Today, any successful marketing strategy involves content marketing. There’s an art to creating and managing content – every detail matters and must be designed correctly so that it has the right effect on the audience.
Many marketers’ strategies require content to be produced at scale. In this scenario, how can you maintain its consistency and quality, ensuring you always pay attention to the finer details? In this article, I’m going to share my insights about how to manage this type of operation so your audience can always get the value they’re looking for, no matter the volume of content you need to create or the pace at which you publish it.
What is Content Production?
Content production is the process of creating a range of content types, including blogs, social media posts, e-books, videos, and podcasts. In some cases, one individual creates all types of content by themselves; otherwise, different members of a team are responsible for different media.
Content production is the act of creating content while content strategy is about planning the content you are going to make. So, it’s important to get your strategy right before you start operating at scale.
How to Produce Content Consistently
Creating content regularly is like working in a factory – it’s not a one person’s job, but the job of every person in the production line. If you have a clean process at hand, it makes the whole task much easier. Below, we will look at some factors that contribute to a smooth-running content production workflow.
Create an Efficient Team
You need to build an efficient team that you as a leader can rely upon, and you need to make sure that everyone understands their responsibilities and where they fit into the overall process. Below are my suggestions for the team members to include and what to look for when you hire them.
SEO Manager
It’s the responsibility of an SEO Manager to provide relevant keywords for your content to be based upon. Essentially, they make sure you’re publishing in-demand content that ranks well.
SEO experts should have sound knowledge of the industry. Take care while hiring for this role as seeing results with SEO can take time – if you hire someone that is not proficient, you may realise later down the line that your time has been wasted and you have not gotten the results you were looking for.
Copywriters
I would recommend deploying in-house writers that facilitate collaboration and can deliver within a quick turnaround time. You can also hire freelancers for this role if you do not have a consistent budget for it. Either way, make sure your copywriters are passionate about their work and have decent availability, as they will be playing a significant role in the content production process.
Editors
Editors ensure the quality of your content is of a consistent, error-free standard. They should have a great eye for detail, excellent command of the language, a solid understanding of grammar, and a perfectionist streak. Make sure you hire editors who you can trust to do the job properly so that you don’t have to spend much time checking final drafts yourself.
Graphic Design
Graphic designers bring your content to life. Images are a powerful medium for conveying meaning, and they also break up long articles, improving readability. Infographics are another great addition to your content, as many members of your audience will be visual learners who prefer absorbing information in this format. Before hiring a graphic designer, make sure you browse their portfolio thoroughly in order to verify their experience and determine whether their style suits your branding.
Video Editors
Video content is so important these days. Videos grab viewers’ attention and help you connect with your target audience on a deeper level. While you can record videos on your phone, it’s important to edit them well so you can engage viewers.
An in-house video editor can save a lot of time and give you the potential to expand this area of your content production much faster. If you don’t have any previous experience with creating video content, look for an editor that can also help you with recording and can provide general advice on video production.
Social Media Manager
It’s through your social media manager that your content production efforts pay off. Their job involves taking all the content created by the team and posting it for your audience to see. Constantly keeping up with social media while creating content is almost impossible, so make sure you hire someone to manage this part of the process. A must-have skill for a social media manager is being able to multitask efficiently.
How to Scale Content
As I’ve mentioned above, creating a successful content production process all comes down to your team and how well they function together. You need a process that is sustainable and reliable, as this provides the foundation you need if you want to scale. With that in mind, below are a few tips for scaling content successfully and sustainably.
Everyone Must Be on Board
When a team of creatives sit together, clashes tend to happen. You cannot force people into liking every idea that comes up, but when there are concerns, they need to be handled diplomatically.
The priority that all team members must share is doing what works – what gets results. While marketing involves creativity, it’s ultimately about business, not art. This means that no individuals should be too attached to their ideas; however, it is still important to be tactful and avoid dismissing someone’s opinions in a harsh manner. Create a space where everyone can communicate freely without the fear of being judged. Also, ensure you create a process that works for everyone, taking into account individual needs and working styles.
Leave Room for Error
Things will not always run smoothly, so be prepared for glitches, no matter how good your process is. Make sure you factor in extra time before deadlines so that you can handle unexpected issues, and have regular check-ins with your team to stay on top of things and work through any problems.
Use Tools
No matter how talented someone is, we all need a little extra help sometimes so look at using tools that will make your team’s life easier, such as Canva and Grammarly. Also keep in mind that when something can be done simply on a program like Canva, for example, there is no need to use expensive and complicated software.
Give Advice and Feedback
Nobody knows everything. At times, you might need to give your team further instruction about certain tasks, so be ready to help them out. Always aim to maintain mutual respect in such situations.
Encourage Learning
Content marketing is an ever-evolving field – you cannot simply learn about it once and be set for life. There will be new practises, trends, and software that you will have to keep up with, so be open to learning and encourage your team to do the same. Learning never stops, no matter how far you get in any industry.
Track Tasks Efficiently
Generating ideas and assigning content across a big team can be difficult. To make sure everyone is on the same page, you must deploy a tracking system that your team can engage with efficiently. Team management systems like Monday.com help you streamline your work processes, and you can also use platforms like Google Calendars to keep track of scheduling and other managerial tasks.
Quality Over Quantity
In the digital landscape, it can be hard to prioritise quality. Nonetheless, we as marketers have to keep a balance between the two. That’s why I believe in repurposing content and marketing it in different ways.
A 1500 word blog can be converted into smaller social media posts. A full length video can be chopped up into a reel. There are so many possibilities you can experiment with, so don’t put yourself under pressure to create something new every time. Unless you have a massive team with endless resources at your disposal, it’s well worth trying this out.
All these tips come from my personal experience managing a team. As long as you hire reliable, ensure everyone understands how the processes work, and arrange regular check-ins, you will be able to produce content at scale. That’s not to say it’s always going to be easy, so always factor in some time to address mistakes and delays. Are you struggling with content creation? Click here to see how my team and I can help.