10 ways a content strategy agency will grow your business.

Remove the pressure of managing production timelines.

Producing excellent quality video is no mean feat. When planning to shoot a video, practice makes perfect – and experience goes even further. Trust us. There is so much to consider: the who, where, when, what and why. Working with a content strategy agency can remove this pressure for brands that don’t have in-house teams. When choosing a content strategy agency to handle your content production, make sure they have experience in handling all elements of your shoot:

• Talent
• Location
• Equipment
• Post-production
• Distribution.

Guarantee production quality and improve brand positioning.

Once you hit the big leagues, the production quality is critical. Often brands rush to produce video because they’ve heard it’s what their customers want (it is) but rushing always compromises the result.

The payoff when investing in good quality content strategy and production is a shift in audience perception. 

Don’t underestimate the power great content has to change how your customers see your business. This perception shift can move you from being a small player to a much larger one. Once you start hitting higher customer consideration sets alongside similar quality brands, you’ll find yourself selling to more willing customers at better price points.

Better manage your assets centrally.

Storing content for future use can be a nightmare. Go on, admit it, when was the last time you forgot where you saved something or couldn’t find the correct file to edit? It happens to the best of us.

One way to get around this is to work with a content strategy partner that can help show you where your assets fit within the bigger picture. Content you shoot one month can be re-used in months to come. Or, that one asset you used on Facebook can be re-cut for Instagram. 

Content is an asset that can be re-cut, tweaked and adapted to reach new audiences across multiple platforms. The key is knowing where to deploy it and how. Knowing where your assets sit, who they speak to, and what potential exists for them is one way to operate much more efficiently, both in terms of initial investment and return. A great content strategy partner will help define this plan for you, so you know you’re getting all the benefits.

A content strategy partner can further develop your existing brand guidelines.

Creating more content can highlight new creative routes to apply your tone and personality to as a brand. Working with a great content strategy partner can define areas where existing brand guidelines have the flexibility to evolve. Much like we mentioned earlier about reaching new customers, developing your brands look and feel can have a powerful effect on your ability to unlock growth.

For example, say you’re a fledgling lifestyle brand establishing a base of customers. Your early adopters are already sold on what it is you do and who you are. But, how will you access that first majority? Developing who you are as a brand can help break into new audience groups by bringing them on board with the mission through storytelling and content. If you are looking to grow in 2022, then seriously consider where your brand guidelines might need to develop to ensure you’re speaking to that next customer group.

Audit your existing content and help spot gaps in your content map.

When was the last time you took a look at all your brand’s content that exists out in the world? We can’t stress what a valuable exercise this is. Throw all the content that exists from your brand up on one wall, and ask, who are we speaking to? Who are we missing? This is a valuable exercise, as people often discover that they’ve fallen into the trap of producing similar content types for one or two customer groups.

Thinking critically about your audience, how you are reaching them, and what can significantly impact your success. A great content strategy agency will walk you through this process and help identify gaps in your content map. Once you identify these gaps, you can get to work on filling them.

Create video content that connects with your audience.

Knowing your customer from a strategic point of view is one thing. But engaging them in the real world is another challenge. Depending on your customer groups, you’ll find that they exist on various platforms, often with differing views, beliefs, and desires.

Creating content for different people and platforms is a tricky task. Especially if it’s all delivering a single message. You’ll want to consider how a 15/30 second Instagram post can communicate a similar feeling as a 3-minute long format video on YouTube. 

Help define a balance between types of content and its message.

Mapping out where and when your content will be shared gives critical oversight on the spread of your message. It will also highlight times throughout the year where you have peaks and troughs in your content. This is important to know and manage ahead of time, as often trying to fill gaps in the moment can lead to content feeling poorly executed.

If that does happen, it’s unlikely your customers will pay attention or be engaged by what you say. A much more effective strategy is to try and keep a steady flow of energy across all of your powerful platforms throughout the year. Keep your brand front of mind.

Produce higher-quality, stand out assets.

As well as making sure your content appears at the right time throughout the year, working with a content strategy partner can really drive impact with the assets you share. By tapping into knowledge around production techniques, available equipment, and new editing skills, you’ll be able to share a finished product that grabs attention.

Pushing to be a bit more experimental can be really exciting, too, as it forces you out of your comfort zone into a space where what you create can generate transformative results for your brand.

Optimise your strategy for different platforms.

Knowing what is going to work and where is crucial. For example, what gets massive engagement on TikTok, isn’t always what will work for audiences on YouTube. Beyond the basic picture format, there are lots of other considerations to make as well. Will your content be seen in-stream? Will it be seen for seconds or minutes?

Answering these questions will help define how your content is shot, how punchy your script needs to be, and how what you shoot is cut for different platforms. We always say that less is usually more in these instances. Focus on a few platforms and create something that you know will work really well for your customers that exist there. Then create something different for other audiences elsewhere. Tailoring to your different customer groups will help drive a more substantial return for your business.

Tell your user’s story.

Finally, finding ways to put your customer centre stage can often return powerful results. Especially with consumer brands, finding ways to tell customer stories engagingly is crucial. Nail it, and you’ll be well on your way to forging stronger relationships with your existing customers and making great impressions with like-minded people who are yet to discover you.

There have been some fantastic examples of this from several brands recently. A recent favourite is how American Express tells the story of how its users can benefit from using its cards by earning membership points. Simple but effective.