Publishers are struggling with why they can’t produce the content they want or need to via an effective and painless method. In many organizations, dealing with obstacles in gathering, authoring, designing, and producing content are just accepted as what it takes to get content out the door.
Oftentimes, publishers don’t realize the content opportunities they have available at their fingertips because there is not a unified strategic content vision across the organization. Content groups and processes are siloed and fragmented, so there’s no broader sense for how it could work more effectively through a centralized approach.
But as the need to create content across more devices and platforms puts increasing pressure on publishers, there’s a scramble on to get content systems and structure into a more flexible state to satisfy those requirements.
Enter the Content Backbone. The Content Backbone is a new concept we’re trying to introduce to publishers as a model to help guide the foundational elements that support a solid content strategy.
A Content Backbone consists of several components, including:
- A well-defined, common content structure.
- Effective, well-documented, and clearly communicated content process.
- Centralized standards, governance, and oversight.
- Well-orchestrated and current systems and technologies.
I’ll be reviewing each of these components in my upcoming content series on the Effective Content Backbone. Look for updates monthly on the TFP blog and in our newsletters.
Posted by: Margot Knorr Mancini
