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Where do you store your business content? On a local hard drive? In a folder on your web server? In several places online?
If your content isn’t being stored in one spot, your employees are likely inefficient at their tasks. Content management involves more than just stashing away files. Your content needs to be organized and easily accessible to all who require access.
According to Box, content management is the “process of organizing, consolidating, and collecting information in its various forms, such as documents, multimedia files, and design files.” By this definition, content management includes the act of consolidating and organizing.
Is your content organized and condensed? If not, it’s time to prioritize organization. Here are several tips to start managing your business content to keep it up-to-date and accessible.
- Use one central storage location
How many places are your files stored? If you have files stored in more than one location, such as three online storage accounts, a web server, and a hard drive, you’ll want to condense all content into a single system.
According to data published by Tech Republic, 50% of employees spend more time searching for files than working. Worse, sometimes they end up accessing older versions of the files they’re looking for. The result is wasted payroll dollars and the fallout from using old information.
Your employees should know exactly where your files are and how to find them. They might not know the file name, but that’s okay when your file storage platform is text searchable.
- Create a strong naming convention (and enforce its use)
A strong naming convention will save you from so many issues related to files. With a naming convention, your files are easier to find whether you’re searching manually or using text search.
Generally, a naming convention works like this:
Each file name is created according to a pre-set format that usually includes the date the file was created, or words that indicate when and where the file was created. Like this:
10-03-21_BusinessPlan.docx
2021_Seattle_Convention_John-Smith.jpg
2021_Detroit_Convention_Billy-Bob.jpg
Files that get updated regularly should include the date in the file name, while photos of events should include the name of the event and/or the date.
When the date is included in the file name, you can sort all of your files alphabetically, which puts them in chronological order and makes it easy to find the latest version of the file. You can also look through previous versions easily since they’ll already be in order.
The naming convention that works best for you will depend on what details are important regarding each file.
- Document your content creation
When you create content, document what you’ve created – it’s the only way to keep track of what you have.
Organize your content creation strategy by creating a spreadsheet to document what you’ve created, when it was created, and when it goes live. For example, create a column for each of the following:
- The title of your content
- A link to your Google Doc file (if that’s what you use)
- Who created the content
- The date the content was created
- A link to the live content on your website or other site
- Notes and metadata regarding the content (if required)
This type of organization is useful for content marketing strategies, SEO campaigns, and when you’re using multiple contractors to create your website content.
- Hire a content manager
Ultimately, if you have a large company, you need a content manager to oversee your content creation processes. A content manager can manage your content creation workflow. They can also assign work, check in with content creators, review content submissions, and search for new contractors.
Having a content manager means you’ll have more time to work on growing your business. You didn’t create your business to get involved with the daily minutia, so it makes sense to hire a content manager.
- Use a dynamic content publishing platform
Using a dynamic content publishing platform like WordPress is essential for staying organized. With WordPress, you can load draft content in the form of pages and blog posts, and publish them as you like. You can also schedule your content to be published at a specific time in the future.
Strong content management is essential
An organized content management strategy directly impacts your productivity and revenue. When your content is organized and easy to find, your employees will be more productive. They won’t waste time trying to find a file that might be located in this or that document repository.
With strong content management, projects will be completed faster and clients will be happier with the outcome. Happier clients become repeat clients and refer you to others. It’s truly a win-win for all!
This content is a joint venture between our publication and our partner. We do not endorse any product or service in the article.
