What is your content production workflow?

Or maybe I should start with another question: is your content production workflow working for you?

The workflow process will vary depending on your studio setup. You might be running an in-house agency model with the creative flowing into studio from there, or you might be working with external creative agencies to do the concept and craft stage, and then you take the reins from there. Or maybe you are transitioning from external agencies to an internal creative & studio team.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach and however the creative is fed in, content production studios have to juggle stakeholder management often against tight delivery dates whilst efficiently using resource and maintaining top notch output and accuracy. And of course it isn’t a linear process - you may be juggling multiple projects, dealing with changed handover dates and alongside last minute requests.

If your studio is well established and running like a well-oiled machine, then you don’t really need to be reading this. But if you feel your processes need a few tweaks or you are looking to set up (or in-house) a studio, then please read on.

The key really to a good production workflow is defined processes which the stakeholders, and those you are dependent on, have bought into. You need your creative team to deliver the toolkit & key assets on time, you need the stakeholders & brief owners to be available for the project milestones and the project managers (if your teams use PMs) to support delivery within the terms agreed.

Before you can start any work though, you need clear briefs detailing exactly what is needed from the studio along with specs for the relevant media, alongside a detailed scope of work so you know the volumes you are dealing with. Without the necessary information, you can’t start nor can you define or agree to delivery timings.

You also need to agree how those briefs are fed in, and really this needs to be in a Project Management tool such as Monday.com, Trello, Zoho Projects and so on - there are many! Whichever you use, make sure everyone does genuinely use it at all phases. Feedback via email, a Google doc, then maybe a bit more on Slack is not what you want - it all needs to be in one central hub for all to see.

Once you move into execution phase, you need all your ducks in a line so that work flows through the component parts of your team in a logical and efficient way. The exact way this works will be dependent on your business but you want a framework & process that avoids duplication, pinch points or work going back and forth more than is necessary.

For example, if you have visual designers, motion designers, print designers, copy writers, retouchers, developers and CMS content builders creating numerous campaign assets, how do they all work together and, for example, at what point of the process does imagery pass from retouch to the print and digital designers.

You also need clear lines of communication to ensure work flows from one team to the next. Taking the above retouch example, the retouching will likely need sign off so how is that part handled? Does it go via a PM and is then fed back into the design team and if so is this via the PM tool (ideally) or via another means such as daily meetings, or your Slack channel or Teams chat. These smaller interactions are vitally important to the workflow and having them pinned down in a defined process ensures everyone knows what to expect.

And when it comes to the review, sign off and delivery phases, again you will need clear agreement on what happens. Again, the exact way these work will be dependent on the size of the campaign / project, number of people involved and the extent to which the creative has had to change in the production phase (if at all), but a shared understanding of timings allowed for review, amends and sign off is vital to prevent spill over affecting other projects.

In smaller business the review and sign off phases may just be a one-step process and take place rapidly, but in medium to larger businesses this process could include teams each dealing with other projects and they might be in different territories and in different timezones.

To wrap up

The detailed solutions are nuanced & business specific and can only be fully addressed on a case-by-case basis, but the principle of a) plotting the workflow through all of its phases overlaying the teams and people that workflow touches and b) getting buy-in from all involved is a robust means of moving forwards.