The purpose of this brief is to assist you in writing clear, concise and targeted content for your marketing communications, that align with and help meet your objectives. Brief date Title Due date Target audience Use the Marketing Communications Worksheet and Client Segmentation tools to help you determine your target audience. Knowing your target audience is key to you writing successful content that gets the results you want. Don’t just include demographics, but also include psychographics. Communication Channel/s Use the Marketing Communications Worksheet to determine the best communication channel for your target audience to get your message across. Objectives List the objectives you want your content to achieve. For best results try to make them SMART Simple Measurable Actionable Realistic Timely Examples of objectives (if for example your content is for an email) could include: Open rate CTR Conversion rate ROI See Email Marketing for Advisers for more information on these Call to action What do you want your target audience to do once they have read this content? E.g. do you want them to visit your website? Do you want them to call or email you for more information? Tone of voice Tone of voice isn’t what you say, but how you say it, and the personality you want your brand/business to exude. E.g. are you playful, cheeky and fun or are you personal, inspiring, straightforward and active. Keeping your tone of voice consistent in all your content will strengthen and differentiate your brand. Note: It’s also important (unless it’s required by a specific target audience) to tray and avoid using industry jargon and acronyms, and instead write using straightforward, clear and concise language. The problem/challenge What is the problem/challenge your business is facing that you want this content to assist in solving? E.g. Improve you customer retention rate. The opportunity What opportunity does this problem/challenge provide? The product/service What product/service/information can you provide (to try and avoid your audience suffering from information overload and disengaging, for each piece of content, try to keep this to one specific product/service or piece of information) that benefits your target audience, and will assist in solving your problem/challenge? The facts/stats/virtues Jot down in bullet point form all the facts etc. you know about the problem/challenge, opportunity and your product/service/information. The key proposition/insight Taking all the above into account try to summarise into one sentence. If possible doing a brainstorming session with your colleagues can really assist in this. When doing this, don’t just think of the facts and benefits, but what is the hook? What will get your audience engaged? For best results try to keep this to 140 characters or less. Here are some unrelated examples to get the creative process started. Styrofoam waste lasts 10,000 years, plastic waste lasts 150 years, MycoBond lasts as long as needed, reducing landfill by 25%. This combines the facts (current reality) with the possibility (Mycobond lasts as long as needed) with the direct benefit (reducing landfill by 25%. Now you can use this key proposition/insight to help you write your content.