Today’s marketing organizations have become content machines. With brands interacting with their customers across more and more channels, marketers are pressed to produce more and more content at an ever-faster clip. They’re under greater pressure than ever to “feed the beast” and quench that insatiable content thirst.
It’s little wonder that marketing and creative teams are feeling overwhelmed. At Hightail, we regularly survey marketing professionals about issues like these. Not only are we hearing that producing content is a top challenge, but 62 percent indicate they frequently miss the original deadline that they set. The content crush is causing bottlenecks that are putting a strain on organizations.
Why do they miss deadlines? Poor project management is one reason. But there are more mundane challenges as well. Feedback can be unclear. Milestones can be ambiguous. Information for the project may be fractured across multiple systems. There are too many files, too many people, too many rounds and too many tools. At the same time, 75 percent of marketers told us they don’t have an effective creative process.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be this way. After speaking extensively with Hightail clients that are focused on getting the most out of their creative team, I’ve boiled down five ways for marketers to refresh their creative process:
1. Clarify Roles
At larger organizations, there are often different constituents who believe they should be involved in the creative process, so it is essential to define those roles clearly early on. The RACI assignment matrix—responsible, accountable, consultative, informed—can come in handy here. Who is producing the work? Who is accountable for it? And who should be peripherally consulted and informed? Next, assign deliverables, not just to the makers developing your content but also to executives and stakeholders who may not necessarily know they are a critical path to project completion. Finally, and this is crucial, delegate creative control. If you have a lot of people trying to steer the creative direction, it compromises the creative. You need someone you trust to make the calls and drive the creative forward.
2. Consolidate Feedback
One thing I always coach creative teams to do is to ask for the feedback they’re looking for at each stage of the project. You can’t just throw things over the wall and ask, “What do you think?” You’ll get the input you need if you’re specific about asking for what you want. It’s also important to process feedback efficiently. Decide which you’re going to take, which you’ll prioritize and which you’re not going to use. By articulating what feedback will make the next round, you’ll avoid disconnects that can derail things later on.
3. Define Templates
The creative process is not an assembly line. But while it has to have room to roam, it also needs structure. I liken this to a recipe. Cooks don’t always have to follow directions verbatim, but a good recipe provides guidance on the ingredients that make up the dish. Define the different phases of the project and what the timeline will look like. Establish clear milestones so everyone can understand if they’re missed and what the tradeoffs are if that happens. Also, automate repetitive projects. Distinguish between repeated projects and truly original work. For instance, you can templatize things like posting to social media. No need to invent the wheel every single time.
4. Get Agile
You may have heard of the concept of agile development—something used frequently for software and apps. It can also be applicable to the creative process. Hold regular standup meetings—informal scrums where people can share key updates and blockers that the team is facing. Deliver creative rounds frequently and iteratively. A lot of creative teams keep their output in a bubble until they’re ready to unveil it. That’s great if people love it but can cause huge setbacks if they don’t. Instead, show, share and iterate to get stakeholders involved early.
5. Standardize Your Tools
A lot of organizations have things scattered across different systems, but if makers, project managers and stakeholders have their own tools, it can slow down your process. Instead, make tools accessible to the full team and make sure they’re accessible across all devices. Be on the lookout for information silos—like that person who keeps files in a personal account. Lastly, train people on how to use your tools so that everyone—from creative makers to managers—uses them consistently.
Only 27 percent of marketing teams have a system in place to aggregate, organize and manage visual assets, according to the CMO Council. Our mission at Hightail is to solve that challenge—to provide the tools for creative projects to be managed more efficiently. It’s the way to control the content explosion. Time is saved. Productivity is gained. And dollars return to the bottom line.
