How to Maximize Your Creative Process at Scale [Infographic]

One hit wonders are becoming a thing of the past suggests data from the last 45 years of Billboard’s Hot 100 charts. There simply isn’t room. Today’s hits once they enter the Hot 100 tend to last twice as long on the chart as they did in the 1960s. The study also found that the average Katy Perry song remains in the Hot 100 nearly three times longer than the average Beatles song.

Why should you care about one hit wonders? Just as it is with music, when it comes to content, creating a one hit wonder of your own is a more difficult and less viable option in comparison to a calculated, long-term content strategy.

Think of the first time you took on a task that’s now second nature for you. Let’s say your task is making a cheeseburger. After doing it twenty times, you know the best places to shop for all the different ingredients; the best way to slice an onion; the right amount of charcoal to put in the grill; the amount of prep time needed to eat dinner on time, and so on and so forth. The creative process works the same way.

The Agency Benefit: Logistics On Lock-Down
When you partner with an agency, all of those details–from pricing to timelines to procedures–are perfectly rehearsed, running like a well-oiled machine. A new infographic from Search Engine Journal (reposted below) covers several of the missteps that most frequently throw brands and creators off track. A few key ways to avoid pitfalls:

• Use the resources of the “gig economy.” By 2020, Intuit executive Alex Chriss predicts contingent workers will account for 40% of the workforce.
  
• It’s not all about traffic. Ultimately, conversion is what matters. For every $ 100 spent on Internet traffic, just $ 1 goes toward converting the traffic to business.
  
• It’s not “…and ” It’s mobile FIRST. Mobile accounts for 51% of time with digital media while desktop accounts for 42%. (More on the rise of mobile.)

5 Steps to an Airtight Production Process
Okay, so those are a few tips for creating and scaling content, but what does an effective creative process look like? In the same post, Search Engine Journal shares these steps, which closely mirror our process here at BuzzPlant.

1. Develop a strategy document. This is the guiding force in your campaign (or company as a whole). If any ideas or actions aren’t supported by the strategy document, then they shouldn’t be on the table for discussion.
   
2. Make a style guide. Save time and streamline your workflow by developing a style guide that contains everything the creatives need to do their work: fonts, logos, colors, language, samples, etc.
   
3. Find the experts. Your agency may have everyone needed for the job in-house. If the project requires very specialized skills or a larger workforce than the staff, then it’s time to locate the right creative for the job.
   
4. Verify the creatives’ work. You should ask for samples of the creatives’ work to ensure that you’re going to receive a product on par with your expectations.
   
5. Be flexible. Even if you have an “airtight” production process, well… few things are perfectly airtight. Always leave a little extra time in the schedule and be ready to shift as needed. Hopefully the modifications won’t go all the way up the chain to your strategy document!

Does Your Content Scale?

What processes do you have in place to ensure that you’re squeezing the most out of your creative process? We’d love to hear your strategies in the comments section below! For more ways to get started, check out “42 Content Posting Ideas” and “9 Reasons Why Great Creators Mix Visuals & Story.”

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