{"id":12317,"date":"2020-07-15T10:31:08","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T10:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessbooster.ro\/?p=12317"},"modified":"2020-10-08T17:14:56","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T17:14:56","slug":"failing-to-understand-content","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessbooster.ro\/failing-to-understand-content\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Reasons Why Companies Fail to Understand Content"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
Failing to understand content is one of the top challenges companies of all sizes face today. I have seen cases where managers referred to the “content fiasco” <\/em>and the reasons behind this claim were many, spicy, funny and painful altogether. Personally, I do love everything that has to do with content. Spending many years as a digitalist on both on agency and client-side, gave me a lot of opportunities to dig deeper and deeper in this so-called “content fiasco”.\u00a0 <\/em>I wrote it with an insider’s perspective.\u00a0<\/p>\n Generally speaking, when a company is failing to understand content this happens for many reasons. Some are extremely personal\u2014lack of interest or no passion whatsoever for the job itself, other job priorities. Other reasons have to do with the company’s culture and the lack of digital knowledge within the organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n What organizations may or not know is that great user experiences are created through branding, content, functionality and usability. They all go hand in hand. Achieving this can be quite a challenge for companies regardless of their size or industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBecause there isn\u2019t a $1, $5, or $10 denomination stamped on the front of Web content, it\u2019s often difficult to know exactly how valuable content is to your company.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/em>\u2014 Bryan Eisenberg, <\/span>Keynote speaker, Partner – Buyer Legends<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/span>Let\u2019s make one thing clear about the content. It\u2019s a business asset and consequently, it must be treated and managed accordingly. Essentially, content brings your brand to life! It has an essential role in creating and maintaining a powerful and relevant brand. By the way, that goes for both online and offline. Not only content tells, your story, but it manages expectations. It answers questions of both your customers and employees ask. Good content inspires, entertains and drives decision-making. Of all these four major areas ensuring great user experiences, content is the one that gets ignored or undervalued most often.<\/p>\n \u201cBrands need to take the phrase \u2018acting like a publisher\u2019 literally.<\/strong><\/em>\u201d \u2014<\/span>\u00a0Dietrich Mateschitz, CEO of RedBull<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Many companies got used to delivering content for online channels, yet they do not truly integrate into their DNA something extremely important … and that is the new role as a publisher. Once our content is out there, on the Internet, like it or not, we are not just a cosmetics distributor, a telecom operator, a food delivery company, but a publisher too. <\/span><\/p>\n If you are among those readers who wonder what a publisher role means, let us give a few hints. First of all, you<\/span> are responsible for the content we put out there. Secondly,\u00a0<\/span>you must continually find and collect new content from internal and external sources; if you do not have internal resources, you decide whether you need to find an external partner or make a new hire.\u00a0 Thirdly, but neither least important nor the last thing you need to do, you<\/span>\u00a0must analyze, edit, approve, publish, update and archive the website content.<\/span><\/p>\n Failing to understand content is also linked to the big dilemma about who is responsible for content. We often see clients failing to realize that everybody in the organization is responsible for the content, not just the digital or the marketing team.<\/p>\n It\u2019s just a matter of realizing that not everything related to content and that must be done is listed on the job description \u2026 and, of course, is also about taking responsibility. But, truth is that just the thought of making such changes can turn into a nightmare for most managers. At the end of the day, there are so many more important things to do that indeed are on their job descriptions. Not to mention the things that are listed in their annual review and their bonus depends on. And, who can blame them? The good news is that there are ways to solve all these issues in a way that helps everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cLate content is consistently one of the reasons for project delays. The task itself and resources needed to complete the task are seriously underestimated.\u201d <\/b><\/span><\/em>\u2014 Kelly Goto, CEO & Founder – gotoresearch<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Frequently, organizations treat as an afterthought. This is where most clients fail big time. There are several things company stakeholders fail to understand:<\/p>\n In other words, stakeholders undervalue content complexity and importance or underestimate the resources needed to create and manage it properly. The more the business grows, the more complicated content management gets.<\/p>\n Online content is not something you check off a list and are done with. It doesn\u2019t take care of itself!\u00a0<\/span>Once published, it has a life of its own, and our customers control it\u2014they like, they share, they criticize etc.\u00a0<\/span>It requires ongoing care, development and update. <\/span>Everybody in the organization is responsible for the content.<\/span><\/p>\n Content development is not a piece of cake! It takes time to get it right. You need to learn a lot of new skills and acquire the knowledge you did not need before. It needs to be re-written for online channels … here people have different reading patterns, don\u2019t have enough time or attention and your competition is just one click away. Not to mention the specific requirements and constraints that come with so many new technologies, devices and screens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Content doesn’t just happen! As we have already mentioned, in any organization, content is a part-time responsibility for dozens of employees whether they realize or not. And let’s clarify this a little bit! Good quality content <\/span>does not mean copy-pasting from a 7-year old website, marketing brochure, supplier product sheet or other technical documents for internal use. <\/span>Let’s say, you have the right content! What’s next? You need to <\/span>optimize for search engines. Then the material must be approved internally, and in many cases, you have several stakeholders that get involved. Assuming you finally have the approval, you publish it online. It stays there for a while and then a colleague realizes something is wrong with one piece of information\u2014 or worst a customer complains about it. So, you are back to square one. <\/span>Do all these things sound boring? Real? Annoying? Time-consuming? Complicated? You are right! It’s all this and so much more! <\/span><\/p>\n The good news is that when you put in place a Content Management Workflow fit for your organization, things not only get easier. You also win time, save money and everyone’s life in the company gets easier. Why? Well, a healthy Content Management Workflow answers to all “who, why, how and when questions”<\/em> referring to content gathering, editing and writing, approvals, publishing and updating.\u00a0<\/p>\nNo.1 \u2014 Content is a business asset\u00a0\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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No. 2 – The New Role as a Publisher\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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No. 3 \u2014 Content is a joint responsibility<\/h2>\n\n
No.4 \u2014 Content is hard work, not an afterthought<\/h2>\n
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No.5 \u2014 It’s a long-term commitment<\/h2>\n
No.6. \u2014\u00a0 Content needs a clear workflow\u00a0<\/h2>\n
No.6. \u2014 Content Strategy is mandatory<\/h2>\n
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