Providing valuable, digestible content to consumers in order to build brand affinity is hardly a new marketing device, so why are some marketers struggling to craft killer content and effective creative assets?
While it may differ from marketer to marketer, one of the key problems we see is related to organization and planning. Part of the problem lies in the fact that many organizations lack a standardized framework, one that breaks content development into clearly defined stages of completion.
Thus, below we have outlined five important steps every marketer should take when developing a new piece of content.
- Start with a Creative Brief
Crucial for the beginning of a new project, especially if there are multiple parties involved, a clearly organized creative brief is quintessential to the success of every new content project. Not only does it ensure everyone is on the same page, but once approved this then will become a working document that provides guidance to all parties on the overall communications objective of the asset being developed.
- Develop an Outline
Once you have a creative brief that is approved by all parties, you can then provide a copy outline to include an overview by section with bullets along with other salient points, fact-based items and other content that should be included.
- Complete a Working draft
After a copy outline is developed, a working draft is then completed, and sent to internal or external reviewers for feedback. This draft might include multiple options for headlines, copy points and the overall content layout direction.
- Begin the Editing Phase
Any good content marketer knows that editing is a critical part of the process. Thus, once you have feedback on the working draft, it is important to then to work with the client through a few rounds of edits (we recommend no more than three) until approval is reached.
- End with a Visual Context Review
If you are adding graphic elements to the content asset, this is the last step. Once the approved draft is in design, we recommend then smoothing out the overall copy in a design context for flow and fit within the designed asset.
Need help with your content strategy? We would love to assist. Give us a call at 941.929.3104 or visit our website.