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November 20, 2024
In this article we’re diving deeper than we ever have into content creation. How to develop your own personalized strategy, the inside tips we only share with our clients, how to plan ahead so you never feel overwhelmed by your content again, and more.
Is this the year you finally stop making it up as you go along?? Only one way to find out👇👇
Every year more and more digital content is being distributed to the masses. It can feel overwhelming to keep up and stay on top. But if you want to keep your brand at the front of people’s minds, there’s no other way.
Have you heard the saying the squeaky wheel gets the grease? With content creation, think of it as the active business gets the sales.
Content is how you draw people in. It’s how you keep your audience engaged and how you present your business to the world. It’s honestly one of the most important aspects of your brand and by far the easiest to fall behind on.
Let’s start by breaking down all the different kinds of digital content.
Obviously, every single brand is different. A content strategy that works great for one business might be awful for another. So don’t think about what other brands are doing. Focus on you.
What types of content would your business benefit the most from? And how often should you be distributing it? It’s easy to say you want to post on social media every single day, create an online course, and develop multiple campaigns a year. But have you thought about what you need to make it happen?
How are you getting the images you need for social media? Who’s writing the captions? Who’s filming your online course? Figuring these details out ahead of time will keep you from falling behind and just shoving out pointless content for the sake of getting it out there.
Day to Day – Not recommended for any content unless you love anxiety. Sure there’s the daily thrill of, “Crap, we forgot to post today.” Or “Shit, tomorrow’s Christmas, do we have any holiday content prepared?” and scrambling to get something out there. But exciting isn’t always better. Yes, sometimes things get backed up. But if you’re working like this on the reg, you’re not thriving; you’re getting by.
Weekly – Better than taking it a day at a time, but we think you can deserve better. You should at least have an idea of what content you’re making and what’s being distributed at the start of each week. Plus, enough time to step back and look ahead at the next week before it starts to avoid playing catch up.
Monthly – This is our favorite planning method for most forms of content. It gives you plenty of flexibility while still keeping you ahead. Take an hour to look at the month *before* it starts and form a loose content calendar including enough time for development, edits, and distribution. Only 12 times a year! That’s nothing.
Quarterly or Yearly – Bigger content projects should at the very least be on your radar well before the time comes to start creating. We’re talking holidays, upcoming campaigns, business anniversary content, industry-related events. Important content shouldn’t creep up out of nowhere. Don’t half-ass it.
Budget – Kind of obvious. But don’t bite off more than you can chew.
Timeline – How long is this project really going to take? And how will it effect your current daily tasks if projects start to overlap?
Talent – Does your team have the capacity to take on this new project, or do you need to hire extra help?
Scheduling a Shoot – If you need new footage, you need to schedule a shoot. Period. We suggest having regularly scheduled shoots to keep your content fresh.
Distribution – Once you have your content, how are you going to get it out there? Don’t neglect this because it can impact how the content needs to be created.
Social Climate – Basically, read the room. Planning ahead is great, but things are constantly changing. It’s okay to put some plans on the back burner if they aren’t going to have the impact you intended.
Content creation is not a one-person job. Or at least good content creation isn’t. Creating and distributing consistent content can quickly become overwhelming if you’re trying to go at it alone. The most valuable tool you can have is a solid team that understands your brand and is well equipped with the skills you need.
Do you have any in-house team members you trust with developing content? Having 1-2 people on your team will ensure a deep understanding of your brand and consistency for the everyday content such as social media, e-blasts, paid ads, etc.
Beyond that, do what makes the most sense for you and your business. Think of the content you want to create, how often you want to create it, and ask for help accordingly. You can curate an in-house marketing team for regular content and go freelance for the less frequent projects. But the last thing you want to do is set goals without knowing the labor it takes to make it happen.
No matter how talented your team is, you’re not going to accomplish anything without communicating. And we don’t just mean general communications about projects.
How aware is every one of the business’s long-term goals? Are there opportunities for team members to voice their opinions or expand on ideas? Is everyone clear on their role and the chain of command? It’s so easy to fall into chaos if people aren’t on the same page.
The last thing you want to do is spend time and money creating a piece of content only for it to fall short or go through never-ending edits. The more you communicate at the start of a new project, the easier it’ll be for everyone.
There are an obscene amount of tools out there to make the process of creating content as easy as possible. We’re not saying you should go out and load up on a million devices. But do some research, see where you fall short, and invest in the tools that will save you time and money.
Content creation can be like a well-oiled machine. And like any machine, you want to avoid clogs. If one person misses a deadline it can set off a chain that holds every person behind.
Working ahead definitely allows for more flexible deadlines, but shit happens! It’s so important to encourage your team to speak up when they’re at their limit and follow up on each other’s tasks when things start to fall behind.
No matter how prepared you are, sometimes things just pile up. And that’s okay! When this happens, prioritization is going to save your life. The best part of planning ahead is knowing what projects you can drop or push back without throwing off your goals.
If you notice you’re starting to put out content that genuinely has no purpose, or you’re just going through the motions, it’s time to take a step back and reevaluate.
Don’t waste your time and money putting out content just for the sake of putting out content.
We’re not saying consistently creating content is easy. But with all the tools and resources out there, there really are no more excuses to keep putting it on the back burner.
And, of course, we’re always here if you need any help.
INDIRAP is a full service video production, growth marketing and communications agency.
