A poor brief can undermine the best content marketing efforts from the start, so it makes sense in 2019 to get back to the basics and take a closer look at the information you send to agencies and writers.
Creating a thorough yet concise brief is a wise investment, especially when so many marketers are planning to spend more on content marketing this year. A good brief will outline your expectations, give creators guidance, ensure that output is accurate and more effective, and save time in the post-production or editing phase. Basically, it makes everyone’s job a little easier.
When working with an agency, you should aim to provide content creators with a short, one-page summary of your business. Try to detail who you are, what you do, who your customers are, what your story is, and any details about the products or services you sell.
From here, move on to your brand and how you would like to communicate your messages. You should consider aspects such as tone of voice. Provide one or two written examples rather than merely stating “formal” or “casual”, as these vague terms can be difficult for agencies and writers to interpret correctly.
Creating a style guide covering grammar, point of view, formatting, colours, logos and fonts is also recommended, especially if you want to create more visually focused materials such as infographics or videos.
A single brief should contain a number of key elements. If you manage to hit these points each time, you will give your in-house team or agency a better chance of turning in engaging and high-quality material. However, do not overload creators with too much information. Find the right balance. It needs to be concise and useful, not long-winded and laborious.
You should include a title, a deadline, the core brief covering its message and editorial purpose, specifications (word count, format, etc.), submission instructions, contact information, and any other useful resources such as a style guide and template.
Great ideas will always be communicated more effectively with a great brief. Taking a bit more time to provide up-to-date and relevant info to agencies and creators this year could transform your campaigns.