Briefing Your Creatives

[GAH_Photography]

Hello HubSpotters,

As a community of a broad and diverse group of professionals from all over the marketing arena and many different parts of the third rock from the sun 🌍.

How do you build out your creative briefing when creating content for your campaigns, sites you manage, blogs you edit, and wherever the content will reside, both on and offline?

What are the elements that are the most important to communicate, and how do you do it?

How can you ensure the message has gotten across before you get to set?

Why do you need to manage expectations, both yours and your client, if there is one?

As a seasoned creator, 30 years and counting, I have been briefed by many different people with many different motivations.

What are your tips for content success?

Graham 📸

[danmoyle]

Hi @GAH_Photography. Good question. Of course I'm sure there are a million answers, so hopefully you'll get some variety, but with some common best practices. 

I wanted to share a template we use for a blog brief that has helped us create consistent content over the years:

Client Name:

Title: A polished working title for this post

SEO Strategy:

• Main KW: Make sure this KW is represented in your post title. Provide search volume and difficulty for this term. 
• Supporting/Semantic KWs: 
•  These may use the same terms as the KWs or slightly different KWs that are also related to this topic. Provide search volume data for these terms. The client should want to rank for these terms.
•  
• Internal LInks / References (eBook, Blog, Website pages):
•  
•  
•  

BuyJo/Funnel Stage: 

Awareness/ToFu

Consideration/MoFu

Decision/BoFu

CTA/Campaign:

Key Points:

•  Overall position of post: provide 1-3 sentences about the general post concept. Why are we writing this post? How does it related to the client’s position in the market? What should the reader learn when they read the post? Why are we writing about this?
• Body Content: If an “X Ways…” type of post, provide these ways. Think about the post subheadings and provide to the writer. Give examples to support the “why” 
•  

Word Count Range: 

600-800

800-1000

1000-1500

Key References/Approved Sources: 

•  
•   

References to avoid: 

•  
•  

Blog Copy: 

While this isn't the only way, hopefully it inspires you and your team. I think the key here is the be consistent with what you're asking, clear on the requirements, and leave room for the creativity. 

[kvlschaefer]

Hi @GAH_Photography,

Welcome to the Content Marketing Study Group! 

I wanted to share these resources with insights into forming a successful content strategy: 

• The Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing in 2023
• The Ultimate Guide to Content Creation
• How to Develop a Content Strategy in 7 Steps: A Start-to-Finish Guide

I also wanted to invite our study group members to share their insights.

Hi @danmoyle, @ru_dima, @sam9s, @StephenMDunford, @KCarmon - Do you have any tips for @GAH_Photography?

Thank you! 

Best,

Kristen