Content governance is a crucial aspect of managing content for websites, social media, and other marketing channels. While some leaders may consider it an extra burden that hampers productivity, a well-implemented content governance model can actually save time and resources in the long run. It can also add value to an organization’s content and improve its online presence.
Content governance refers to a set of guidelines and processes that an organization follows to create, publish, and manage content throughout its lifecycle. It includes style guides, templates, and review processes to ensure that the content is relevant, timely, and valuable to the target audience. The ultimate goal of content governance is to shape a positive perception of the business.
Technology plays a role in maintaining a content governance model, but it is not a requirement. Content teams can create a style guide in Word and share it with authors via email. They can edit content for compliance with the guidelines and manually search for outdated articles. However, technology can automate templates and workflows, making it easier to route content to the appropriate teams.
A proper content governance model brings several benefits to organizations. Firstly, it maximizes the investment in technology by reducing editing cycles and minimizing rewrites after publication. It also helps eliminate redundant, obsolete, and trivial (ROT) content on websites, ensuring that the content remains fresh.
Content governance is essential for keeping the content up-to-date and optimized for search engines. For example, outdated articles may negatively impact search engine optimization (SEO), so organizations need to update them regularly. Additionally, content that becomes trivial after certain events, such as conferences, should be retired or updated accordingly.
Regulated industries also benefit from content governance as they need to reflect the evolving regulatory environment. Properly tagging content helps teams find and review it easily when regulatory changes occur, ensuring compliance.
Implementing a successful content governance model requires thought and buy-in from all levels of the organization. There are six steps to building an effective model:
1. Set goals: Establish high-level service level agreements and determine how quickly new content should be published.
2. Define content lifecycles: Decide how content progresses from idea to execution and retirement. Regularly review foundational articles while retiring obsolete content.
3. Create guidance: Develop style guides and brand guidelines to ensure consistent content and establish publishing cadences.
4. Define roles: Assign roles and responsibilities to ensure smooth and efficient content flow. Backup plans should be in place to handle unforeseen circumstances.
5. Automate: Use technology to automate content workflows and notifications, ensuring that governance does not impede progress.
6. Adjust and adapt: Regularly evaluate and adjust the governance model based on feedback and changing circumstances. Be prepared to handle emergencies and address them in the governance model.
Organizations that commit to proper content governance and allow it to evolve into a functioning model will reap the benefits in their content marketing efforts. They can become trusted sources of information and leaders in their industries. Sales might also increase, validating the investment in content strategy and governance.
Content governance also prevents organizations from disseminating poor-quality content or letting irrelevant content degrade their SEO scores. Although implementing a content governance model requires an initial investment, it is a sound strategy that will pay off in the long run.