5 Steps in Building A Scalable Content Production Process

Summary

Does your team have a defined content production process to guide content development from creation to promotion? In this blog, explore the 5 key steps in defining and documenting one of the most important components of a success content strategy.

By Brittany Lieu, Marketing Consultant at Heinz Marketing

Embarking on your 2024 content development journey without a content production process is like blindly baking – no recipe, uncertain timings, missing ingredients, and ultimately inconsistent end products. 

In many of my previous content-related blogs, we discuss the “what” and the “why” when it comes to developing a content strategy, repurposing content, and balancing the ratio of top, middle, and bottom funnel content. As you implement your content strategy, don’t forget about the importance of the “how” – your content production process. 

What is a Content Production Process?

When you’ve created a content piece, what’s next? What is the cadence for review, edits, and publishing? A content production process a documented system for generating and delivering content, answers these questions, and more. An effective content production process will…

• Create structure and organize your creative resources
• Maximize your team’s efficiency
• Maintain content quality assurance 
• And ultimately shape a cohesive and impactful brand narrative

So, what does a content production process look like? Let’s break down the 5 crucial components you need to define and document as part of a comprehensive process. 

5 Key Steps in the Content Production Process 

For each of the steps below, remember it’s not only critical to document the process but to define the appropriate owner, tools, timing, approval stages, and every handoff point between cross-function roles. 

Editing and Quality Assurance

• Proofreading and Editing: Conduct a meticulous review of the developed content, addressing grammatical errors, and inconsistencies, ensuring adherence to brand voice.
• Fact-Checking: Verify the accuracy of information presented in the content to maintain credibility and reliability.
• Style Guide Adherence: Ensure the content aligns with established style guides, including formatting, tone, and writing conventions.

SEO Optimization:

• Keyword Integration: Strategically incorporate relevant keywords naturally within the content to improve search engine visibility.
• Meta Tags and Descriptions: Craft compelling meta titles and descriptions that encourage clicks and provide accurate summaries of the content.
• Header Structure: Organize content with clear headers and subheadings to enhance readability and SEO.

Formatting and Design:

• Design Development: If you have dedicated design resources, determine the handoff between your copywriter and designer. What review cycles are needed here?
• Visual Elements Integration: Enhance the visual appeal by incorporating relevant images, infographics, or multimedia elements that complement the content.
• Consistent Branding: Adhere to brand guidelines for consistent use of colors, fonts, and overall design aesthetics.

Publishing:

• Platform-Specific Optimization: Tailor the content for the chosen publishing platform, ensuring it meets format requirements, character limits, and other platform-specific guidelines.
• Scheduling Precision: Choose an optimal publishing time based on audience behavior, time zones, and platform algorithms to maximize visibility.
• Engagement Readiness: Ensure that engagement features, such as comments or interactive elements, are activated and monitored for immediate responses.
• Cross-Promotion Strategy: Plan cross-promotion on other owned channels to drive traffic and awareness to the newly published content.

Promotion and Amplification:

• Paid Advertising Campaigns: Design targeted paid advertising campaigns on platforms like social media or search engines to amplify content reach.
• Social Media Promotion: Leverage social media channels to organically promote the content, utilizing engaging captions, visuals, and hashtags.
• Email Newsletter Inclusion: Incorporate the developed content into email newsletters, providing additional exposure to a segmented audience.

Just like you avoid baking dry cake and burnt cookies, set your team up for repeatable success with a prescriptive content production process “recipe”. Documenting and implementing a clear workflow ensures your content engine can seamlessly scale with your team year after year.