Consumers demand up-to-the-minute, accurate, conveniently packaged, dynamic and interactive content. Companies are under pressure to make the most of their online marketing activities and are faced with two possible choices – keep content management in-house, or contract the task to a marketing agency. How are you doing it? Who has their hands on the crucial leavers that can make or break an entire e-strategy? In-house or external? There are pros and cons to both options but it’s worth looking at some of the key issues before making your mind up either way.
Creating and managing online content is a marketing-related function, not an IT-related one. Hiring an in-house IT bod might seem like a good idea – someone who can keep the management systems up, and also add content, may look like a two for one deal. Smart business. However, the focus of any business website must be on the tactical use of web content to market the business. Ideally this is done as part of a pre-planned Customer Relationship Management strategy – and that’s a job for a marketing professional.
Every Website needs constant monitoring, and updating of content, to attract consumers and have them return. The trick is to match web content, Adwords campaigns and off-line marketing so that they work in tandem. That’s not a part-time post for a PA with a little down time – it requires oversight by a senior marketing manager even if the day-to-day operations are carried out by more junior members of staff.
Increased ease and speed of publishing content through a CMS (Customer Marketing Systems) allows for companies to keep their fingers on the pulse, responding instantly to and leading change as it happens.
Remember customers are generators of change. Direct feedback from customers and close monitoring of website usage statistics will tell you a great deal about your site and business, about what it is that interests your customers and where your marketing effort should be directed. A comprehensive CMS system is therefore vital to maximise good old fashioned ROI – shifting focus from mere administration to marketing potential.
Consistency, consistency, consistency. In order to avoid giving out mixed messages, and causing confusion, it is vital to coordinate content production at every level on:
- The primary website.
- Microsites.
- Landing pages.
- Marketing emails.
- Newsletters.
Content consistency ensures good brand management and greater relevancy to the customer.
Web users are an increasingly sophisticated bunch. We all prefer to access content in dynamic ways, without being restricted by highly structured and limited site designs. Social bookmarking has given users the freedom to classify, organize and share content in ways that appeal to them. Add to this any company blog or forum you have created, plus external community-generated content, articles or blog posts, and metadata (comments, voting, ratings, etc) and it’s a heady and complex mix. Do you have the resources, in-house, to stay on top of all this in a structured and controlled way?
Tools like Google Analytics track, measure, analyze and report user behaviour and campaign effectiveness and are a vital part of measuring actual performance against set KPIs (key performance indicators). Use them. It’s a daily job and, for the big boys, it’s an hour-by-hour job.
That, in a nutshell, is what website content management should encompass. All you need to do now is decide whether you can find (and attract) the expertise to handle it in-house. If you get the right people it’s clearly the best solution as it gives you total control. However, if you can’t afford the direct employment and associated costs, then it is worth approaching a marketing agency. They can afford the costs, by spreading that expertise across a range of clients. Ensure that you know what you are getting for your money, what reports, feedback and frequency you should expect, and what level of freedom you are willing to cede to the agency to add and remove content and standardise your marketing materials. Simples!
