At a briefing meeting for a company’s sustainability report, the Managing Director spoke at length of the company’s achievements. He spoke about the many steps taken as part of the company’s sustainability commitment. From innovations, diversity initiatives, emotional community stories, to the greening of the supply chain, the company had made great progress. The data was spread across the organisation – across the country and international borders.
This is a common problem. Companies big and small have much content within their ecosystem. Knowledge, expertise, data, stories, to name a few. What is often missing is a process to harness, develop, manage, and publish these day-to-day. Multiple technology systems exist for Content Management. But the gap is the processes to bring the people and systems together. As the amount of content increases, siloed teams working in their own area of need are no longer sustainable.
You need a content process strategist to guide the flow of content through the organisation’s system. Just as every organisation is unique, the processes to manage your content will be unique. and so too will be your method for telling it.
Content process is deceptively complex. At the outset, it looks simple, gather the information and make it interesting. However, many moving parts need to be aligned for the content journey – from data to content, from information to key message, there is much more involved than what is apparent.
A typical Content Creation Process at a minimum involves:
- Content Strategy
- Content Planning
- Content Creation
- Content Distribution
Each of these steps involves several steps, a series of choices and decisions, as well as multiple departments and teams.
Many companies seem to feel that content marketing is about publishing content in high volumes and on more and more digital channels. However, without systems and strategies in place, the content does not function as strategic business assets- but as stones flung into a flowing river hoping that eventually, in some way, they will make a bridge.
With the proliferation of customer touchpoints, especially online, the need for content has drastically increased. Content is a component in the customer’s experience with the company or brand; however, companies still fail to develop a process that will enable them to deliver the right content, at the right time, in the right place.
Content creation is not a technical challenge. It is a meeting of ideas, positioning, tonality, key messages, legality, sensibilities, audience, and external environment supported by technology and platforms. Used well, content can help you maximise the connection with your target audience and become a key resource in your niche. Your content can boost brand awareness and exposure.
A content production process is a collaborative effort. By creating a solid content production process, you ensure that every person involved knows:
- The goals they’re working towards
- Which pieces of content needs their input
- Tasks they need to complete
- Time allocated for them
- Any due dates
- Where each piece of content lives
- The process they have to follow
A good Content Process is transparent and efficient. It removes the ad hoc running around for Information and approvals, fills the gaps through which misinformation or factual errors can slip. It extracts the value of the information and converts it into content that is an asset to the company.
For setting up your company’s content process or setting up one
Contact us at pr@aarohancommunications.com