A content agency collaboration that didn’t go as planned is probably something you’ve heard of before. It’s not just enterprises that benefit from expanding their capacity, gaining new knowledge, and focusing on the bigger picture.
Many of the stumbling blocks that lead to failed agency collaborations can be avoided. When dealing with a content marketing company, there are five things you can do to make sure your success.
- Talk about Your Marketing Plan
- Define the Flow of the Process
- Establish Goals That Are Achievable
- Publish Content That Matters
- Building a Long-Term Partnership
-
Talk about Your Marketing Plan
Your brand’s voice and design style may be conveyed and implemented by the best firms, who are also capable of increasing your brand’s image. It’s not enough to hand over your money to a company and expect them to accomplish your marketing goals if you haven’t stated them.
Share the relevant elements of your marketing strategy with your agency partner. That which they create, as well as the motivation behind it, must be clear to them. They will be better able to respond with the strategic material needed to meet or exceed your KPIs if they have a clear view of how assets link to the rest of a campaign.
-
Define the Flow of the Process
Having a clear dialogue at the beginning of the project ensures that both parties understand the content development process. If you prefer, you can give over the content brief to the agency and let them do their magic, but they will need your involvement. Make them aware of the content production and approval processes you have in place. If many stakeholders, including the legal department, need to review the content, inform them.
-
Establish Goals That Are Achievable
You should also outline what you expect from the connection in addition to timeframes, marketing objectives, and content requirements. Discuss how you want to be involved in the process and how much you want to be involved. Depending on the level of involvement, some clients request weekly meetings with agency content teams to keep tabs on the progress. Get everyone on the same page with a clear explanation of the situation.
You may prefer to hand over the content brief to the agency and let them do their magic, but your input and resources will be needed on a regular basis. Having a well-thought-out strategy in place ahead of time makes things easier on everyone.
-
Publish Content That Matters
The sooner you supply them with the materials they need to get started, the closer you are to attaining success. To get them in front of the right people, incorporate them into any content portals or other technical platforms you will utilize as the process proceeds.
There is no such thing as too much. It’ll be difficult for your new account team to understand your priorities if you turn this into a data dump. Select and describe the contents that will be most helpful to them.
-
Building a Long-Term Partnership
The first few months of a new relationship are often rough. By prepping your team and agency partner, the “getting to know you” process can be shortened. As a result, you can rest easy knowing that your agency is ready to do an outstanding job on your behalf.