Praxis Communications, Inc.

EMPOWERING YOUR SITE USING A CONTENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
Challenge:
Think about your website. What content is currently present? What information does your audience need that does not appear on your site? Does your content have a consistent voice and tone, no matter what section of your organization it comes from? Is each piece of information factually consistent, both with other sections of the site and with content that is delivered through other media? Does the content in every section of the site consciously convey your brand message?

As you answer the questions posed here, you begin to see how the organization of content and the overall branding are important considerations for growing your business, not just organizing your site. Once you have the answers to those questions, how can you consistently implement the changes they suggest?

Solution:
The answers to these questions are your content management strategy. "Content management" is the process for publishing content on your website. A content management system (CMS) is a software tool that can automate many of these processes, but your organization needs to do its homework in order to set intelligent, appropriate rules for your content. There are many companies who sell Content Management Systems. These systems feature ways of creating templates, importing content in a variety of formats, and a methodology of controlling who can update, add or delete any content. Rights (or rules) to edit this data are typically controlled by logging into your network to authenticate your role and responsibility.

Every organization – corporate, nonprofit, association, etc. – needs a content management strategy, not just because it makes the web publishing process smoother, but because web content is an essential part of your business strategy and keeping it updated is critical.

Getting it done:
  1. Develop a group representing each business line/audience segment you represent and have them evaluate each component of “their” web site.
  2. Have each of these groups “certify” the information in their area is accurate; if not, make sure they update the data.
  3. Each group should also review the branding and the words that articulate the positioning. This will help to clear up any discrepancies as to how the content should be displayed.
  4. Have members of a different team try to find any continuity issues with the initial groups’ findings. Develop the home page with a corporate branding which has no product/audience segment bias and develop the most effective navigation so the web visitor can find the right data.
  5. Review CMS products available and determine which product is best for your needs.
  6. Once a clear choice has been made, develop this new site off-line until it has been tested by the internal group and selected members outside of the company.
  7. Develop a content management policy that all members of the group must follow including issues such as logos, trademarks, naming conventions for any business property, etc.
  8. Set up a structure where only members of certain groups can add, edit, delete or change content. This will ensure that policies will be followed, and issues such as incentives, promotions, branding and other marketing issues will remain consistent.

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