There are so many blog posts about how to write copy. There are nuances, but essentially, it’s all about writing the best copy that converts or gets traction. And all of them talk about the brand tone of voice. But for a seasoned copywriter, this is like teaching your grandmother to suck eggs.
A lot of copywriters are freelancers who scratch a living using this brand bible to write superb copy. However, none of them know (or have control over) the content governance process. However, it’s just as important.
I’m guilty of putting a lot of shit online, both for my employers and personally. The reason for this is because no organisation I’ve ever worked for has a governance process in place (and I don’t have time to do it for Red Clay).
A proper process means shit like this will never see the light of day. And your brand’s integrity will remain intact.
Every part of any business has a set of KPIs to hit within a certain timeframe. In order to meet these objectives, creating content becomes a box-ticking exercise, instead of a method to enrich a customer’s experience, therefore adding to the fluffier metrics of brand awareness, SEO, loyalty and aid to decision making.
Having a governance process means pages will be:
- Optimised for conversion, customer experience and SEO
- Adhering to tone of voice
- Evergreen (in terms of current pricing, offers, info, etc.)
- Compliant (in terms of image licenses, usage of third party assets, Ts&Cs, etc.)
- Appealing to the target audience
Any content governance process should include:
- Briefing
- Tone of voice, style and design guidelines
- Demand management
- Production process
- Content/structure guidelines
- Change management process
- Sign off process (including peer review)
- Content audit
How you do any of these things is up to you. Just bear in mind, version control and accessibility.
Most importantly, it needs to work for your team and stakeholders. So should be a living, breathing process that can be adapted as you go along.
Once you have these brilliant basics in place, you’ll start hitting those KPIs and the whole creative and publishing process becomes a cinch.
The ultimate result of this is if your house is in order, the business will trust you and your pitches. Therefore, cough up the cash to deliver much, much sexier copy and creative.
