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Every time I see someone ask, "What should we post this week?" I think we're asking the wrong question.
Before I write a single content idea, I spend time understanding the brand first.
❓What makes it different? Who are we talking to? What's the real problem we're solving? And what's the insight behind it all?
Once those answers are clear, content stops feeling random. Every idea has a purpose.
This is the process I use to build content strategies from scratch.
Over the next few posts, I'll break it down step by step, starting with the foundation. 🌱
The network for creativity
Join 1.25M professional creatives like you
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Creatives on Contra have earned over $150M and we are just getting started
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Before you bring a video idea to any creative team, answer these six things first.
I put together a short video walking through answers you should be able to answer before starting a video project. Things like what the video actually needs to accomplish, where it's going to live, what raw materials you should have ready, and who's making the final call on feedback.
None of it is complicated. But most teams skip at least two or three of these and then wonder why the project takes twice as long as it should.
This applies whether you work with us or somebody else. Having these answers ready is the fastest way to get better work out of any creative team you hire.
Most marketing teams build the product video first and then try to figure out social later.
That's the order that creates the "can we just crop this to 9x16" conversation, and by that point you're already working backwards.
Here's what usually happens. The team puts real effort into a product video for the website. It's well produced, clearly explains the product, and does exactly what it needs to do on a landing page. Then someone on the team says "we should use this on social too" and the scramble starts. Crop it vertical, trim it to 30 seconds, maybe add captions.
The issue is that no amount of reformatting changes the underlying structure of the video. A product video is built to explain something to a person who already showed up wanting to learn. The pacing assumes intent. The opening assumes context. Those assumptions are baked into every edit, and they don't disappear when you change the aspect ratio.
What I've started doing with teams is planning the social version during the product video process, not after it. You're already in the same creative world, working with the same footage and the same messaging. The cost of building a social cut alongside the product video is significantly lower than coming back to it weeks later and trying to reverse engineer something that was never designed for a feed.
Think of it as two outputs from one production window instead of one video you try to stretch into two jobs.
So true.
Don't Build Your Website First. Build Your Message First.
One of the biggest mistakes I see is businesses rushing into design before they're clear on their message.
A modern website can't fix an unclear offer.
Before choosing colors, animations, or layouts, ask yourself these three questions:
1️⃣ Who is your ideal customer?
Your website should speak directly to the people you want to attract—not everyone.
2️⃣ What problem do you solve?
If visitors can't understand your value in the first few seconds, they'll move on.
3️⃣ What action should they take next?
Every page should guide visitors toward one clear goal, whether that's booking a call, requesting a quote, or making a purchase.
Design is important, but strategy comes first.
A simple website with a clear message will almost always outperform a beautiful website that leaves visitors confused.
When strategy and design work together, your website becomes more than an online presence—it becomes a business asset.
What's the first thing you look for when you visit a company's website?
Clear messaging really does make the design process much easier.