Editor's View
Match Your CM System to Your Content Strategy
by Amy Gahran
12-Oct-2001
Sometimes technology puts the cart before the horse. In the case of content management systems, sometimes the horse and cart simply take off without the driver.
Content management systems can be incredibly useful, versatile tools that can enhance the editorial side of almost any organization -- as long as the organization understands what constitutes great content in the first place. This means that it's crucial to devote sufficient resources and editorial expertise toward developing a sound and sustainable content strategy. If that's not a priority, then a content management system probably won't help -- and it could even hurt.
Think Strategy Before Systems
If you self-publish any kind of information -- whether via the Web, e-mail, an intranet, or in print -- you've become a publisher. Even if publishing is only a tiny part of what your business does, your audience expects you to act like a publisher in at least some important ways. Consequently, anyone who publishes any kind of information should remember this:
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Ultimately, the audience is in control -- and their main concern is whether you have anything to say that is credible, interesting, or relevant to them. This is especially true of online media. If your content doesn't attract your target audience and immediately meet their expectations, you'll probably lose them.
Therefore, your first publishing goal must be to create high-quality online content that is credible and appropriate for your target audience. If you don't accomplish this, you cannot achieve any of your other goals. However, great content never pops out of thin air. It requires strategy, empathy, and creativity -- all of which people tend to do much better than technology.
I've seen lots of organizations, large and small, grapple with the basic challenges of publishing. Since they don't really think of themselves as publishers, they tend to overlook the value of talented editors and other content professionals. They view content as a product to be manufactured and shipped, rather than as meaningful communication. Consequently, I keep having the same Homer Simpson "Doh!" moment over and over -- seeing companies invest in technology and glitz at the expense of editorial skill.
Five Steps to a Better Content Management System
Here's what I recommend in order to realize the greatest value from a content-management system:
- Clarify your content goals. This marks the beginning of your content strategy. Decide which groups you most need to reach, through which channels. Decide which basic types of content you need to supply in order to attract and satisfy your target audience(s) as well as further your core business goals -- in that order. Determine how much content you should publish (based on your audience's needs and constraints), how often, and how it should be delivered. Start to consider whether you really need a CMS -- and if so, which parts of your content production and publishing processes make the most sense to automate.
- Put the editorial brainpower in place. Hire a managing editor to oversee content for your Web site and other key self-publishing efforts. A talented managing editor can provide far more value than any CMS. This person will be responsible for fine-tuning, implementing, and evaluating your organization's content strategy. If you're not publishing a great deal of content, this doesn't need to be a full-time position. However, if (like many firms) your content strategy has become a central part of your business strategy, consider devoting a skilled specialist full-time to this task.
Your managing editor will ideally have experience in all of the key media in which your company publishes (Web, e-mail newsletters, white papers, etc.). This person should also bring significant experience with managing projects, people, and schedules. And if you plan to deploy a content management system, the managing editor must be able to use (and perhaps even direct others' use of) that technology.
Most importantly, your managing editor should grasp the perspective of your audience as well as your company -- but to be willing to stand up for your audience to ensure that your content really works for them. This is why I believe the best managing editors carry at least a few years of journalistic experience.
- Buy only as much CMS as you need. When it comes to content (and content management systems), you're generally better off keeping things as simple as possible. Carefully evaluate your existing and potential content resources (staff, budget, etc.) and compare them to the capabilities of various CMS solutions. Where would you truly benefit from automation? You may not need the most comprehensive, expensive package.
Focus on CMS solutions that are most likely to alleviate real problems that you face today, or provide new opportunities that would demonstrably benefit your business. Ask the most basic questions about the most basic CMS features and requirements, and challenge vendors' assumptions.
- Do you really need to automate the entire cycle of document creation, production, and delivery?
- How much personalization must you provide?
- When you look beyond the CMS to the technical infrastructure it requires (which may fall under another department's budget), do the costs begin to outweigh the benefits?
Be skeptical and conservative, while keeping in mind the potential for creative possibilities.
- Involve key members of your content team in your CMS plans. You'll only know how much CMS you really need when you talk to the people who produce, edit, and approve your content. Don't assume that you (or your IT staff or Web designers) know where your existing content-related processes fall short. Ask! For instance, using a CMS to track editorial workflow and troubleshoot project schedules can aid efficiency and contingency planning. Who would be more likely to see the true value of that benefit -- an IT manager or an editor? Similarly, who would be the best judge of the extent to which the editorial interfaces are intuitive and appropriate?
Look for opportunities to quickly and easily make things better for the least-happy members of your content team -- especially people who currently feel they are overworked or undervalued. One of the best ways to get the whole content team behind the CMS is to turn your most likely critics into your strongest supporters right at the beginning. Make sure your content team is well trained in the system that you select -- I've seen some companies skimp on training in order to buy more features, leading to lots of errors and ill will.
Sample editorial interface from a Microsoft CMS Server demo site. What is intuitive to one contributor may not be to another. - Deploy the CMS in stages. I have never seen a content strategy or CMS perform flawlessly right off the bat, so expect mixed results at first. Publishing content is definitely more of an art than a science -- and this will undoubtedly remain the case regardless of how much you automate your publishing processes. To minimize the impact of early missteps, I think it's best to introduce a CMS in stages -- first implementing a few basic capabilities, seeing how they go, improving where necessary, and then moving on to a few more capabilities.
With each new step, remind yourself of your key content goals. Make sure your CMS is always serving your content strategy. Sometimes the dazzle of sophisticated features can tempt you to lean more toward technology. But stay focused. Remember: the content, not the system, is what matters most.