CONTENT STRATEGY & PLANNING
A clear direction. A practical content plan.
Decide who your content needs to reach, what it needs to achieve and where to focus. We turn that direction into topics, formats and briefs your team can put to work.
01What you receive
Strategy and planning, bought together or separately
A strategy establishes your audiences, content themes, messaging, channel roles and success measures. It answers the questions that should shape every piece of content before any of it is written.
A plan translates that direction into an actionable schedule of topics, angles, formats and briefs. If you already have a sound strategy, you can commission a plan without buying another strategy.
- Audiences and buyer questions
- Who the content is for and what they need to resolve.
- Themes and messages
- The ideas your content returns to and the evidence behind them.
- Channel roles
- What each channel is responsible for, and what it is not.
- Topics, formats and briefs
- A schedule your team or ours can work from immediately.
02Example
From buyer question to asset brief
Each decision in the strategy connects to a theme, a channel and a brief. This extract shows one line of that chain.
01 Buyer question
Why do approvals stall between operations and finance?
02 Content theme
Ownership at the handover point
03 Channel
Company blog, then LinkedIn
04 Asset brief
Article: The approval that nobody owns. 1,400 words, practitioner tone, one worked example.
Illustrative strategy extract · Northline (fictional)
Packages
Strategy and planning packages
We agree the deliverables, fee and delivery window before work begins.
Content Audit
- Suits
- Teams assessing an existing body of content
- Defined output
- Review of an agreed asset set with prioritised recommendations to retain, improve, consolidate or replace.
- Fee and timing
- Request a scoped quote. Delivery window agreed with scope.
Scope details
- Agreed inventory of assets reviewed
- Assessment against your objectives and audiences
- Prioritised recommendations for each asset group
We agree which assets are in scope before we start, for example a blog archive, a resource library or a set of sales collateral. The audit assesses what exists; it does not produce new content.
Content Strategy
- Suits
- Teams needing a coherent direction
- Defined output
- Documented audiences, content themes, channel roles, priorities and success measures.
- Fee and timing
- Request a scoped quote. Delivery window agreed with scope.
Scope details
- Audience and buyer question summary
- Content themes and core messages
- Channel roles and priorities
- Success measures
The strategy is a working document your team can use. It sets direction; turning it into a schedule of topics and briefs is the role of a Content Plan.
Content Plan
- Suits
- Teams ready to organise execution
- Defined output
- An agreed planning period with topics, angles, formats, briefs and a schedule.
- Fee and timing
- Request a scoped quote. Delivery window agreed with scope.
Scope details
- Topics and angles for the planning period
- Format and channel for each item
- Briefs for priority assets
- Schedule and owners
We can build the plan from your existing strategy or from one we have developed. The planning period and number of briefs are agreed with the scope.
Not sure where to start?
Content Marketing Snapshot
A focused assessment of your immediate requirement, with a recommended next piece of work and a proposed scope. The audit assesses your existing assets; the Snapshot helps identify a useful next engagement.
Request a scoped quote. Delivery window agreed with scope.
03 · How delivery works
A focused sprint with an agreed finish line
- 01
Objective
We agree what the work needs to achieve and who it is for.
- 02
Scope
Deliverables, inputs, review points and the delivery window are agreed before work begins.
- 03
Source material
We gather what exists and confirm the business knowledge the work depends on.
- 04
Delivery
We produce the work and review it with your nominated owner.
- 05
Handover
The finished output is handed over, and what we learn informs the next sprint.
04Working together
A plan your team can execute
We start with your website and the material you already have, confirm our assumptions with you and request the client input we need before finalising the work. The result is written for the people who will use it.
If you want us to produce the content afterwards, the plan becomes the brief for that work.
FAQs
Questions buyers ask
Can we buy a content plan without a strategy?
Yes. If you have a sound strategy, we work from it and build the plan directly. We review it first so any gaps that affect the plan are raised early.
What information do you need from us?
We can start with your website and available materials such as sales decks, product documentation and previous content. We then confirm assumptions with you and request specific input, such as customer insight or priorities, before finalising the work.
What is the difference between an audit and a Snapshot?
A Content Audit reviews an agreed set of existing assets and gives prioritised recommendations for each. A Snapshot is a shorter first engagement that assesses your immediate requirement and recommends a useful next piece of work.
How far ahead does a content plan look?
The planning period is agreed with the scope. Many teams plan a quarter at a time, but the right horizon depends on your campaigns and resources.
How long does strategy or planning take?
The delivery window is agreed with the scope before work begins. It depends on the breadth of the work and how quickly the relevant input can be gathered.
Can you produce the content afterwards?
Yes, as an optional next step. Production can follow directly from the plan, or your team can execute it independently.
Enquiry
Discuss your project
Tell us what you are trying to achieve. We will review your enquiry and come back to discuss a practical scope.