon (and a small dot by the title) means there are comments you haven’t read yet. Click it to open the idea.

Make the table yours

Above the table:

Columns: tick or untick columns to show or hide them. Title, description and sub-pillars always stay visible.
Comfortable / Compact: switch row height. Compact fits more ideas on screen.

On each column heading, click the three dots to:

Pin to left or Pin to right, so the column stays in view while you scroll sideways. Click Unpin to undo. Only one column can be pinned to the right at a time.
Sort Ascending or Sort Descending, then Clear Sort to undo. Some columns, like content columns, show This field is not sortable.

Drag the edge of a column heading to make it wider or narrower.

Your hidden columns, pins, sort and column widths are saved to your account, so they follow you to other devices. They don’t change what your teammates see. Row height (Comfortable or Compact) is remembered in this browser only.

Find ideas with search and Smart search

The search box at the top of the Ideas board (Search ideas…) has two modes.

Keyword search (the default)

Type a word or phrase.
Results update by themselves after a moment. They show ideas whose title or description contains what you typed.
To clear it, click the x in the search box, or delete the text.

Smart search

Smart search finds ideas by meaning, not exact words. A search for “summer outfits” can find an idea titled “Linen shirt styling for the heatwave”.

Click Smart in the search box. The box gets a colored border.
Describe what you’re looking for, like “videos about our team”.
Press Enter, or click the magnifying glass.
Click Smart again to go back to keyword search.

Good to know

Smart search only runs when you press Enter. Keyword search runs as you type.
New ideas and edited titles can take a few hours, and sometimes up to a day, to show up in Smart search. Keyword search finds them straight away.
Ideas with a very short title and no description (fewer than 20 characters in total) aren’t included in Smart search. Use keyword search for those.
Search works together with any filters you’ve saved.

Narrow the board with filters

Filters let you show only the ideas you need right now, like “everything in Review” or “ideas with no design yet”.

Click Filter at the top of the Ideas board.
Click Add Filter.
Click the field and pick what to filter on. You can pick Content Idea Group, Title, Description, Sub Pillars, Status, any content column, and the custom fields from your groups (marked Custom).
Pick a condition. For text, these are is, is not, contains, Not contains, Is empty and Is not empty. Numbers, ratings and dates also have greater than and less than. Checkboxes have is and is not.
Type the value, if the condition needs one.
Add more filters if you need them. Click Match: AND to switch between AND (ideas must match every filter) and OR (ideas can match any filter).
Click Preview to see the result on the board.
Click Save to keep it. You’ll see Filters saved, and the board reloads with your filters.

To remove one filter, click the bin next to it. To remove them all, click Reset, then Save.

Example: To see ideas waiting for a design, add Status is “Approved” and Designs Is empty, with Match: AND. Click Preview, then Save.

Good to know

Saved filters belong to you. They’re used every time you open the Ideas board, until you change them. Your teammates keep their own filters.
The Filter button shows how many filters are set.
is needs an exact match, including capital letters. For text, contains is more forgiving.

Start content for an idea with Quick create

Quick create makes a new, blank piece of content, links it to the idea and opens it in a new tab, all in one click.

Find the idea on the board.
Open Quick create:
- In Table, click the + at the right end of the row.
- In Kanban, hover over the card and click +.
- In Grid, click the three dots on the card. The options start with Add.
Choose Transcript, Document, Marketing Email or Design.
The new item opens in a new browser tab. You’ll see a message like Design created and linked.

The new item is listed in the idea’s Content Pieces. See Working on an Idea.

Example: A café owner has an approved idea, “Pumpkin spice is back”. They click + > Design and start the Instagram post in the new tab. The design is already linked to the idea.

Manage ideas from the board

Open an idea

Click the idea’s card in Grid or Kanban, or the expand icon in Table. Click Content Ideas at the top of the idea, or the back arrow, to return to the board.

Copy a link to an idea

Click the three dots on the card or row, then Copy Link. Anyone in your brand can open the idea from that link.

Duplicate an idea

Click the three dots on the card or row, then Duplicate. You’ll see Idea duplicated, and the copy opens. It keeps the title, description, campaign, sub-pillars and every field value, including linked designs, scripts, docs and emails. Tags, approvers, inspiration and comments aren’t copied.

Delete an idea

Click the three dots on the card or row.
Click Delete (or Delete Record in the table).
Click Delete in the confirmation window.

There’s no way to undo it in the app. The designs, scripts and other content linked to it aren’t deleted. They stay in Create.

Ask Orsa AI for ideas

Click Ask Orsa AI at the bottom right of the Organize page to chat with Orsa AI. Orsa AI can suggest new ideas, and you approve each one before it’s added. See Generating Content Ideas with Orsa AI.

See ideas on the calendar

Ideas can also appear on the Calendar tab when their group has a date field. The calendar shows your newest 50 ideas and uses your saved Ideas board filters. See The Content Calendar.

Ideas for using the Ideas board

Capture ideas the moment you have them Keep the board open during the week and add ideas as they come up. A title is enough. You can add the details later.

Example: A wedding photographer adds “Venue spotlight: The Old Mill” from their phone right after a shoot, then fills in the description on Friday.

Run a weekly content meeting from Kanban Switch to Kanban and walk through each column with your team. Move ideas forward as you agree on them.

Example: A two-person team checks Review first, approves two ideas, then picks three Draft ideas to start this week.

Balance your pillars Use Group by > Sub-pillar to spot pillars you’ve been ignoring.

Example: A dog groomer sees 12 ideas under “Grooming tips” and only one under “Happy customers”. They add three customer-story ideas.

Build a “ready to design” list Save filters for Status is “Approved” and Designs Is empty. Each morning, open the board and use Quick create > Design on the first idea.

Turn competitor wins into your own ideas When Signals shows a competitor post doing well, use the lightbulb to create an idea from it. Write your own angle as the title.

Tips for the best results

Write a clear title and a one-line description. Titles like “Post” or “Video” are hard to find later and are skipped by Smart search. “Reel: how we pick our coffee beans” works for you, your team and Orsa AI.

Link sub-pillars to every idea. It takes a second and pays off: you can group by sub-pillar, filter on it, and see which pillars need more content.

Keep statuses up to date. The status is what drives Kanban, grouping, filters and the review process. An idea stuck in Draft after it’s published makes the board hard to trust.

Use Quick create instead of starting from Create. Content made with Quick create is linked to the idea from the start, so you never have to hunt for which design belonged to which idea.

Save one filter set you use every day. Filters are saved for you personally. Set up the view you check most, and the board opens that way each time.

Use Table for bulk edits, Grid or Kanban for reviewing. The Table lets you edit titles, statuses and sub-pillars without opening each idea. Grid and Kanban are easier to scan.

Common questions

I can’t open Organize. It’s greyed out. Your brand is still in onboarding. Finish the setup steps on your brand page and click Complete Onboarding. See Your First Day on Orsa.

The Create Idea button is greyed out. Pick a Content Group and type a Title. Both are required.

The sub-pillar list says “No pillars. Please create one in your brand”. Your brand has no pillars yet. Add a pillar and at least one sub-pillar on the Pillars tab, then try again.

Grid or Kanban doesn’t show all my ideas. Grid and Kanban show 50 ideas at a time. Click Load More below the cards to see older ones, or use search or filters to find a specific idea.

I sorted the table, but an older idea isn’t where I expected. The table loads 50 ideas at a time as you scroll, and sorting orders the ideas that are loaded. Scroll to the bottom until no more ideas load, and the sort covers everything.

Smart search doesn’t find an idea I just created. New and edited ideas can take a few hours, and sometimes up to a day, to be added to Smart search. Switch Smart off and use keyword search in the meantime.

I deleted the search text, but the board is still filtered. Click the x in the search box to clear the search.

My filters disappeared, or a teammate sees different ideas than I do. Filters are saved per person. Check the number on the Filter button. If you changed filters without clicking Save, they’re not kept.

Group by doesn’t change anything. Group by works in Table and Grid. Kanban is always arranged by status.

Quick create doesn’t show Document or Marketing Email. Quick create only offers content types that the idea’s group has a field for. See Content Groups and Custom Fields.

Can I get a deleted idea back? No. Deleting is immediate and can’t be undone in the app. The content linked to the idea isn’t deleted.

Is there a limit on how many ideas I can have? No. There’s no limit on ideas or on content groups. See Content Groups and Custom Fields.

Some ideas disappeared from the board. Their group may be archived. Ideas in an archived group are hidden from the board and the calendar, and can’t be edited. Unarchive the group on the Content Groups tab to bring them back. See Content Groups and Custom Fields.