What are some of the best practices and tools for content collaboration and workflow using a CMS?

Top Tip: Create this content strategy doc in the same tool and system you'll be using to create and distribute content, for easy access. Review and update as needed, at least once every quarter! Be sure to share and review this document in a team meeting!

One thing that I've found helpful is establishing a shared understanding of what your funnel actually looks like across everyone collaborating on your content and CMS workflows, from content writers all the way to developers. If you create a strategy that caters first to the needs of the customer and helping them move through the funnel with as little resistance as possible, every topic from the content structure to campaigns to the choice of CMS will be aligned to the same end goal.

Easily the best tip I can share about building a solid content strategy - understand the "who", "what", and "why" of your business really well. 🙋 Who is your target audience? 🤔 What are their biggest pain points? 🚀 Why you're the best person/business to solve those pain points Following this framework will ensure your content is timely and relevant for your audience, while also putting your brand out there as a solution to their challenges.

It should also include who your main SMEs are and any additional links to docs that will be created and shared to help gather their comments and suggestions. Also consider adding set deadlines for reviews and deliverables.

Based on my experience, Periodic review of the content strategy document helps to stay on track. When a new member add to the team, by reading this document, can coordinate with other team members fast.

I would say there are always features of a CMS that could be better and serve you better. The key is knowing how to best work with the tool you have and make a running list of wants/needs for the adoption of a new CMS tool in the future.

The CMS is only one part of your content development ecosystem. Some CMS solutions are designed to work best as part of a complete lifecycle from authoring to publishing. Other solutions put more of a priority on integration with existing systems. Complete solutions can be more powerful, but only if you can migrate your users and content fully to the new platform. More flexible and customizable systems usually require a dedicated internal engineering team to fully utilize. The right CMS for your organization will depend on your existing tools suite, and available resources for migration and development, not just on the CMS features themselves.

I think in the first place, the CMS should serve the purposes of business and its functions, and rest of all the requirements should be kept secondary. Reason being sometimes we keep on adding the layers of features or functionalities, which makes things complex at certain point of time. For example, the Gmail has evolved over the period of time, the interface so been intact so far and made the functions simplest as possible. We could make a list of important business use cases and try to get the most closest of it from the available CMS in the market. Ultimately it should aligns with the over all application ecosystem.

Choosing the right CMS is absolutely essential. No matter how great your ideas are, without the proper CMS, you might miss out on the chance to share your content effectively or scale your efforts. It can lead to wasted time and frustration. Without the right one, the process of turning your strategy into reality can become a headache.

Normally "one tool fits all" does not apply to CMS. First define proper user requirements before embarking on a CMS that is recommended by a "friend". Get IT involved after proper requirements are drawn up. IT are important but should not prescribe.

Be wary of over-engineering your workflow. If content gets bottle-necked with too many steps and approval processes, your publishing timelines can be impacted and your stakeholders could begin working around the CMS or rejecting it altogether. It is generally better to start with a minimal workflow, and add checkpoints when experience reveals they are necessary, for example to meet a specific business need for accountability, to enable better consistency, or to power automation.

Never overlook the human element in process design. Make the workflow make sense to your stakeholders and minimize the efforts required - in reality, it's not always realistic to ask your legal counsel or head of IR to navigate complex systems and approval flows, especially when publishing solutions today can be highly advanced. Choose tools that incentivize participation and optimize processes. Strategize as thoroughly as possible over a longer time horizon: incorporate the content pillars, tiers and tags early on in the CMS set-up; plan for not just day-to-day content flow but also periodic updates and review of website content; and for listed companies, special procedures for investor relations/results related content publishing flows.

Workflow is important to set the audit trail. It makes for a smooth transition from just content to published meaningful information. Approving content manually tends to take longer as people usually are to busy to look at "small" things. With a proper workflow setup, rerouting and escalation makes for quicker turnaround times.

Using artificial intelligence for CMS can have a good perspective. in troubleshooting, planning, production, scheduling, and at least in reminders. This is the future of CMSs: AI CMS

💡 In addition to setting up a content workflow, it's useful to have a repository of ideas that you aren't working on at the moment. Storing ideas in an easy-to-access doc is a great way to navigate through a creative slump in the future. You never know when you'll need inspiration!

Content creation is a creative endeavor, and creative endeavors call for collaboration tools without limitations. I have come to really enjoy working with Miro, a whiteboard tool, for brainstorming and high-level planning of projects and campaigns. I've found tools like Monday or ClickUp are awesome for breaking down tasks, keeping them organized, and creating customized layouts with all of the fields that are relevant to your project and none of the ones that aren't. These tools provide freedom to create while maintaining visibility and organization.

Choose the right solution. MS Word for instance works well as a collaboration tool, but linking that to SharePoint, using workflow it becomes a much better tool. Using Teams linked to the other Microsoft tools even makes it better. I however have found better tools and is just eluding to the fact that first look then jump.

Keep it simple. Google Docs and Sheets provide an easy and nearly universal platform for easy collaboration with chat capability to discuss the work with your collaborators in real-time. For those who don't know, you can create a project workboard in Google Sheets and link your Google Docs to the Sheet. This is what I do with my ghostwriting clients, so they have access to their projects any time they wish and leave comments if they so desire. Google will send you an email each time someone enters a comment, so you don't miss an interaction. Also, Google Docs allows you to access the most common editing software, like Grammarly, and Prowriting Aid, within the document itself—a huge timesaver.

If I were to introduce among the Microsoft products, I would introduce my old friend One Note, and I miss it and kiss it from afar. I wish the world would not change so much :))

There are many collaborative tools to select from which can be confusing to many. In my experience finding the right tool depends how you work, waterfall method or agile processes, what you are trying to achieve whether this is a web product or some other digital product or service and lastly what your organisation\agency is using and what people find familiar. What I find in general is the best tools are simple, clear, have good integrations across varies other tools and allow messages, tasks and projects to be clearly mapped out and hold people accountable to completing their part to achieving what you set out to do.

Best Practices: Clearly define the roles of team members involved in the content creation process. Create a content calendar to plan and schedule content creation, editing, and publishing. Establish content guidelines that cover writing style, tone, formatting, and SEO practices to ensure consistency across different pieces of content. Use communication and collaboration tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, or project management tools like Asana or Trello to keep team members connected and informed about project progress. Set up automated notifications within the CMS to alert team members about tasks, approvals, and deadlines. Establish a feedback mechanism for team members to provide comments and suggestions on content.

I manage the team with Trello. I am satisfied with this platform. In many cases, we can use it for our needs. In addition, teamwork and hybrid work are enjoyable

Effective automation is powered by communication. Your systems should be built to enable commenting at key checkpoints, allowing users to attach notes as content moves through the workflow, but also automatically recording user and system driven actions, with timestamps to establish a clear audit trail. Email or other messaging should be automatic when content moves from one stage to the next, or when the system detects issues or conflicts, so that the responsible humans can step in and address problems. If automation is used to enforce content standards or to identify other content issues, users need clear instructions on what errors mean, how to resolve them, and who to talk to if there is a question or disagreement about the standards.

Real-life examples: 1) People tend to focus on their job and not always on your brilliant strategy:) Repeating yourself is not a waste of time, just keep it as simple as possible. It is required when you are trying to initiate change. Vary your approach in trainings, emails, and calls. 2) Naming conventions for content is often a barrier, inefficient, creates silos, and a waste of storage space. All storage costs money, even in the cloud. You can start by finding out why "nicknames" are used for file names. These conversations can lead to historical insight and help you create a shared naming convention between teams. 3) Always get to know your frontline staff & admin staff. They will know many workflows that are unknown to you!

We have extensively used Electronic Data Management System( EDMS). It is important to conduct a a periodical inventory which will ensure continuous improvement of your digital experiences. It will ensure that your content is updated and and relevant, support your SEO, and keep your digital presence in an organized manner. It will be an effective approach to employ an analytics tool to ascertain what content performs well, and what information underperforms. It can help to make required changes due to audience behavior.

We as a state owned IT company (and myself included) prefer a proper Electronic Data/Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) as all content could be seen as records. CMS is not a stand alone entity. IT security, security, customer relation officers, data access policy owners and content owners, to but list a few, must be involved in the process.

Attach a bottom line business goal to each content piece and then attach a person to a project or pieces that need to be created or managed. That person doesn’t need to create or source the content, but they do need to be the one who makes sure it happens! I’ve been through rebranding efforts and website redesigns where the wrong person or no person was charged with meeting a deadline on a piece of content. Attach the right name. 😁

Don’t select a CMS that is more complex than your overall content strategy. Start by defining the minimum process needed to support your content needs, including who will be using it and what challenges they are facing, and then find a solution that fits that process and needs. If you select something too complicated, or with too many features, you may not get the adoption and efficiencies that you are looking for.