Content Production Management

Learn how to develop a robust content production process to help your organization meet its content strategy and business goals.

Content production management involves overseeing the creation, distribution, and strategic implementation of content to engage and inform audiences effectively.

This guide will provide a step-by-step approach to mastering the role of a content production manager, covering essential aspects from planning to evaluation.

Before You Begin

Make sure to review the modules below before beginning this lesson:

• Content Strategy
• Content Planning

Content Production Management Guide

Effective content production management requires a strategic approach, continuous learning, and adaptability.  As a content production manager, you are responsible for overseeing content creation and production, ensuring alignment with the marketing goals of your business, managing a content team, and maintaining quality standards.

This requires various skills, including project management and editorial skills, strategic thinking, and having proficiency in content management systems.

This guide will help content production managers create and implement a robust and efficient content production process to drive engagement and achieve business goals. It also provides a practical blueprint for becoming an effective content manager.

Before we look at how to develop and implement an efficient content production process, make sure you are familiar with these areas and responsibilities of the content production manager role:

1) Planning and Developing a Content Strategy

As a content production manager, you will need a content strategy to help you achieve the marketing goals of your organization. We have an entire course module dedicated to helping you understand what a content strategy is and how to create a content strategy for your business or organization.

This involves areas like:

• Setting Objectives: Defining clear goals and KPIs that align with business objectives.
• Audience Analysis: Identifying and understanding target audiences to tailor content effectively.
• Content Audit: Evaluating existing content to identify gaps and opportunities.
• Editorial Calendar: Creating a content calendar to plan and schedule content production and content distribution.

2) Content Creation

As a content production manager, it’s very important to develop an understanding of areas like:

• Content Ideation and Research: Generating content ideas through brainstorming and research trends.
• Content Formats: Choosing the appropriate formats (blogs, videos, infographics) based on audience preferences.
• Content Writing and Design: Developing engaging and high-quality content, incorporating SEO best practices.

3) Content Distribution

Another key aspect of the role of a content production manager, is being familiar with areas of content distribution like:

• Channels and Platforms: Selecting the right channels (social media, email, website) for content dissemination.
• Content Promotion: Implementing strategies for amplifying content reach, including paid promotions and collaborations and knowing how to use content promotion tools.

4) Managing the Content Team

Content production management involves managing and coordinating a content team. This involves understanding areas like:

• Team Structure: Defining roles and responsibilities within the content team.
• Collaboration Tools: Using tools for project management and team collaboration.
• Training and Development: Providing ongoing training to enhance team skills and keeping up with industry trends.

5) Monitoring and Evaluation

Keeping production on track involves understanding areas like:

• Performance Metrics: Tracking content performance using analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics).
• Feedback and Iteration: Collecting feedback and continuously improving content based on data insights and audience reactions.
• Reporting: Creating regular reports to communicate results and insights to stakeholders.

6) Governance and Compliance

Maintaining quality standards in content production involves understanding and the practical application of areas like:

• Content Governance: Establishing guidelines for content creation and approval processes to maintain consistency.
• Legal and Ethical Considerations: Ensuring content adheres to copyright laws, privacy regulations, and ethical standards.

Understanding Content Production

At its core, content production encompasses the planning, creation, and delivery of content across diverse channels. This process isn’t confined to a single format or platform; it involves creating various content types tailored to engage audiences across different mediums.

Crafting a robust content production process is indispensable for any team aiming to create content that will resonate with their target audience and achieve desired and expected outcomes.

Without a structured framework, your team risks encountering bottlenecks, compromising quality, missing deadlines, and hindering the scalability of your content strategy.

To establish an efficient content production process, these key factors must be considered:

• Define Goals: Clearly define your objectives to guide your content creation efforts and ensure alignment with broader business objectives. Using the SMART methodology—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—ensures your goals are well-defined and trackable.
• Assign Roles: Assign responsibilities within your team to foster accountability and efficiency. Assigning roles and responsibilities within your team ensures accountability and enhances collaboration. Clear role definitions will encourage mutual respect and cooperation among team members and contribute to a harmonious and productive working environment.
• Define Tasks: List all necessary steps to ensure a smooth workflow and avoid bottlenecks. Breaking down the content production process into specific tasks streamlines workflow and minimizes the risk of overlooking crucial steps. Each task will contribute to the overall creation, editing, and publishing of content.
• Set Task Order: Sequence tasks logically to streamline the production process, ensure an efficient workflow, and minimize delays. Executing tasks concurrently where applicable will help to speed up your production process and enhance coordination among your team members.
• Set Timeline and Due Dates: Set realistic timelines and due dates to keep your projects and your team on track, and ensure the timely delivery of content. Regular monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs) will help you assess the effectiveness of the content production process.
• Content Inventory System: Maintaining a repository of content ideas and assets ensures a steady and consistent stream of topics and resources for content creation. Regular updates and reviews of content inventory will enhance productivity and creativity within your team.

Developing an effective content production process is more than just about churning out material; it’s about orchestrating a seamless flow that involves meticulous planning and collaborative effort, aligns with your business objectives, streamlines your workflow, produces high-quality content consistently, and engages with your target audience.

Let’s look, then, at how to develop a robust and effective content production management strategy:

Content Production Process

As we’ve just seen, content production encompasses the planning, creation, and delivery of content across various channels to your target audience. It’s a multifaceted journey from ideation to distribution, involving diverse content formats and channels.

Here are the key steps to creating a robust content production process:

Identify Content Goals

Setting clear content goals forms the cornerstone of a robust content management strategy. Use this guide to identify and establish content goals:

Align content goals with business objectives

It’s essential to ensure that your content goals are in line with broader business objectives. For instance, if your business aims to boost sales, content goals may focus on creating informative product guides to drive conversions.

Each piece of content should serve a specific business goal. Whether it’s boosting search rankings, enhancing brand awareness, driving lead generation, or achieving other strategic objectives, clear goals empower you to measure performance and refine future content efforts.

Consider the “Big Picture”

Take a holistic view of your business objectives to formulate content goals that will contribute meaningfully to your overall success. Establish clear objectives early in the process to avoid confusion and delays.

Assign goals during the topic planning stage

This can occur during project discovery or kick-off phases for website projects.

If overarching business goals, such as increasing lead generation, aren’t reflected in your content goals, reassess your topic planning to realign with strategic objectives.

Set SMART Goals

Follow the SMART methodology—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—to set clear and actionable content goals.

For instance, if the aim is to increase sales, a specific content goal could be to create informative product guides targeting bottom-of-funnel customers to drive purchases.

Another SMART content goal could be to increase website visitors by 15% in Q2 compared to Q1.

Plan Content Topics in Bulk

To streamline the process, plan content topics in advance for the upcoming quarter or year and enter these into your content calendar.

For example, after listing blog post topics for the first quarter, assign a goal to each topic.

Review goals to ensure alignment with overall marketing objectives.

Planning content ahead allows for insights on broader business strategies and timely adjustments to optimize content marketing strategies.

Select Content Format

Align content objectives with suitable content formats; choose formats based on the immediacy of impact required, such as social media posts or advertising for instant visibility, long-form blog posts for organic search ranking, etc.

Monitor KPIs

Track key performance indicators (KPIs) like website traffic, click-through rates, leads generated, conversion rates, and revenue to assess and adjust the effectiveness of your content strategy.

Clear content goals aligned with business objectives, SMART goal setting, and regular monitoring of KPIs are crucial for a successful content production strategy.

Define your goals early and monitor key performance metrics to optimize and align your content production strategy with business goals and effective growth.

Define Team Roles and Responsibilities

Having clarity in your team’s roles and responsibilities helps to avoid project delays and maintains healthy team dynamics.

How to Define Roles and Responsibilities

Task Assignment

Assign each task to the team member responsible for its completion. Without clear ownership, deadlines are jeopardized, and conflicts may arise.

For example, if one team member is proficient in graphic design, assign them tasks related to creating visuals for content pieces.

Another example would be to designate one team member as the content writer, another as the editor, and another as the SEO specialist.

Make sure to leverage individual capabilities and maximize team performance by assigning roles based on individual capabilities and expertise. For example, assign complex technical writing tasks to team members with relevant expertise.

• Transparency and Agreement: Ensure transparency by discussing responsibilities openly with team members. Seek agreement on the scope of tasks to avoid misunderstandings. For example, hold a meeting where each team member reviews their assigned tasks and agrees to their responsibilities.
• Subtask Breakdown: If a task requires input from multiple team members, consider breaking it down into subtasks. This ensures clarity on who is accountable for each aspect. For example, for a content piece requiring both writing and editing, assign the writing task to one team member and the editing task to another.

Written Documentation

Maintain a written list of responsibilities for easy reference. Written documentation helps prevent misunderstandings and facilitates smoother collaboration.

For example, the responsibilities in your content creation team could be divided as follows:

• Content Writer: Responsible for generating written content.
• Editor: In charge of reviewing and refining content for quality and clarity.
• SEO Specialist: Tasked with optimizing content for search engines to improve visibility.

Create a shared document or spreadsheet listing each team member’s roles and tasks for ongoing projects.

Benefits of Clear Role Definitions

• Accountability: Assigning specific roles fosters accountability, ensuring that each team member contributes effectively to content creation.
• Quality Enhancement: By assigning tasks based on individual capabilities, the quality of the final output is enhanced, as each aspect is handled by someone with the appropriate skills.
• Improved Cooperation: Clear role definitions promote mutual respect and cooperation among team members, leading to a more harmonious and effective working environment.

Defining roles and responsibilities ensures smoother collaboration, enhances accountability, and ultimately improves the effectiveness of your content workflow.

Choose the Right Content Management System (CMS)

Selecting an appropriate content management system (CMS) is crucial for efficiently managing your content assets.

A CMS functions as a central repository for storing, organizing, and managing all content assets. For instance, WordPress is a widely-used CMS that offers robust features for content management and modification.

Also, consider using task-tracking or project management tools like Trello or Asana to gain visibility into content assets and monitor progress. These platforms provide a bird’s-eye view of your content pipeline and help track the status of tasks associated with each piece of content.

Additionally, having an organized content inventory system enables you to monitor the status of content pieces and associated tasks. For example, when a task, such as writing a video script, is completed, the corresponding status in the CMS should be updated accordingly.

For more information, go here: Content Management Systems

Define Content Formats

Map out a structured production process tailored to different content types according to your goals, budget, and resources.

For example, your content production process may include the following content types and tasks:

• Written Content: Start with a brief, followed by research, drafting, review, revision, and final publication.
• Video Content: Begin with a brief and project setup, proceeding to research, drafting, review, optimization, and distribution.
• Interactive Content: Draft a brief, conduct project setup, proceed with drafting, review, revision, final review, publication, and monitoring.
• Live Content: Start with a brief and project setup, followed by drafting, review, dry runs, optimization (if applicable), final review, staging, distribution, and monitoring.

Build a Repository of Content Assets

Establishing a repository of content assets is essential for streamlining content creation efforts and ensuring a consistent flow of ideas.

Here’s a guide to help content production managers create and maintain such a repository:

• Generating Content Ideas: Use various methods such as keyword research, trend monitoring, competitor analysis, and audience feedback to generate a diverse range of content ideas. This ensures a steady stream of topics to explore.
• Centralized Storage: Use content organizing tools and store all generated content ideas in a centralized location accessible to all team members. This could be a shared document on Google Drive, a board on Notion or Trello, or a dedicated content management system. Centralization facilitates collaboration and prevents duplication of efforts.
• Swipe File for Inspiration: Maintain a swipe file containing successful marketing materials from your industry. Include examples like impactful marketing campaigns, viral social media posts, and innovative content strategies. This serves as a source of inspiration for crafting engaging content. Also, see this lesson: Managing Your Content Ideas.
• Regular Updates and Reviews: Regularly update and review both the content idea repository and the swipe file. This ensures that the repository remains relevant and up-to-date, fostering ongoing creativity and innovation.

Defining Tasks and Steps

Without a clear delineation of tasks involved in content production, projects risk delays and content not being published as scheduled, and frustration among stakeholders.

For instance, focusing solely on writing and editing without allocating time for design and revisions can lead to unexpected demands on other team members, causing delays.

To enhance your content creation workflow, develop a comprehensive content production process document encompassing all necessary stages.

Develop a comprehensive document outlining all stages of content creation, ensuring a logical sequence of steps, clearly outline each step of the content creation process, and arrange them in a sequential order to establish a structured content workflow.

For example, here’s an example of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Blog Post Creation:

1. Conduct Keyword Research: Identify relevant keywords to target audience needs and preferences and create a list of pertinent keywords for content optimization.
2. Write a Brief: Develop a document outlining the article’s structure, target audience, and specific content requirements as a guideline for writers.
3. Assign the Brief to a Writer/Write: Delegate the content brief to a writer who initiates the first draft based on the brief and research conducted.
4. Provide Feedback and Edit: Review the initial draft for clarity, accuracy, and adherence to the content brief, involving content editors and subject matter experts as necessary.
5. Review the Updated Submission: Assess the revised content based on feedback. This may entail rewriting sections, incorporating additional information, or rectifying errors.
6. Optimize for SEO: Implement on-page SEO practices such as keyword optimization and internal linking to enhance search engine visibility.
7. Upload and Publish to CMS: Finalize the content and upload it to the Content Management System (CMS) for publication.
8. Promote: Engage in activities like building backlinks and promoting content through email newsletters, social media, and other relevant channels.
9. Review Performance and Update as Necessary: Regularly evaluate the blog post’s performance, making necessary edits and updates every 90 days or as needed.

By meticulously detailing each step and sub-step, you will ensure a smooth workflow that consistently delivers high-quality content.

How to Define Tasks

• Comprehensive Listing: List every action necessary for content to progress from the briefing stage to approval and publication. Be detailed, and list every each step, including sub-steps, For example, specify distinct revision types individually (e.g., copy revision, headline revision, and graphics revision) rather than listing a generic “revision” task and consolidating these tasks.
• Detailed Approach: Avoid premature consolidation of stages. Instead, emphasize granularity to capture all nuances of the production process effectively. Include critical stages like fact-checking, proofreading, translation, and legal review to refine the process comprehensively.
• Collaborative Validation: Solicit input from team members to validate the task list. This collaborative effort ensures inclusivity and guards against overlooking critical steps. Seek feedback from writers, designers, editors, and other stakeholders to ensure all necessary tasks are accounted for.
• Additionally, consider establishing editorial and brand guidelines to maintain consistency in tone and style across all content and develop an editorial strategy to guide content distribution and presentation on different platforms.

Understanding the intricacies of your content production process is crucial to ensure timely delivery and avoid project derailment.

A well-defined content production process, outlining tasks and steps, ensures efficient collaboration and enables team members to work concurrently, enhancing productivity.

Content Production Scheduling

Efficient content production relies on well-defined timelines, ensuring tasks are completed promptly and content is published on schedule.

Importance of Task Sequencing

Sequencing tasks appropriately is vital for a smooth workflow. For instance, designing an infographic should follow research and copywriting to prevent delays and ensure efficiency.

However, some tasks can be executed concurrently. While a blog post is being written, your social media team can prepare promotional content simultaneously, expediting the production process and enhancing team coordination.

Defining the Content Production Process

Efficient content production relies on well-planned scheduling to ensure tasks are completed promptly and smoothly.

Here’s how content production managers can optimize task scheduling:

• Establish Clear Timelines: Clearly defined timelines create a structured framework for task completion, keeping everyone aligned and ensuring timely content delivery.
• Emphasize Task Sequencing: Establishing a logical order of tasks is crucial to prevent confusion and streamline content creation. Ensure tasks are sequenced to maximize efficiency and minimize lead times. For instance, conducting research and copywriting before designing an infographic prevents delays and enhances productivity. In graphic design tasks, sourcing images should precede editing them, to prevent unnecessary delays.
• Identify Concurrent Task Opportunities: While some tasks require sequential completion, others can be executed concurrently to expedite the process. For instance, while blog content is being written, social media promotion can be prepared simultaneously, enhancing coordination and speeding up production.
• Use Project Management Tools: Employ project management tools to monitor progress and track task completion. These tools offer insights into team efficiency, allowing for adjustments and improvements to optimize the content production process.
• Ensure Resource Utilization: Effective scheduling ensures optimal resource allocation, preventing critical tasks from being overlooked and maximizing productivity.

Setting Timelines and Due Dates

Timelines and due dates are essential for a well-structured content production process. Collaborate with task owners to estimate task durations accurately, and consider potential consolidations to optimize efficiency.

Defining Content Timelines:

• Estimate task durations realistically, rounding up for accuracy.
• Map out tasks backward from the publish date to ensure timely completion.
• Involve all stakeholders to refine timescales and allocate resources effectively.
• Refine your content production scheduling to enhance efficiency, identify opportunities for task consolidation, and allocate adequate time for quality checks to ensure optimal content delivery.

Content Inventory System

In content production, it’s important to define content inventory responsibilities to prevent the misplacement of valuable content assets.

Each team member should understand their role in managing the content inventory effectively.

Implementing Content Inventory Responsibilities

To ensure seamless content management, integrate content inventory responsibilities into your existing workflow.

Here’s how you can approach it:

• Assign Specific Responsibilities: Allocate content inventory tasks to relevant team members based on their roles in the content production process. For example, the individual tasked with writing the first draft should be responsible for creating a document containing the draft.
• Maintain Consistency Across Tasks: Ensure consistency in file management practices across different tasks to streamline the content inventory process. When sourcing images, for example, the responsible team member should share them with the individual in charge of editing, who then stores the graphics appropriately.
• Integrate Inventory Tasks into Workflows: Incorporate content inventory tasks into your content production workflows to avoid overlooking critical steps. For instance, alongside the task “Generate 5 headline versions,” include a subtask to create a headlines file in the designated folder.

By integrating content inventory responsibilities into your production process, you will ensure that all team members are aligned and equipped to manage content assets efficiently, reducing the risk of misplacement and ensuring accessibility when needed.

Assess Your Current Process

After developing and implementing a content production process and allowing it to run for a period of time (e.g. 3-6 months), evaluate the process to identify areas for improvement.

Look for the following:

• Identify Delays: Pinpoint any bottlenecks or delays encountered during content creation.
• Dependency Issues: Note instances where tasks were halted due to dependencies on other team members.
• Content Inventory Review: Evaluate the state of your content inventory, noting any necessary fixes post-publication.
• Task Ownership: Address situations where ownership over tasks was ambiguous.

Once you’ve identified weak spots, gather your team to strategize improvements.

Summary

As a content production manager, your responsibility is to oversee content creation and production, ensure alignment with the marketing goals of your business, manage a content team, and maintain quality standards.

To meet your responsibilities successfully, begin by developing a content production strategy using the following recommended approach:

1. Define Content Goals: Clearly articulate the purpose of your content, whether it’s lead generation, SEO enhancement, or thought leadership.
2. Understand Your Audience: Analyze the demographics, preferences, and intent of your target audience to tailor content effectively.
3. Determine Distribution Channels: Select appropriate channels such as search engines, social media, or newsletters for content dissemination.
4. Identify Necessary Assets: Determine the additional resources required, such as custom images or videos, to complement your content.
5. Allocate Responsibilities: Assign roles to team members involved in the content creation process, including designers, copywriters, and managers.
6. Establish Timelines and Metrics: Set clear deadlines for content delivery and define key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success.

Action Steps

Review your latest content and analyze the steps taken to produce it, focusing on the following aspects:

• Delays: Were there any points in the process where progress was stalled?
• Dependencies: Were any tasks delayed due to reliance on another team member?
• Content Inventory: Assess the condition of your content inventory and any corrections made post-publication.
• Task Ownership: Highlight moments where it was unclear who was responsible for a task.

Compile the above information to help pinpoint any weak spots in your content production process. Allocate time with your team (or alone if you manage all stages) to review, address, and improve issues using the approach described in this lesson.

Remember to document each step thoroughly to create a more effective and efficient content production process.

Resources

• Content Troubleshooting Guide – Use this guide to troubleshoot content-related issues.
• Visit our tools and resources section for additional courses, guides, and helpful tools and resources.

Next Lesson

• Return to Content Production Overview
• Return to the Course Outline

***

Source: Office workers