How to Make the Best Use of Your Creatives

Investing money into content creation can be extremely expensive. Increasing prices, bigger consumer demand and an ever-changing environment call for improved management.

Nevertheless, cutting costs can result in substandard quality, which is not appealing. What is appealing is generating money from your existing content assets, such as media photos and written content.

These creative assets can save you a substantial amount of money, when they are used strategically and efficiently across a variety of campaigns.

Although planning campaigns like this can appear very time consuming, once you follow our five-stage process, you can utilise your designs in the best possible way. It also prepares you to streamline your content creation for a better ROI.

Why are Stock Photos & Videos Not Great for ROI?

Recruiting a model or obtaining unique creative designs can have a significant impact on your brand and your conversions.

Reason 1 – They are used everywhere

Every time you want a stock photo you probably rush to purchase it from a stock-photo site, like Adobe or iStock.

However, you need to remember you are not the only person doing this and several other competitors may be using the same stock photo as you. This in turn does not give your business a unique edge.

Reason 2 – Concepts are hard to relate to

Stock photos fall short of conveying your brand message adequately. If you want photos or videos to boost your message and take control of your narrative moving forward, you will need your own photos and videos.

Reason 3 – Mistaken identity

If you have been misled by a smiling face convincing you to buy, you are not alone. A feature photo can work great, but it can backfire if the purchaser mistakes your brand’s stock photos and purchases the wrong product or service. Extra care needs to be given when selecting and displaying stock photos on your website.

It is also a good idea to check less than reputable competitors and ensure you are not using the same images as they are.

Here are 5 steps to make use of creatives for your campaigns:

Step 1. Prepare a Comprehensive Marketing Calendar

The first step is to gain an outline of all marketing campaigns for the year. Position them all on a marketing calendar, include holidays, important events and monthly breakdowns of what you cover.

This could include blog posts, social media posts, print, PPC campaigns, email, video or influencer campaigns. When these are in position, set a realistic target, identify your target audience and define the message that align with your marketing goals.

Step 2. Map Out Content for the Creatives

Selecting the content for your marketing calendar is the second step. As the content needs to communicate a consistent customer experience, think about mapping your content for the creatives in the campaign.

Figure out what the content angles are in advance, so you are aware of which creatives will go with which campaigns.

Aligning your content and design team will assist you in using the correct creatives. The team will be able to give their expert opinions and create a unified plan that advances the content and production.

Step 3. Identify the Common Thread Across Each of the Different Campaigns Mapping the content can be a lengthy process. However, once you identify the frequent connections across each individual campaign, it then just needs to be pieced together.

Consider the reality of identifying the correct demographic, social channel and the user intent. This will enable you to position your brand to attract the correct audience.

Another method is to use creatives several times, you can use them on your website and enhance them each time you launch or promote a new product on social media. Likewise, you can also plan your campaigns by using creatives on email, banner ads and onboarding mail.

Step 4. Anticipate Different Ways to Use a Wide Range of Creatives

As the year progresses there will be times when new campaigns and products need to be added to the calendar. To avoid any last-minute issues, plan to build a broad selection of creatives.

If you create more than you anticipate you can generate a considerable bank of content. This means you will not need to return to production if any issues arise.

A great example of this is if you want to publish an infographic, you can use appropriate photos or graphics from your design bank. This means you stay on brand and can recycle elements used before.

Step 5. Calculate ROI on the Production

To ensure you capitalise on the creatives, you need to be sure of your ROI on the production.

Although, it may be an ongoing activity to use creatives, it is always good to periodically check on how well it is working.

So, for instance if your content price for PPC creatives is £1000 and you do not use it often, you may wish to repurpose it on your blog or social media site to improve the ROI.

Conclusion

Creative assets should be used more than once. By effectively using your creatives in several campaigns, across a variety of channels, you deliver consistency. It means potential customers are more likely to recognise and connect with your brand. Additionally, it also helps attract other audiences who may be looking for the services or products you have to offer.

If you utilise creatives try to be unique and avoid standard stock photos and videos. This allows you to convey your brand story and improve ROI of your campaigns over time.

Marketing is not always about short-term wins. Often it is a mix of big picture long-term strategies and short-term and long-term gains.

If you would like some help developing the creatives for your marketing campaigns, get in touch with us today. We would be more than happy to assist.

Call 0203 150 0565 or email info@stefaniegrant.com.