Ok, I know the title sounds like an old, used college textbook that no one ever read, but stay with me for a bit.
Some people are organized, with desks that are neat and orderly. All the time. That is not me. Working remotely, my desk clutter is a mix of work and family projects, pictures, mementos, arbitrary office supplies, and the essential coffee mug. With all this random content I started to wonder what the true nature of content is, or maybe I am just trying to rationalize a messy office…
In all organizations, content is pervasive. Documents, images, and media are loosely organized in digital files, storage drives, desk drawers, file cabinets, etc., with the hope that important and needed items will be quickly available when needed. Whether it’s training materials, project plans, strategies, papers, presentations, reports, infomercials, or textbooks – whatever the content, it is information to be communicated and expressed through different mediums to inform, entertain, inspire, educate, and persuade.
In a typical organization, content serves different purposes. Looking through the lenses of technology, stakeholders, and workflow – each has its own perspective on the nature of the content.
The technical view: This is the raw data, the bits and bytes of vast amounts of digital content. That data is how content is to be processed, presented, produced, and made ready for communication and consumption in the desired medium.
The people view: Content carries meaning and substance that is derived from the intent of the communication and the purpose of the information. Content is also the experience that is conveyed and expressed by the information and medium, shaping how it is perceived and understood.
The process view: Communication is an exchange, something being offered for something else, such as attention, engagement, and motivation to act. Content is valuable, and the message is delivered through various channels. Content is getting out there and we know that through our daily content overload, yet we still choose and can control the content and communication that we want.
Now that we have a better understanding of the nature of content, a critical function is organizing it. Document Management (DMS), Digital Asset Management (DAM), and Content Management Systems (CMS) are all designed to effectively manage digital content to be accessible, secure, and organized. They serve different purposes, but the components and functions are very similar:
Storage: A scalable, secure repository to centralize, store, and manage digital content.
Workflow: Processes to streamline manual and repetitive tasks for more efficiency with collaboration to enable teams to work together on content creation, review, and approval.
Integration: Providing interoperability and data exchange between adjacent systems in the environment with custom development and API integration.
Version control: Tracking all modifications to content, creating separate versions or branches, and merging changes from different branches into the main version.
Access and usage control: Create user roles and groups with defined levels of access based on job functions with more granular controls to restrict or grant access (time, manner, and place) to specific content or features and track user activity.
Analytics and reporting: Measure content usage, user activity, and performance to gain insight into engagement and audience behavior.
Successful and effective content strategies are aligned with the organization’s mission and goals. By understanding the nature of content, regardless of the lens with which we view it, we can prioritize content quality, how it is organized, and common component functionality. Ultimately this allows companies to harness the inherent power of content to better achieve organizational goals with effective content that makes a lasting impact.
