I have been talking with lots of brands on how to set up their content production process.

I wanted to bring you in on these calls for free.

Your Content Process

To build consistent ad content you need a simple system.

• Ideation

• Production

• Launch

• Data

The data should then feedback into your ideation process.

This content production loop is key to creating consistent ads.

Most brands know this, but don't have this set up.

Let’s actually break it down by each stage.

1. Ideation

Designate someone in charge of coming up with the ideas and writing briefs.

I like team collaboration to come up with ideas, but someone needs to be the final decision maker.

If you are just starting out, you as the founder need to own this job.

You need to build out clear briefs.

A great brief should accomplish a few things:

What is the goal of the adWhy are you making this adWhat exactly do you want to seeWhat needs to be communicatedExamples of what you are looking for

Spend the extra few minutes to think about what you want to see. Most people rush this but having clarity of end result will make production better.

2. Production

A lot of brands struggle with taking ideas, and getting them made.

The first idea is just ask customers for content.

Customers won't be great direct response creators but genuine testimonials are needed.

Then I would go out and hire a few freelancers.

PhotographerGraphic DesignerCreators

You can start small with scopes of work, but if you don’t like to create, you need to get help.

Make photos for static ads with a simple photo shoot.

The graphic designer can make statics quickly.

Get creators to make videos and edit them for you.

Brands get into trouble when they aren’t getting their content ahead of schedule. You want to be at least a few weeks ahead of your content production.

A quick tip on working with creators.

Have a set price for content. If they don't want that price, walk away. Don't spend time negotiating with lots of creators. There are a ton out there, so as a brand, you have the power in the negotiation.

3. Launch

Now that you have a good system of ideating and creating, launch those ads!

I am not a media buyer so this step is a simple step for me.

Please don’t ask me about cost caps or CPCs.

4. Data

As I talk to brands, people still aren't looking at the data.

Do not create by just guessing.

Let the market tell you what to do.

Look at the data, the people have spoken.

They either like the ad and bought

OR

They scrolled away.

Dig into each ad and have a post-mortem.

I have done a few other newsletters on specific data that you can read

The Cycle

If you are honest with the data, this can help you improve ideation.

So once you have your data, you go back to step 1, and make new briefs.

This system is simple but effective.

As your account scales, each step grows, but the basic system you need is 4 steps.

As you go into 2024 planning and reviewing the year, look at your content production from this lens.

Go through each step, and figure out what you do well and where you can improve.

Start there and then work on improving each step.