Elements of a Content Brief
A content brief is a crucial tool for setting expectations, establishing guidelines, and communicating objectives between content creators, clients, and team members. To ensure the creation of effective, high-quality content, it’s important to cover specific elements within your content brief.
Purpose of a Content Brief
Before diving into the elements of a content brief, it’s essential to understand its purpose:
- Guide content creators through the creation process
- Set expectations for deliverables
- Establish clear communication among team members
- Ensure content aligns with objectives and target audience needs
Key Elements of a Content Brief
1. Project Overview
- Objective: Clearly state the goal of the content piece. This may include generating leads, driving website traffic, increasing brand awareness, or providing valuable information to the target audience.
- Target audience: Define the specific group of people for whom the content is intended. Include relevant demographics, interests, and pain points.
- Content type: Specify the format of the content, such as blog posts, whitepapers, infographics, or videos.
2. Content Requirements
- Tone and style: Describe the desired tone (e.g., formal, conversational, humorous) and style (e.g., journalistic, persuasive, educational) of the content.
- Word count: Provide a range or specific count for the piece’s length.
- Visual elements: Detail any required images, infographics, charts, or other visual aids, as well as their placement within the content.
- Citations and sources: List any required sources, research materials, or specific data points to be included.
3. SEO Guidelines
- Keywords: Provide primary and secondary keywords or phrases to be incorporated into the content for search engine optimization.
- Meta title and description: Include a suggested meta title and description for the content piece, ensuring it adheres to character limits and incorporates primary keywords.
- Internal and external links: Suggest relevant internal links to other content on your website, as well as authoritative external links to support claims or data.
4. Brand Guidelines
- Brand voice: Clearly define your brand’s voice and how it should be reflected in the content.
- Style guide: Provide a link to your company’s style guide or specific guidelines regarding formatting, punctuation, and grammar.
- Product/service references: Explain how to refer to your brand’s products or services within the content, including any specific terminology or phrasing.
5. Timeline and Deliverables
- Deadline: Specify a due date for content submission.
- Review process: Outline the steps for review and feedback, including the number of revisions allowed and the expected turnaround time for each revision.
- Submission format: Detail the required format for content submission, such as a Google Doc, Microsoft Word document, or a specific content management system (CMS).
Final Thoughts
A well-crafted content brief is essential for the successful execution of any content marketing project. By clearly outlining your project’s objectives, requirements, and guidelines, you set the foundation for creating high-quality, effective content that aligns with your brand and meets the needs of your target audience.