List of Media Creation Tasks, Media is a Business Function

Business Planning

Too often, media production is an afterthought. For instance, everybody plans to have a website, but many don’t plan for writing the text for the site. And writing text is a media creation task.

Ideally, media projects are designed to match and support your messaging, not the other way around. For that, you need messaging first. And for that, you need to plan to create messaging first.

Broadly speaking, the planning goes something like this:

1. Plan what media channels you need to reach your target markets.
2. Plan what media functions your business needs to publish to those channels. (See the list below.)
3. Learn to do it in house or plan to outsource it.

Big Vision of Lots of Media Means Lots of Effort

Some business owners have a big vision of lots of videos or ongoing social media interaction with a website to match. But they don’t fully appreciate the time needed just to write the scripts and text. And then there’s editing and publishing and tracking results. One project is a special task that takes short-term effort; creating 52 per year requires an ongoing priority and effort. You can create an efficient workflow, but it still takes ongoing effort.

• Scale your expected time, expense, and effort to your vision.
• Plan who will handle each channel in your media mix, and take the time to create an efficient, responsive workflow.
• Manage it like a business function.

Media Business Functions

Media creation can be organized in categories and tasks. In your business planning, consider:

• Which of the following media functions are relevant to your plans?
  • Not all apply to every business.
  • Some apply periodically.
• Which functions can your organization do already?
• Which functions and skills do you lack?

For every one you need but lack, you have to to develop that function within your organization or hire outside vendors. It’s usually a combination.

List of Media Functions and Tasks

This list can seem intimidating because it has over 50 items. However, you already know about most them them even if you never created a list. Ignore those that don’t apply. Prioritize those that do apply, and plan appropriately.

• write content, text, and messaging
  • long form
  • short form
  • website content, advertisements, social posts, newsletters, video, and more
    • about us and history
    • product and service descriptions
    • menus, product lists, pricing
    • instructions and help documentation
    • sales/promotional copy
    • new and updates
    • bios of key people
• create files (images, video, audio) for different media
  • social media
  • websites
  • video and audio services
  • print
  • newsletters and email
• create photographs, video, audio
  • operate equipment: cameras, lights, microphones
  • speak to a camera
  • get stock media
  • edit photographs, video, audio
  • create publishable media files
  • publish files
• graphic design for various media
  • social media
  • websites
  • video and audio
  • print
• online presence
  • website
    • specify requirements for and create a website
    • publish and edit website content
  • social and online communities
    • create profiles and accounts
    • publish and edit social posts
    • manage business listings at industry groups and chambers of commerce
  • search engines and business profiles
  • newsletters (Not exactly “online”, but newsletters are usually managed online.)
  • other relevant sites
• printing
  • paper and cards
  • promotional items
  • signs, banners, displays
  • apparel
• online meetings
  • computer and equipment set up and use
  • video and lighting
  • audio
  • presentations, slides
  • short messages (30-60 seconds)
  • long messages and presentations (2-20 minutes)
• in-person meetings
  • business cards, logo apparel, flyers, promo items
  • presentations, slides
  • computer and presentation equipment set up and use
  • short messages (30-60 seconds)
  • long messages and presentations (2-20 minutes)
• media inventory as an asset
  • file organization and findability
  • usability
  • backups
  • version control
  • Pay attention to how much time and money you put into text, pictures and video. With rewrites and edits, it is a significant investment. Over a year or two or five, it adds up. The more you create, the more you should manage it like an asset.
• planning
  • media and messaging strategies
  • branding
  • scheduling
  • resourcing
  • directing projects
  • short and long production times
  • efficient workflows

Conclusion

Media is a business function. If you need a little, plan a little; need a lot, plan a lot. If you don’t know what you need, plan time to learn what you need.

Media is important to promotion and sales. Make it part of your business planning.

You’ll get a more efficient workflow when you manage media as a business function.