The emergence of content marketing as a primary digital marketing strategy for B2B and B2C business, as well as non-profits and other organizations has created an interesting dilemma… How should a content management system (CMS) support content/media heavy sites and their respective editorial teams?
Web developers and content marketing teams must meet in the middle to develop a platform that can be easily managed and updated on a daily basis by the people that will use it every day – without sacrificing strategic front-end design and back-end development.
It’s not just Fortune 500 companies or news and media outlets that come into the web design process with a huge amount of unorganized media – photos, videos, online articles, press clippings and more. We see small and mid-sized businesses try to dump an abundance of media into their new website concept, far too late into the design process.
A company’s Chief Copywriter and Editor may be an essential voice in preliminary web design discussions if they are the ones that will be updating the CMS with fresh content everyday. It makes sense that they not only receive training on the finished platform, but also have an understanding of its construction and robustness.
If you are a content marketer, here are some features you need to communicate to your developer so that your CMS supports your workflow and productivity:
• A reasonable number of steps to upload and publish new content, including content with multimedia.
• An alert system that communicates the chain of command to all team members who are involved with content publishing. In a traditional media company this would include an editor, reporter, photographer etc, while businesses might involve leaders in marketing/communications, production, and upper management.
• To this point, the addition of an instant chat or messaging feature that keeps the conversation within the CMS so that changes are made more quickly. An effective tracking system is also desired to show story edits and updates.
• Easy editing capabilities for graphic elements (images, slideshows, collages, infographics and more), including the ability to crop and add copy-edited captions.
• Proper embedding of hyperlinks and video prior to posting.
• User-friendly archiving and search features to access older content and stories
• The ability to change the display of sidebar content, and access to related stories to thread and link old and new content (for example, linking an update or correction to the original article).
• Timely web support for any requested changes that are beyond an editor’s skill set.
• Real time metrics on published content, such as visits, unique visits, outbound and inbound link clicks, shares, and more.
• Integration of Microsoft Word features such as auto-correct, look-up features, and the Microsoft toolbar.
• Intuitive categories and sections for content – essentially a layout that is clear and easy to navigate from an editor’s perspective.
• A dashboard or “news desk” view of the workflow and content at various stages that helps streamline assignments, updates and approvals.
Remember though that even a completely custom editorial CMS will not have all of these features – and probably shouldn’t, as they add up to slower page speed load and other potential complications. The main point is to find balance with your developer early in the web design process so that the finished CMS is an immediate enhancement and time-saver to your company’s editorial and content marketing initiatives.
