Content marketing is one of the best ways to generate new leads and increase brand recognition. Creating and publishing content regularly ensures you get the most out of your efforts. The most effective way to oversee your team’s content creation process will depend on the size and makeup of your group. Content marketers will all agree that content creation is more than just being creative. It’s a fine-tuned strategy.
In this article, we’ll talk about other ways to boost your team’s efficiency and how a content brief can help shorten the time required for various tasks and projects. Keep reading to discover a content brief, why it is essential, and how to write one.
What is a Content Brief?
An outline or set of guidelines created for content writers to provide them with guidance and information on how to approach creating an assigned piece of content is known as a content brief. Although creative briefs aren’t just for written content and can be used for videos, infographics, landing pages, or ad copy, the terms “content briefs” and “creative briefs” are sometimes used interchangeably.
The process of creating content is organized using content briefs. Your content marketing objectives, brand voice, narrative flow, formatting, and content will likely be understood with a thorough content brief.
What exactly is an SEO content brief?
A good SEO brief guides writers and explains their work’s goal and the elements necessary to perform well in search engine results. These details should include headers, alt tags, metadata, internal links, headers, and any other information writers and editors need to know to produce the final product.
Why are Content Briefs Important?
Before beginning the first draft, writers should create a content brief. It helps them determine what they should concentrate on and steer clear of when producing better content. Some of the benefits of using a content brief include the following:
They help you save both time and money.
Since there is no need for back-and-forth email correspondence, detailed content briefs make it simpler for teams to assign and track requests. Additionally, it enables them to collaborate effectively across time zones and sync with their projects.
They keep track of allocations.
Each new piece’s brief should include the project scope to keep freelancers on schedule and within their allocated spending limits. It prevents them from overcharging later.
They encourage writers’ creativity.
An excellent content brief will provide the writer with inspiration and guidance. Examples encourage creative thinking.
They ensure deliveries and deadlines are met.
Content briefs specify the deadlines for first drafts, notes, edits, approvals, and publications. Having this at hand keeps everyone on the team in sync.
Key takeaway: Content briefs are essential because they solidify your strategy, save time and money, organize content planning strategies, boost creativity, and ensure prompt content delivery according to stipulated deadlines and time frames.
What Should a Content Brief Include?
An effective content brief provides an overview of your company, target audience, and essential requirements for content. Your content brief should contain various elements depending on the kind of content you want to produce and your marketing goals.
Whatever the content you’re producing or your approach, your brief content template must, at the very least, contain the following elements.
- Article title: This is the blog post’s name or other content pieces. It should include your primary keyword.
- Subtitles or headers will point the writer in the correct direction and incorporate more keywords.
- Target audience: Who will read this piece of content? Add their job title and what they are likely most interested in learning about within this topic.
- Article funnel stage: This refers to the top, middle, and bottom of the sales funnel, aka, the buyer’s journey. The funnel stage should directly impact the perspective of the piece.
- Synopsis: A two- to three-sentence description or summary of the piece will go a long way toward making sure your writers understand what you need.
- CTA guidance: If you have specific links or ideas for what you’d like readers to do after they finish the article, that information goes here. Even a general idea will help your writers. For example, even if you don’t have a specific case study in mind, you can ask your writers to find a relevant one to include.
- Word count: This is the range or the total number of words the writer should hit within the piece. Blog strategy experts recommend a minimum of, but longer-form posts in the 1,000-2,500+ word range perform best.
- Helpful research links: Articles you want the piece to be modeled after or ones the piece is competing with should go here.
- Website or client guidelines: There may be specific requests or requirements depending on where the piece will be published, so make sure to include those too.
Here are some extra elements you might want to include in a creative content brief:
Internal research and corporate materials, such as case studies, data sets, and input from team members.
Content and image formatting guidelines, preferably organized as an editorial style guide.
Top-ranking articles you want the writer to study or content you want them to use as inspiration or reference.
Recommended CTAs and information on promoted products or services.
Any other special requests or instructions.
SEO content brief elements
You must incorporate each of these if you want to beat out your rivals in search results or win Google’s featured snippet placement:
Meta tags: title and Meta description
HTML elements like title tags and meta descriptions aid search engines in deciphering a web page’s content. These are usually shown whenever a page appears in search results.
(Internal and external) Backlink recommendations
By creating more connections to other pertinent articles and pages, using internal and external links to pages on your business’s website and those of outside sources improves SEO. Backlinks are very beneficial for search engine algorithms trying to figure out where to put your article when ranking for particular phrases.
Relevant keywords and volumes
Keywords also contribute to the overall picture of what your article is about. Their volumes show how frequently a keyword has been searched over time and can help you determine how valuable it is to your audience.
Competitor research
The most important question is: How can your article be superior to theirs? What target keyword? Which side of the argument does your brand support?
Competitor research is a necessary step in creating a successful content brief. You can spot market gaps and ensure your content stands out by researching what others say about the subject.
By researching your competitors, you can produce content that stands out from theirs, offers a different viewpoint, and is more valuable to your target audience. This research also aids in your understanding of the market and the opportunities available to you for differentiating your brand from the competition.
Are Outlines Necessary for Your Content Brief?
Yes, your content brief should always include an outline, especially if your content is tailored toward a specific topic or subject matter. An outline provides a roadmap for your content, allowing you to organize your ideas and ensure your message is clear and concise. It helps you to structure your content logically and coherently, making it easier for your readers to follow and understand.
When creating an outline for your content, you should identify the central ideas or themes you want to cover. Once you have a list of these main points, you can organize them logically and add relevant supporting details or subtopics. Your outline should be detailed enough to guide your writing process but flexible sufficient to allow for necessary changes or adjustments.
Including an outline in your content brief is also helpful in collaborating with other writers or editors, as it provides a clear framework for everyone to work from. It can also help you to stay focused and on track as you write, minimizing the risk of getting off-topic or losing your train of thought.
An outline is essential to any content brief, as it helps you plan, structure, and communicate your ideas effectively. Whether creating a blog post, an article, a report, or any other type of content, taking the time to outline is a valuable investment that can help you produce high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your target audience.
Key takeaway: An outline is an essential component of a content brief as it helps to organize your ideas, ensure clarity and coherence, guide your writing process, and facilitate collaboration with other writers and editors. An outline can help you to stay on track and produce high-quality content that resonates with your target audience.
How To Write an Effective Content Brief in Nine Steps
A brief is a critical component of your content strategy. You can set decent standards by distributing thorough content briefs and ensuring everyone on your team uses them.
Creating an effective content brief is essential for producing high-quality content that meets your goals and resonates with your target audience. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you create compelling content briefs:
Step One: Define your objectives
Start by identifying your objectives for the content. What is the purpose of the content? What message do you want to convey? Who is the target audience? What is the desired outcome?
Defining your objectives is the first step in creating an effective content brief. This involves identifying the purpose of the content, the message you want to convey, the target audience, and the desired outcome. Here’s what each of these components involves:
Purpose:
What is the reason for creating the content? Is it to inform, educate, entertain, persuade, or something else? The purpose should align with your overall content strategy and business goals.
Message:
What is the core message or value proposition you want to communicate? What do you want your audience to take away from the content? Your message should be clear, concise, and relevant to your target audience.
Target audience:
Understanding your target audience is essential for creating content that resonates with them. Who is the intended audience for the content? What are their needs, interests, and pain points?
Desired outcome:
What do you want your audience to do after consuming the content? Do you want them to take a specific action, such as signing up for a newsletter, purchasing, or sharing the content on social media? Defining the desired outcome helps you measure the success of your content and ensure that it aligns with your overall business goals.
By defining your objectives, you can create a clear roadmap for your content strategy and ensure that every piece of content you create is aligned with your goals and resonates with your target audience.
Step Two: Research the topic
Research involves gathering information and insights about the topic you will cover in your content. Researching the topic is an essential step in creating an effective content brief. Here are some ways to conduct research for your content:
Conduct surveys:
Surveys can help you gather information about your target audience’s preferences, needs, and pain points. You can use tools like Google Forms or SurveyMonkey to create and distribute surveys.
Analyze data:
If you can access relevant data, such as website analytics or customer data, primary and secondary keywords, analyze it to uncover insights that inform your content.
Review existing content:
Look at what your competitors and other industry leaders are doing with their content. Analyze their strategies, themes, and styles to gain inspiration and avoid duplicating what others have already done.
Interview subject matter experts:
Talk to knowledgeable people about your topic. This may include industry experts, thought leaders, or influencers. Their insights can help you better understand the topic and craft more valuable content.
Use online research tools:
Many online tools can help you research your topic. Examples include Google Trends, Buzzsumo, and SEMrush.
By conducting thorough research, you can gain a deeper understanding of your topic, identify trends and insights, and develop valuable and informative content for your target audience.
Step Three: Identify critical themes and topics
Once you have researched your topic, the next step in creating an effective content brief is identifying key themes and topics covered in the content. Doing so may include reviewing your research to determine the most relevant information to include. Here are some steps to follow:
Review your research:
Look at the data and insights you have gathered to identify the most important themes and topics. These may be based on popular search queries, industry trends, or customer pain points.
Prioritize the themes and topics:
Determine which themes and topics are most relevant to your objectives and target audience. Prioritizing them will help you stay focused on important content.
Organize the themes and topics:
Create an outline or a mind map to organize the themes and topics logically. An adequately organized outline will help ensure your content is well-structured and easy to follow.
Define the scope:
Determine how much detail you will cover for each theme and topic. Be sure to balance providing enough information to be valuable and not overwhelming the reader with too much detail.
By identifying the key themes and topics covered in the content, you can create a clear roadmap for the content creation process. A clear understanding will help you stay on track and ensure your content is relevant, valuable, and practical.
Step Four: Create an outline
The next step in creating an effective content brief is to use the key themes and topics to create an outline for the content. An outline is a roadmap that guides the content creation process and ensures that the content is well-structured and easy to follow. Here’s how to create an outline:
- Start with an introduction: Begin the outline with an introduction that grabs the reader’s attention and sets the tone for the rest of the content.
- Identify main sections: Use the key themes and topics to identify the main sections of the content. These should be broad enough to cover the key topics but focused enough to keep the content on track.
- Break down each main section into subtopics: Under each main section, break down the content into subtopics that cover the details related to the main section. These subtopics should support the main section and provide further context.
- Add supporting details: Include supporting elements such as data, examples, and quotes to support your arguments and help the reader understand the content better.
- Consider the flow: Make sure that the outline flows logically and naturally. Each section should build on the previous one and lead into the next.
- Conclude with a summary: End the outline with an overview summarizing the key points and connecting everything.
Creating an outline ensures that your content is well-organized, easy to follow, and on-topic. The outline is also a reference point for writers and editors during content creation.
Step Five: Define the tone and style
In this step, you must determine the tone and style of your content. What you go with should align with your brand and be appropriate for your target audience. For example, the tone may be more formal and technical if you create content for a technical audience.
Step Six: Define the content distribution method
Determine how you will distribute the content to your target audience. It determines how the target audience will distribute and access the content. Options may include publishing it on your website, sharing it on social media, sending it out in an email newsletter, or distributing it through other channels.
Step Seven: Include guidelines for visuals and formatting
If your content includes visuals, include guidelines for how they should be designed and formatted. Formatting should remain consistent with your brand and enhance the overall user experience.
Step Eight: Set deadlines and assign responsibilities
Set deadlines for each stage of the content creation process and assign responsibilities to team members. This step is crucial for ensuring the project stays on track, and that everyone involved in the content creation process knows their role.
By following these steps, you can create an effective content brief that sets a clear standard for content quality and ensures that everyone on your team understands and follows it.
Key takeaway: creating an effective content brief involves defining objectives, conducting research, identifying key themes and topics, creating an outline, defining tone and style, determining format and structure, defining delivery method, including guidelines for visuals and formatting, setting deadlines, and assigning responsibilities.
Final Thoughts
Creating an effective content brief is crucial for any content marketing strategy, and assuming that a writer doesn’t need one can be a big mistake. Even the best writers need a content brief to ensure their work meets clients’ needs and achieves their desired SEO goals.
Creating a content brief may take some time and practice, but by following the steps outlined in this guide, you can create a detailed and practical brief that guides the content creation process and ensures that everyone involved in the project is on the same page. Remember to define your objectives, conduct research, identify key themes and topics, create an outline, and set deadlines and responsibilities.
