One of the biggest headaches for a social media marketing agency is juggling client demands. Editing can be lengthy and frustrating. Sometimes you pass content back and forth until it barely resembles the original vision.
Pleasing multiple stakeholders is a balancing act with feedback flying at you from various sources. Often these requests override and contradict each other making editing feel impossible.
Deadlines can stack up quickly too. Wading through long email threads or searching Slack messages wastes valuable time. Missed deadlines and poor communication can lead to poor-quality content and bad working relationships.
If you need to up your game when it comes to your content editing process, we’ve got you covered. Here are the top 5 mistakes to avoid if you want to make your life a whole lot easier.
Mistake #1: Lack of Clear Communication with Clients
When you begin your working relationship with new clients, it’s important to be clear about how you work. Disappointment often comes from unvoiced expectations. Don’t work Sundays? Tell them. If you have a set turnaround time that is standard practice in your agency, make it known. 📣
The agency-client relationship requires much open communication and clear give and take. Don’t write checks you can’t cash and don’t make promises you can’t keep. If you’re not in a position to take on a client that is too big, or too picky, or too erratic, don’t be afraid to say no. 👎🏻
Mistake #2: Ignoring Client Feedback Until the Last Minute
Look, we’ve all done it, but leaving things to the last second is never a good idea. As a social media marketing agency, it can be tempting to put client feedback on the back burner and plow on with your work.
But then you take a peek at the notes right at the end of the content editing process and all hell breaks loose. Waiting until you’re right up against the deadline leads to rushed revisions and unhappy clients. 😤
To combat this age-old problem, set yourself some ground rules…
- Implement a step-by-step revision process that incorporates client feedback every step of the way.
- Make sure the whole team knows it off-by-heart.
- Fire off rough drafts as soon as you have them.
- Share previews for complete clarity.
- Notify the client as soon as a problem crops up.
Mistake #3: Over-Editing and Losing the Client’s Voice
While it’s true that the client needs a social media manager to make them look good, their vision is ultimately the most important factor. It’s your job to take what they have and mold it into something valuable.
Sometimes you may have your own ideas you really believe in. Sometimes they’re good. But without the client, you have nothing. You don’t want to lose their trust by hacking away everything that makes them them. A drawn-out back and forth with too many ideas and too many edits muddies the water.
Make realistic and actionable edits. Keep the client happy. Simple. 😇
Mistake #4: Relying on One Round of Revisions
Relying on one round of revisions is a rookie error. This can leave you standing at the end of the content approval process holding one big mess. The agency-client relationship is collaborative and should adapt as each project moves along. Things are rarely perfect after one edit.
As previously mentioned, having a step-by-step content editing process is essential. This process should include multiple rounds of revisions, at least 2 or 3 as standard. The amount you need will depend on the client and how many sign-offs are required. Different industries have different requirements. It’s best to be prepared for at least a little back and forth.🏸
Mistake #5: Failing to Proofread Before Sending Edits Back
This one may sound obvious, but there’s nothing worse than that sinking feeling when you’ve just sent something back to the client, only to realize there’s an error. 🙈
A silly typo can shake your client’s faith in your ability to get the job done. As an agency, you should have multiple sets of eyes looking over the work in the content editing process. Don’t get caught out.
To avoid this embarrassing error:
- Employ as many spell-checking tools as you can.
- Refer back to the brief often and take a long look at it right before you press send.
- Keep on top of version control to make sure you’re always sending the correct content.
How Gain Helps Streamline Client Feedback and Content Revision Process
For any social media marketing agency, keeping track of your accounts can be a chore. You need to be on top of overlapping deadlines, various rounds of editing, coordinating feedback, delegating work, and chasing content approvals.
That’s where we come in.
At Gain, we understand your pain points. We want to help you avoid costly mistakes, wasting time searching through email chains for content approval sign-offs, and spreadsheets you need to update every 5 minutes. Our platform can help you become the social media manager everybody wants.
Gain is a tool designed to streamline the content editing and approval process.
It allows agencies to:
- Organize feedback across teams and clients.
- Automate the process of gathering feedback from multiple stakeholders.
- Manage content revisions seamlessly.
- Centralize the entire content approval workflow.
With Gain, managing client feedback will not slow you down. You can organize your different clients and their social media accounts in different workspaces. You can also easily duplicate content across different social media platforms to recycle your best material.♻️
Furthermore, you can use Gain to manage both written and visual content approval, ensuring nothing gets overlooked in the editing process. Our visual content calendar makes it super easy for you to quickly scan your upcoming deadlines while reviewing the content itself.
Our tool also integrates with all the major social media platforms and supports uploads in a variety of file formats so you can create, edit, schedule, and post all in one place.
Give Gain a Go
Yes, the content editing process can be chaotic, but it doesn’t have to be.
Our job is to make your life easier. We want you to be able to focus on what you do best without all the administrative stress. When you’re happier, so is the client.
Equip yourself with the best tools you can. Gain can streamline your whole social media operation. If you’re still not convinced, we offer a free trial so you can try it for yourself.
Sign up free today and make your content editing process nightmares a thing of the past.
