When it comes to content management, business owners might be asking a variety of questions: “What is it?” “Does my business need it?” “What (if anything) will change for content management in 2023?” “In this new age of client-facing applications, how can I best leverage the ever-growing tool of content creation and content management?” Okay, maybe they’re not asking that last question, but they should be!
Defining Content Management
Simply put, content management is a set of methods and technologies used to ensure the gathering, handling, and publishing of various pieces of content.
Karolina Kiwak at TechTarget describes it as “the process for collection, delivery, retrieval, governance and overall management of [content] in any format.” This content can differ based on the type of platform you are utilizing and can be adjusted to fit your company’s specific goals.
This year, we’ve identified five elements of content and common content management practices that can help any business enhance their online presence.
1. Short Form Videos
By now, we all know that short form video posting is more than just a passing trend. The practice is here to stay and will continue to grow in the new year. Business/marketing companies can utilize short form videos on some of the most popular platforms out there.
Instagram Stories and Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and even Pinterest can be leveraged to showcase your business to existing consumers, spread brand awareness, and market directly to your target demographic.
It’s important to understand that each of these platforms have their own built-in features that you can use to customize short form video posts to attract attention and stand out from the competition. Utilizing short form video as content is a great way to engage your audience on platforms they currently use.
2. Offering Quality Customer Service
Another integral component of Content Management is customer service. Optimizing your business Yelp and Google pages have always been important. However, more and more consumers are asking questions as well as articulating complaints on social media.
Now more than ever, it’s important to ensure that your company is primed to handle such feedback on social media. Responding to questions and complaints and utilizing an array of keyword templates/prewritten copy, are all amazing forms of content that will help you stay ahead of the competition.
3. Consumer Interactivity
If we look at the current market, we can see that the use of interactive content is at an all-time high. This allows for your potential customers to stay engaged with your content for longer periods of time (thereby eliminating the desire for them to move on to another site).
Interactivity also offers customers a bit more fun as they engage with your content. Social media is a great way to showcase interactivity by using quizzes and polls. This also gives you important insights/analytics on your consumers and can be used to tailor-make future campaigns that best target them.
4. Going Live
Live-streaming has proven to be an important component for digital content and will only gain more popularity in 2023! Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and even Pinterest live are tremendous examples of how this practice can be utilized.
Live-streaming encourages real-time engagement/participation with your followers. Inviting guests, initiating giveaways, and responding to questions, are just some of the ways that live-streaming can be used as content to benefit your company.
5. Managing Content Efficiently
A Content Management System (CMS) is a software that allows users to generate and oversee the entire content management process on their website. Without a Content management System in place, business owners are forced to create and manage their company’s content from several different platforms, instead of one. According to Paige Toomes at Gather Content, a Content Management System that offers accountability and extensive oversight “helps [businesses] avoid massive hidden problems [from] appearing too far down the line [ to stop].” This is why having a Content Management System is essential for B2B companies: it has the potential to drive more traffic to or away from your business.
One of the most popular attributes of a good web content management system is that they typically require no coding to create content, publish content, manage management content, and update content in real-time without having to wait on a developer or web administrator to approve/perform changes. With a CMS, your company’s content can always remain up to date. This allows the business owner to focus on the big picture (what website visitors will see/how they engage with the platform), instead of worrying about what goes on behind the scenes.
Thankfully there are hundreds of types of content management systems (CMS) out there, which offer different features as well as unique user experience. That’s why it’s integral to consider your company’s goals so you can choose the right CMS for your business.
Today one of the most popular client content management systems, which happens to also be our preferred platform, is HubSpot. This system connects everything scaling companies need to deliver a best-in-class customer experience into one place.
As a robust and easy-to-use platform, HubSpot helps teams grow with tools that are powerful alone, but better together. This platform allows businesses to promote and manage marketing efforts by effectively controlling the full sales processes.
As a marketing, sales, and customer service platform, HubSpot helps bring the three main tenets of your business together, helping your business create more awareness, attract more customers, and retain existing customers.
The Key Takeaway
Staying abreast of all the new ways Content Management can be used has never been more important (especially as we enter the new year.) It’s essential to remain educated on what elements/platforms are being used, how individuals interact with them, and how to best capitalize on those changes.
Developing a winning content management strategy and fully utilizing the tools within your Content Management System, will not only set your company up for success in the new year, but also set you apart from your competitors.
Want to learn more? We would like to invite you to take this opportunity to schedule a free 30-minute personalized session to begin strategizing your company's next steps and put Content Management to work for you in 2023!
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