Creating Content At Scale: Expert Key Takeaways

A subject top-of-the-mind for most marketers today is how to effectively produce content at scale while maintaining quality and control. The events of 2020 drastically accelerated digital transformation, challenging brands across the globe to start creating content at higher volumes – often on increasingly limited budgets.

To address this important topic, APR convened a panel of experts on creating content at scale to take a deep dive into the opportunities and challenges that come along with the transition to high-volume content production. This panel – hosted by APR’s Kate Briganti and Jillian Gibbs – included Heather Dumford from MediaLink, Henric Larson from the Chimney Vigor Group, Ben Casey from Spinifex, and Paul Stonebridge from Splash Worldwide.

These are their key takeaways:

What Does “Content Creation at Scale” Actually Mean?

Heather Dumford opens the conversation by challenging a one-size-fits-all definition for “content creation at scale.” Namely, she pushes for brands to  “really define what ‘content creation at scale’ means for their unique organization.” The content creation ecosystem of one brand will vary vastly from another, requiring a granular and clear determination of priorities when it comes time to scale – or else risk important factors like the quality or relevancy of that content.

“For example, is prioritization for your brand about creating always-on content that’s culturally relevant? Is it about mass personalization – or possibly even both?” Bespoke approaches are necessary to scale successfully. With priorities defined, marketers can then begin determining which capabilities and processes are required to get there.

Crawl – Walk – Run

Many brands are looking to scale now and scale quickly – but Henric Larson provides a word of caution: “Start crawling and take small bets in the beginning. You need to set yourself up so you can afford to fail – because you will. Stay agile at the start of this process to efficiently learn and improve.”

Heather elaborates on the importance of crawling before you walk, stating that “when brands try to scale their content creation by hiring a lot of people to build an elaborate studio, for example – especially if it’s for short-term gains – then it tends to be something that dissolves in a lot of instances.” Again, having a clearly defined plan at the beginning of this process will help marketers avoid common pitfalls like these. Plan to start small, test, and optimize your production processes before ever scaling those processes to include higher volumes.

Balancing In-Housing & External Partnerships

While not every brand is moving their content creation in-house, most are making the transition while seeking to still maintain certain external partnerships. Optimizing this balance while maintaining priorities is vital to scaling successfully. According to Paul Stonebridge, “one of the desires to make this transition is the need for brands to control their own data. Having fewer partners that are able to integrate more seamlessly with internal systems is important.”

Heather Dumford states that “having people closer to your business who better understand your organization has been extremely valuable for brands. Teams are valuing solutions powered by internal employees or hybrid solutions more than any other capabilities right now.” This is because the prioritization of internal teams is optimal for speed and the flow of information – requiring fewer layers of approval before execution. This balance can be reached by building the correct processes to standardize that flow of information in the most efficient manner possible.

Ben Casey of Spinifex warns of some of the siloes that may still arise during this process, though. “Over the last 12 months, we’ve seen a large number of organizations that now have a disconnect between sales & marketing.” This creates inefficiencies not only inside of the organization – but also within the content itself. “Instead of thinking about how a campaign terminates at a CTA, there should be an increased demand to fully nurture that lead through the CTA process, making that hand-off to sales more definitive and creating more high-quality outcomes. Accordingly, we’ve really been emphasizing the importance of the insights in the lower end of the funnel; when there’s more to do with less, you have to be more targeted.”

Closing Remarks

Content creation ecosystems differ drastically from brand to brand, requiring custom approaches to properly support creation at scale. For all brands, though, the establishment of clear priorities must occur before aggressive expansion to allow for proper planning; when goals are set, the roadmap for how to achieve those goals often becomes apparent. However, marketers must still be careful to ensure the proper balance of multiple delicate factors – including the juggle between external and internal partners. To receive a clear and comprehensive assessment of your current content creation ecosystem, contact one of APR’s Content Creation Advisors, today.