Research from the CMI shows content marketers are most comfortable creating smaller pieces of content. 94% of content marketers use social media, 87% use eNewsletters, and 84% run a blog. However, larger content pieces are not as popular; 48% of marketers create research reports, 38% eBooks, and 13% have backed a gamification piece of content.

On the face of it this makes sense. Writing and producing posts which take a day to prepare, write and publish appears to be a smaller cost and time investment. It’s an easy way to dip your toe in the ocean of content marketing and see what fits.

However, there is another viewpoint. Given how much content is being produced by marketers at the moment (check out this collection of articles on ‘Content Shock’), the more time you spend on a particular idea, the more likely you are to produce something that is different and unique. You will produce content which has a much higher impact.

Additionally, you’re likely to spend more time and investment distributing content to the target audience. More time spent on distribution will maximize the return for time spent on content production.

So creating flagship content pieces rather than lots of small pieces is well worth a look.

What is a Flagship Piece of Content?

Definition: A flagship piece of content has a macro theme, and tells a story about that theme in a multifaceted way. It is comprised of different elements, e.g. infographics, opinion editorials and research, and is designed to be published across many different platforms.

Examples of a Flagship Piece of Content

Knight Frank, the property agent, produce an annual flagship content piece Global Cities. This is a print publication sent to every client. They also host an event to kick off the publication and discuss their thought-leadership.

Hotwire PR, a PR agency, produce an annual content piece entitled Digital Trends and Predictions for 2016. They ask their senior management team to propose a topic and write an article for a publication which they distribute to their clients and prospects.

NewsCred, a content marketing software company, created an interactive Inspiration Lookbook to accompany their #ThinkContent Summit in 2015. The piece showcases 30 examples of fantastic creativity, storytelling, and technology projects from top brands, artists, and organizations. This content reinforces the themes of the conference sessions.

From each of these examples, anecdotal evidence shows the time spent producing a flagship piece a quarter can equal the amount of time and investment spent producing small blog posts frequently. Yet the increase on your return on investment is significant. Given so much time is spent planning the campaign, each content piece has a highly targeted and measurable outcome.

How to Prepare for a Flagship Content Piece

Preparing to create a flagship content piece can be broken down into the following 3 steps:l

Mission statement – What are we writing about, what are we trying to convey, where are we going to distribute and how much impact are we looking to attain? Presentation and detail – How do we break down this macro topic into smaller chunks? Who do we commission to write each part? How are we going to use design to tell our story Execution – How will you project manage and produce your work? How will you; distribute the content and measure the impact of the campaign?

The Mission Statement

This is a critical part of the process, and needs input from all aspects of the organisation, not just the content and marketing department.

First of all, decide what the purpose of the content will be; who are you looking to educate? Why would your audience want to educate themselves on this topic? And what do they need to know? What information is already available to them? How does this topic relate to the product you are looking to sell?

Most believe that this is an intuitive question to answer, however, it does require a great deal of thought and research. Amass as much information you can find from publisher’s and competitor’s websites, and annotate them with your product and senior management team to see where others have missed the mark, and what insight has been produced which is spot on.

A great platform to amass and annotate content is Cronycle (full disclosure – this is the company I represent). You can create a digital ‘mood board’ of content pieces, and ask all members of your team to give their feedback and ideas, so that you can get a conclusive picture of the landscape.

Objective

Create a one page brief which outlines exactly what you intend to create, how much time and money you are willing to spend, and what the measurable goal from the flagship piece will be.

Presentation and Detail

Next comes the fun part for the content team and the designers. Exactly how will this mission statement look in the flesh. How will you break down the macro topic into individual articles and stories?

If you’re new to creating flagship content, I would suggest starting with a content piece of about 6 – 8,000 words. For this length, longlist 10-12 sub-themes, then decide on 6-8 sub themes. Ensure you have at least 3 case studies / or expert opinions on each of the sub themes to give your content authority. Next you have to think about the format you ascribe to each of these sub-themes.

Whilst I published the B2B reports in The Times newspaper, I used the following framework:

Overview and introduction – If your reader just digests one article, this should be it. Give a snappy and memorable introduction to the topic; the upcoming challenges, the potential trends for the future, as well as examples of how peers work in this space.

– If your reader just digests one article, this should be it. Give a snappy and memorable introduction to the topic; the upcoming challenges, the potential trends for the future, as well as examples of how peers work in this space. The top 10 list – This should be easily shareable online and can easily be broken down for social media purposes.

– This should be easily shareable online and can easily be broken down for social media purposes. The infographic – For your readers which are visual learners, think about a data set which is absorbing and tells a story. Borrow design ideas from other infographics to create something memorable; Delayed Gratification, Raconteur and Information is Beautiful are great sources for infographic ideas. Also, it’s well worth taking into consideration how this infographic should appear online. Static pieces do not have as high an engagement as interactive pieces, and if you’re going to the effort anyway, you might as well spend a bit of time adapting your content for a digital audience.

– For your readers which are visual learners, think about a data set which is absorbing and tells a story. Borrow design ideas from other infographics to create something memorable; Delayed Gratification, Raconteur and Information is Beautiful are great sources for infographic ideas. Also, it’s well worth taking into consideration how this infographic should appear online. Static pieces do not have as high an engagement as interactive pieces, and if you’re going to the effort anyway, you might as well spend a bit of time adapting your content for a digital audience. The opinion editorial – written by someone who is not part of your organisation – an op-ed gives credibility to your flagship content. The opinion editorial needn’t reference other studies, and can be entirely opinion. The more controversial the better. An op-ed is also a great way for your brand to weigh in on potentially uncomfortable topics.

– written by someone who is not part of your organisation – an op-ed gives credibility to your flagship content. The opinion editorial needn’t reference other studies, and can be entirely opinion. The more controversial the better. An op-ed is also a great way for your brand to weigh in on potentially uncomfortable topics. Vary the length of your articles – switching between articles of 1200 words and 500 words will give your piece variety, and keep your reader entertained.

Objective

Ensure you have different content types to appeal to different people, and you are creating content which will succeed on different platforms.

Execution

A member of the team should be given the role of ‘project manager’ to ensure the publication runs to schedule. They should decide who is going to write the content for each article (could be internal or external), gather the data sets and find the images. The project manager should have a 10 minute chat with every contributor to ensure they are clear on:

The article objective The word count Various studies or case studies that should be referenced Deadline

The project manager should also liaise with the designers so they are clear when they will receive the articles, and what the flagship piece should look like digitally and in print.

Tip: I would always recommend professionally sub-editing your work. Fiverr is a great marketplace to find sub-editors for an excellent price.

Finally, distribute your content. Are you going to an event? How will you ensure that every single person on your sales teams gives a copy to their prospects? Is the social media manager aware of content distribution? How will you get a copy into the hands of influencers and associations?

Objective

Ensure that all your hard work has not gone to waste and that you hit your project deadline and content targets!

In Summary

Creating a flagship piece of content may seem daunting, but if you follow this framework, you’ll find the process stress free!