82.7% of marketers work with a content brief. With most writers, editors and designers expecting a brief to work with, it's clear that writing an informative and easy-to-follow content brief is an essential part of the content creation process.
Whether you're requesting an article, social media post, or web page, a content brief must effectively outline the content’s goals, tone and style, target audience, and any other necessary elements that guide the content creation process. This way, everyone involved knows exactly what is expected of them and is working towards the same vision and objectives.
So, let’s take a deeper look at the importance of content briefs as part of your content marketing strategy and what you need to include to create an effective brief that will set you and your team up for success.
Marketers need to know if they are creating content to persuade, educate, or simply entertain. Briefs help everyone involved stay focused on the end goal, whether that be increasing brand awareness, boosting SEO, or driving conversions.
A content brief ensures all pieces of content align with the overall content strategy - it serves as a reference point to keep content consistent across different formats and platforms. Without a brief, you risk producing content that doesn’t fit your brand’s tone of voice or messaging.
By giving the content writer/creator all the key details up front, you make the overall process much more efficient. Writers can avoid the unnecessary back-and-forth that can cause delays and editors have clear guidelines to follow which reduces editing time.
Content briefs streamline the communication process between writers, editors, and designers. This helps to create a shared understanding of the content’s purpose and scope, minimising misunderstandings and delays and preventing tension building across teams.
Now you know why content briefs are important, here’s a few key things you need to include:
Your first step when crafting a content brief is to clearly outline the content’s objective, whether this be driving traffic to a landing page, improving rankings, or educating the audience. Without a defined objective, the content may lack focus and fail to meet your expectations. It’s also important not to be vague when outlining the objective. Keep things as specific as possible to avoid ambiguity.
Understanding the piece's target audience is crucial for creating a piece of content that resonates. Include details about the audience’s demographics, such as age, gender, and location. Where possible, you should also include their psychographics like interests, behaviours, and pain points. It’s also a good idea to note where they are in the buying stage (awareness, consideration, or decision) to ensure the content reflects their needs.
The tone and style of the content will directly affect how the message is received by the audience. Do you want the piece to be fun and conversational or more formal and corporate? Setting the tone is vital for crafting quality content.
In your brief, include guidelines on the desired tone and writing style. Not only will this better align your content with the end goal, but it will also maintain coherency across various platforms so your brand’s voice remains consistent.
Clear structure is key for creating content that is simple and easy to read. Your content brief may include:
Having a structure in place makes it easier for the content creator to stay organised, and it helps improve the user experience for the visitor.
Writing with SEO in mind is essential for improving your chances of ranking in the search results. Be sure to list the primary keyword as well as any secondary keywords or variations so all content is well optimised for search engines.
You need to provide timeline details to ensure the content is delivered on time. Include deadlines for drafts, revisions, and the final submission. It may also be beneficial to send these deadlines to the wider team so everyone has the same expectations.
A well-crafted content brief can save time, align teams, and ensure content is optimised, relevant, and impactful. By clearly defining objectives, providing details on the target audience, outlining the style and tone, providing structure, including keywords, and giving clear deadlines, you can streamline the content creation process and deliver content that truly resonates with your audience.
