We all know dreams, right? We create and distribute great, engaging content because we already have:
We all know the fact, don’t we? We endured tight deadlines, spent too much time on purchases and approvals, and saw requests for new content pile up. We also constantly strive to develop worthy, value-rich brand content.
In 2020. ) content marketing support.
While we can’t solve everything, we can work to fix the knots that make our dreams so much closer to reality.
Overcome bottlenecks to make content creation a dream experience, @Fi_digitaldrum via @CMIContent said. Click to Tweet
Table of Contents
What are content bottlenecks?
A content bottleneck occurs when demand for content exceeds an organization’s ability to meet that need in a timely manner. While that’s presented in a simple way, the factors and circumstances that create bottlenecks are many and can sometimes not be obvious:
- Requests exceed available resources.
- Content strategy is underused (or not detailed enough.)
- Content silos making collaboration difficult if not impossible.
- Many tools are used for process management.
- Content is not easy to find.
- Stakeholders know only their part of the process.
Now, let’s take a look at five fixes to break some content bottlenecks.
How to fix bottleneck 1: Review your content strategy
It all starts with the big plan. Ensure content strategy Your website acts as a blueprint for everything related to content creation for your organization. It will shorten aspects like:
- Organizational marketing target and target
- Themes and themes
- Content Format
- Distribution channels
- Resources (who is involved)
- Time frame
By zooming in on these details, you narrow down the criteria for what content should be produced and can easily identify which requirements, ideas, concepts, etc. fall outside the boundaries.
By rejecting content requests and ideas based on a company’s pre-existing content strategy, you’re less likely to get content stuck in the process because it doesn’t align with the strategy.
#ContentStrategy allows you to decline requests that may already have content bottlenecks, @Fi_digitaldrum via @CMIContent said. Click to Tweet
Try the following resources:
Bottleneck fix 2: Build better collaboration
Developing content can involve many people in your organization. Each person should fulfill the role mine in the content project so it stays on track.
Often, however, the parties do not necessarily understand their roles or how their roles affect the roles and responsibilities of others. That’s why you must define who will do what, when, and plan this throughout all stages, from first draft to editing, approval, and publication.
A word of caution: Don’t assume recording someone’s roles and responsibilities means they’ll accept them. Be honest and get those stakeholders (and/or their managers) involved before you complete the role and responsibilities guide.
Try the following resources:
Overcoming bottleneck 3: Streamlining technology
You’ve got your content strategy in place, and your colleagues are ready to engage and follow their lead. But what about the digital systems used to manage all that content?
It is not uncommon for marketing departments to use some kind of software, online documentation, and communication methods to manage active content . But using multiple tools opens the door for more knots.
Using a centralized platform can bring many benefits to your team (and the wider organization). A single system not only facilitates better collaboration, but also provides improved visibility and easier access to content. These two benefits alone will save your team time.
A centralized platform can better facilitate collaboration, improve visibility and easier access to #content, said @Fi_digitaldrum via @CMIContent. Click to Tweet
Using one tool also provides better alignment across teams and departments because everyone works on the same system. It also allows people to view the content development status – potentially making the “responsible” more likely to meet their deadlines.
Try this resource:
Fixing bottleneck 4: Develop and deploy a real-world content workflow
Recent CMI Research tells us that “lack of process” is the biggest reason why organizations aren’t taking a strategic approach to managing their content. No process – or too many – can really slow down content creation.
No process – or too many – can really slow down #ContentCreation, said @Fi_digitaldrum via @CMIContent. Click to Tweet
Documenting your content workflow is only useful after you’ve completed the first three bottleneck fixes. Process details for each asset type – then add a name and date when new projects appear. Doing so reduces the potential for content bottlenecks in part because it sheds light on the process and grants a new level of transparency.
This is a draft of content workflow outlining the steps and actions to stay on top of content creation:
Try the following resources:
bottleneck 5: Check how published content is doing
Something we often neglect – b Since we are all so busy trying to plan, produce, and publish all that new content – is to see the published content in action. how.
If your experience is like mine, there may be quirks that you grind your teeth to create because you don’t believe it’s really necessary or even that good. Wouldn’t it be great to demonstrate that it doesn’t work, so you don’t have to do something similar again?
You can understand what works and what doesn’t by leveraging and testing data through Google Analytics or your content marketing platform.
Yes, performing this analysis is a time investment, but it’s a very good use of time. You can define what:
- Make their money – bring in a good level of traffic, be social engagement and/or potential customers
- Exceeding expectations – delivering new highs in traffic, social engagement and/or leads
- No make an impact on your audience – few views and/or high bounce rate
Acting on these results can ease future bottlenecks. Now you know better what content is right for your audience and what isn’t, and can make better decisions about what to create. The analysis also provides solid evidence that you can use to push back against new ideas or claims that haven’t worked.
Try the following resources:
Live with Dream
As content creators, we all strive to give our audience the content they need and want at the right time, in the right place.
But too often, the volume of content requests, the number of internal stakeholders, and the lack of content strategy and workflow create so many bottlenecks that we can’t deliver.
By implementing these five bottleneck fixes, you may soon be surviving your content creator’s dream — and your audience will respond accordingly.
Cover photo by Joseph Kalinowski / Content Marketing Institute
