We internet professionals encourage companies and governments to get started with social media, mobile, apps, games, magazines for tablets, etc. All those opportunities! The organizations I know are also very eager. But still they are cautious. They barely manage to keep their corporate website up to date , let alone all those other channels. We help them with that, by developing content strategies with which they can effectively distribute their forces. But can CMS builders please help too?
CMS keeps content manager from his job
Content management systems don't do what they're supposed to do. Bear with me, there will be exceptions, but I've worked with almost all the current systems and none of them meet today's requirements. The internet is a wild world full of swarms, in which you send out content with a mission. Content managers want to be able to adjust, catch and help that content. Content managers want to be able to turn the knobs of that content.
But they don't turn the knobs. They do this:
they create web pages;
they publish pdfs;
they assist editors who don't understand the editor;
they provide CMS training in their organization;
they correct the work of the editors;
they fight with the CMS supplier about functionalities;
they answer complaints about the CMS;
they click, click, click.
Their CMS should help these people, but instead makes them focus on the wrong things. Not on strategy, but on explanation. Not on effect, but on clicks.
What does that mean for organizations?
I will take an average municipality as an example:
content is not updated sufficiently;
Due to dissatisfaction with the CMS and central capacity, departments are setting up their own websites with external agencies;
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Hyves accounts are opened but not managed;
projects concerning the digitalisation of maps, archives and services are independent of any online communication strategy.
This is where money and energy are wasted. Communication departments are being blamed. Most content managers I meet say they 'let a lot go' and accept that they have insufficient control over the content process. Sometimes there is a reason to regain control, for example because the web guidelines have to be applied (for governments), or because an external audit shows that the website does not yield enough. Or because someone says nasty things about a manager or product on Twitter.
What we need is a CMS that is actually made to manage content. Today's CMSs (typically 5 to 10 years ago) were developed to build websites, not to manage content. They are fine if you want to cobble together web pages into a website. But the process of content management has become much more complex and broader. I have a list of wishes.
User friendliness
We should demand the same user-friendliness from content management systems as from websites. Save the content managers time by creating a CMS that allows people to work in a task-oriented way. This means that interaction designers and usability experts should be involved in the development. (Read: The challenge of CMSs, by Jasmijn Vogelij) . If only Apple would create a CMS!
Input
The system must enable organizations to collect content in such a way that it can be published via different finland phone number list channels and therefore in different forms. This places demands on the input side: a lot of content must be able to enter the system, not only illustrated text pages and PDFs, but also maps, videos, etc. And then findable for the entire organization, taggable and reusable.
CMSs should enable content managers to share the collected content via all chosen channels. Not only on the website, but also as an app, on social media, in mailings. This means that the content can be edited and published in different forms.
Aftercare
The system must also monitor content that has been published. Good and extensive, goal-oriented, dynamic visitor statistics are part of this. Is the content still up-to-date? Is it being referenced? Is it being responded to? Does it generate traffic on other platforms? Content managers want to respond immediately by removing, adjusting, and rearranging content.
Cause and effect
Of course, this is not just about technology, but also about processes and organizations. That is why I am optimistic. Many organizations really want to think further in their online communication, if only they would be better supported.
I am curious about your opinion, do you recognize this image, do you recognize yourself in the wishes?