The work is over. The moment has arrived. As the agency and brand managers sit eagerly watching the media managers, social specialists, ad traffickers, et al. hit 'publish' on their latest creative campaign, the excitement peaks and congratulations are had. And then...nothing. It's always a slow start, they say, give it time.
Months later at the reporting meeting many sit around and share their opinions of what went wrong and what confluence of variables led to the content 'failing'. I suspect this scenario is familiar to many marketers. While I realize the reasons may vary drastically and there are a large number of factors wielding influence on content performance, there is one fundamental, two-part system that is too often found missing from planning.
Don't Produce Content without a System
Before content goes out, a sound strategic underpinning is paramount. What is the content supposed the do? Even if it is entertaining or inherently shareable, is it accomplishing anything for your business or pushing out a relevant message? Make sure you formulate the purpose, positioning, and measurement of your content before shoving it out into the insurmountable world of the internet.
Secondly, distribution and promotion needs to be considered ahead of time. In today's media climate it is nearly impossible to launch content, no matter how good or entertaining, and have it be seen without some form of support. Understanding that not everyone will be able to pay for promotion of their content, there still needs to be planning in place to best leverage additional owned channels to garner attention. Even if you are fortunate enough to be supporting your content with paid viewership, that requires its own planning: How can other channels support the message? What happens once traction begins? Can you keep the momentum going in other areas?
With these areas in mind, the formula for content pre-planning can be distilled down to:
Strategy + Distribution = Qualified Content
Content S.O.S.
Of course the above may be taken as somewhat obvious after reviewing a campaign and experiencing stalled performance, but what happens in practice? Many marketers will realize the foundational errors present in a content plan and seek ways to improve performance on-the-fly. Luckily, there are many opportunities available mid-launch to make improvements and optimize the plan. A few thought starters for consideration are below:
Tactic: Additional Channel Support.
Considerations: In seeking inclusion in and support from additional channels, it will be important to know first if the channel being considered is available to use. Additionally, teams will need to learn if content will require any new approvals or content edits in order to be integrated to a different owned channel.
Tactic: Content Updates
Considerations: What has performed well thus far, even directionally, that can be implemented and applied to future content? (e.g. SEO learnings, copy changes, hashtag discovery strategies)
Tactic: Strategic Pivot
Considerations: Is there enough time to adjust future content or retrofit the initiative thus far to a new direction? If the aim of the content appears clearly misguided there may still be time to alter course and try another angle. At the very least, having two approaches to compare to will yield additional learnings regardless of ultimate performance.
Guiding Questions
In conclusion, there are three things I hope readers will take away from this posting:
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It is not fair to assess content that does not have a strategy or distribution plan in place.
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How can it be judged when there were no expectations set?
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Just because a campaign has launched without a planning foundation doesn't mean it has to continue that way.
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There is always time to adjust and test updates in real time. What can be implemented in the short-term to improve content performance?
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Consider your content before it begins living online and ask yourself if it's the best it could be.
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Does it push your objectives or business ahead? When it's done being seen, what do you hope to have learned?
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Life after a creative campaign or push is often the most important part. Regardless of performance, you will win by having learned what did or did not work along the way.