Content Strategy: The Essential Precursor to CMS

Content Strategy: The Essential Precursor to

CMS

Gilbane Conference on Content Management Technologies

April 2005, San FranciscoHilary Marsh

www.contentcompany.biz

april [email protected] 2

Does content management keep your

CEO up at night?

Actually, it does…

although the CEO may not realize it.


Why do we buy CMSs to manage content?

5. Relieve IT of production responsibilities4. Compliance3. Enable consistent, accurate, up-to-date

information2. Make use of what the Web can enable

But the top reason is 1. Content is the way our organizations meet

their top business objectives


Content is how business strategy is executed

• Customer retention• Raising awareness in the marketplace• Cross-selling multiple products

Content management is more than just a good idea.


So what, about content strategy?

• Most organizations have never had one – wasn't seen as necessary pre-Internet

• They don't know they need one

• Huge political roadblocks – my content, my information, my vehicles, my pages– what's in it for me to contribute?– what's in it for me to use someone else's content?– why are my communications suddenly being

controlled?


Start with the “what” and “why”

What content needs to be managed, and why?

Relate to business's strategic goals

Show risk of not managing content, and the value of doing so

• business gains• risk reduction (SOX, legal)• cost and time savings


Anatomy of an effective content

strategyPart 1: inputs

1. Content audit — what’s there now?2. Gap analysis — what’s missing?3. Stakeholder interviews — how do things work

now?4. Leadership buy-in — are the goals important

to the organization, and is the Web an important channel to reach those goals?



strategyPart 2: output

1. Content plan — how often will specific types of content be updated?

2. Staffing plan — who will play what roles (author, editor, approver, etc.)?

3. Governance structure — who will be in charge?

4. Metadata strategy — how will content appear in the right places? what is common taxonomy/vocabulary across business lines?



strategyPart 2: output (continued)

5. Archiving strategy — where will content go, how will it get there, and how long will it stay?

6. Opportunities for content reuse



strategyPart 3: implications

1. Content management requirements — how will a CMS enable all of this?

2. Information architecture/content organization — how will information be findable by the people visiting the site? (involves user research)

3. Usability by target audience, not just creators4. Search engine optimization — content must be

visible to search engines, structured correctly, title tags, user-friendly URLs


More than just a Web solution

(although few organizations have really conquered Web content strategy and management issues)

• Email marketing• Print• Call center applications• Intranet

Each has different team, culture, reporting structure


CMS is the “how”

A content management system is the technology that:

• enables the rules established by the content strategy

• empowers organizations to use the Web flexibly and powerfully

• enables IT to focus strategically instead of being expensive data processors


Why don't we talk about content strategy more

often? • Difference between content strategy and

CMS requirements is not clear• Not sexy like technology• Looks like spending money vs. investing• Hard to quantify value• Communications/content not valued enough


Language issues

Semantics make it difficult to translate content strategy into CMS requirements

• IT folks say "workflow," content people say "editorial process" — don't understand each other's worlds

• There isn't always an articulated process for publishing, and certainly few standards across the organization (no reason to, until now)

• Much content is created by a small group for a specific audience — under the radar


Change management issues

• Culture shift from "knowledge is power" to "sharing knowledge is power" — why? how?

• Content reuse requires willingness to collaborate — people feel threatened. Need to establish trust....in some cases, for the first time

• Subject matter experts are not writers — can't just institute decentralized publishing overnight.


Content strategy must precede CMS selection

• If not, CMS efforts may be wasted– adoption– understanding/correct usage– time/cost savings realized or not – continued evolution, additional value

• It's very expensive to buy a CMS that only IT uses!


Technology enables the solution

These are business issues with business solutions.

Technology enables those — in fact, they could not be easily solved without it.

But technology is not, itself, the solution


My info

Hilary MarshContent Company, Inc.http://[email protected]