What Is Content Management? Definition, Types & Strategies

What Is Content Management?

The systematic attack to creating, organizing, governing, and storing integer assets is called contented management.

It gives you power of the worldly you people to support your tract organized, up to date, and relevant.

Our State of Content Marketing: 2023 Global Report recovered that contented prime and work frequence are apical priorities for businesses of each sizes.

As an example, the selling squad astatine a institution mightiness produce:

• Social media creatives and transcript tailored to antithetic platforms
• Blog posts and different materials (e.g., lawsuit studies, presentations, etc.)
• Graphics for blog posts, societal posts, and emails
• Call-to-action banners
• Webinar recordings
• White papers

That’s a batch of contented to juggle and support updated.

A coagulated contented absorption program is cardinal for keeping everything efficiently organized. It besides helps you way betterment opportunities.

Consider this: In 2020, you wrote a blog station with a database of apical canine nutrient brands.

Since then, a caller subordinate has entered the market, but your contented doesn’t screen it.

Likewise, 1 of the brands you covered has fallen successful popularity and present gets antagonistic reviews.

You’d swap the brands retired to capitalize connected the “trending” brand’s hunt measurement and marque definite your contented is inactive applicable erstwhile you optimize it.

Let’s look astatine much reasons wherefore you indispensable instrumentality a purposeful attack to managing your content.

Why Do You Need to Manage Your Content?

If you don’t periodically reappraisal your published content, immoderate of that accusation volition yet beryllium aged and irrelevant. This means it volition nary longer beryllium adjuvant oregon invaluable to your audience.

So, a large portion of contented absorption is updating, refreshing, and deleting aged content.

And erstwhile you cook contented audits and optimization into your processes, you prevention clip connected contented creation, guarantee contented contains the latest information, and enactment competitive.

Here’s however to bash that.

The Content Management Process

Also called the “content absorption beingness cycle,” the contented absorption process handles integer contented passim its travel from instauration to its eventual archiving oregon deletion.

It comprises six main steps:

1. Craft a Content Strategy

The instauration of each contented selling efforts, a contented strategy is your high-level program for creating and distributing content. It’s usually a conception of your wider digital selling strategy to get successful beforehand of a caller oregon larger assemblage and execute concern goals.

By creating this first, you tin guarantee each portion of contented serves a purpose, resonates with your intended audience, and aligns with your broader concern objectives.

To make a contented strategy:

• Define the content’s objectives (e.g., to bring attraction to your product’s caller feature)
• Identify the people assemblage (i.e., the conception astir apt to usage this caller feature)
• Ensure the contented fits into your wide concern oregon selling strategy (e.g., driving diagnostic adoption volition hopefully pb to higher lawsuit beingness value)

Further reading: The Ultimate Guide toContent Marketing Strategy

Use a Content Calendar

A contented calendar outlines erstwhile and wherever you program to people content.

It volition assistance your squad enactment up of factors that impact content, similar seasonal relevance, assemblage availability, and promotional campaigns.

Content calendars besides assistance you collaborate with squad members and prevention time. You tin spot what needs to hap when, without knocking connected doors oregon firing disconnected emails.

Your calendar tin see plans for societal media content, blog posts, selling emails, and immoderate different deliverable that falls nether your contented strategy.

You tin bash this successful a spreadsheet until you consciousness similar you request functionality beyond a reasonably basal list. Then you tin postgraduate to 1 of the galore contented calendar tools available, and find the 1 that works champion for you.

Conduct Keyword Research

Finding the champion hunt query phrases to people with your contented is the wide extremity of keyword research. 

Keywords assistance archer hunt engines what your contented is astir truthful they’re much apt to fertile your contented higher successful hunt motor results pages (SERPs).

There are plentifulness of escaped tools to assistance you with keyword research, specified arsenic Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends.

For deeper keyword insights, including rival gaps and related terms, effort Semrush.

You tin hunt for keywords, observe variations, and spot however your keywords fertile against competitors.

In Keyword Overview, benignant successful the keyword(s) you privation to research, prime the determination you’re targeting, past click “Search.”

It volition instrumentality accusation connected the keyword volume, difficulty, intent, and more.

Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool tin besides suggest related keywords.

Simply benignant successful your keyword, and click “Search.” The instrumentality volition make a database of keywords that grow connected the connection oregon operation you entered.

Further reading: Learn much astir keyword probe successful our guide, How to Do Keyword Research for SEO (A Detailed 3-Step Guide).

2. Create Content

In this step, you make the articles, videos, societal posts, etc., that resonate with your assemblage and suit your brand. 

Content instauration involves respective steps, from generating taxable ideas to promoting a published piece.

Depending connected the breadth of your selling strategy, for each taxable it could mean:

• Writing caller posts for the blog
• Designing graphics
• Shooting videos for societal media
• Recording podcasts

To assistance with ideation, you tin usage Semrush's Content Idea Generator. It volition make respective topics, which tin beryllium displayed successful a fewer ways, including caput maps. It volition besides amusement you competitors’ headlines truthful you tin trade unique, attention-getting titles. Try it for free.

The contented you make should beryllium optimized for your chosen keyword, meaning it appears successful the substance successful a mode that’s applicable and earthy for your reader, which tin besides assistance it fertile higher successful the SERPs.

Semrush’s SEO Writing Assistant tin besides assistance with immoderate of these steps. It tin marque your substance much hunt engine-friendly, amended your content’s readability, and cheque for plagiarism.

To usage it, spell to “Content Marketing” successful the sidebar, “SEO Writing Assistant,” and click “Analyze my text.”

You tin benignant straight into the tool, paste your substance in, oregon import it straight from the web. Then, participate your people keyword(s), oregon person the instrumentality automatically extract them. The penning adjunct volition past complaint your contented connected readability, SEO, code of voice, and originality, and supply recommendations for improvement.

The Smart Writer diagnostic tin besides assistance by rephrasing sentences, composing sentences, oregon answering questions.

Before immoderate contented instauration happens, delegate wide roles and responsibilities, and marque definite anyone who needs it tin entree your marque policies, specified arsenic a benignant guide. They besides request entree to your marque assets, similar logos, colors, and typography.

This saves you editing clip due to the fact that it increases the likelihood that contented volition autumn successful enactment with marque standards astatine the reappraisal stage.

Prior to this, you request coagulated processes astir governing your contented truthful that everyone stays connected the aforesaid page.

Create Content Governance 

A postulation of policies, standards, and processes guiding however your enactment handles contented is known arsenic contented governance.

This keeps contented accordant and of precocious quality, nary substance who creates it (in-house, freelancers, oregon an agency), oregon wherever you people it (your blog oregon societal media).

Further reading: Content Creation: What It Is & How to Do It successful 2023 [Tips + Tools]

Use a Content Management System

A contented absorption strategy (CMS) centrally stores contented truthful your squad tin easy find and entree it.

CMSs similar WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal let you to make and people your content, adhd squad members, store media, hunt for circumstantial content, and more.

A CMS tin besides way and analyse your content’s show successful presumption of views, clicks, and shares.

Further reading: What Is a Content Management System (CMS)? [2023 Guide]

Categorize Your Content

How you statement your contented affects however easy colleagues and customers tin find it. Think of categories arsenic the array of contents for your blog. For example, connected the Semrush blog, we signifier each our contented into these main categories:

Users tin entree articles and guides tailored to their interests and areas they privation to larn much about.

So, successful this step, make naming conventions to statement your contented successful the backmost extremity of your CMS. 

Organizing your contented similar this saves users the vexation of scrolling done hundreds of pages to find what they need. In WordPress, for example, you tin make categories simply by clicking “Add New Category.” 

Image Source: Wordpress.com

Then, immoderate clip you constitute a blog station successful WordPress, you tin delegate it to a category. So, users tin easy navigate to the contented they want.

3. Review and Approve Content 

A coagulated contented reappraisal and support process ensures everything you people aligns with your brand’s dependable and message. And checks it for immoderate errors earlier publication.

Having the close processes successful spot makes reviewing and approving contented smoother for everyone involved.

For example, creating a blog station whitethorn look thing similar this:

• A writer researches and writes content
• A developmental exertion analyzes it to cheque the travel and structure
• A transcript exertion checks the spelling, grammar, and prime of referenced sources
• A graphic decorator creates applicable images

Plugins and tools similar Grammarly oregon ProWritingAid tin springiness you tips connected however to refine your content, specified arsenic by reducing wordiness.

4. Publish and Repurpose

Creating contented is fractional the battle. Next, you request to marque definite it reaches your audience. 

Publish and Distribute Your Content

Once you’ve reviewed your contented and made immoderate indispensable corrections, it’s acceptable to publish. Then you request to marque definite radical find it. This is contented distribution.

Promoting your contented connected antithetic channels—or snippets of it connected the aforesaid channel—increases the likelihood that your assemblage volition spot it. Which is the constituent of creating the contented successful the archetypal place.

For example, accidental you’ve written a blog post. You tin past stock that station connected societal media and successful your email newsletter.

To prevention clip connected publishing and distribution, you tin usage tools. Scheduling contented to people automatically besides means you won’t hide to station astatine the designated time.

It besides trains your assemblage to cognize erstwhile to expect caller contented from you, which makes them much apt to sojourn your tract and/or societal media profiles astatine the time(s) you publish.

You tin people your contented to societal media straight oregon done third-party tools, similar Semrush’s Social Poster. 

With Social Poster, you tin draft, schedule, and people contented to LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook concern pages, Pinterest, and X (formerly Twitter) without leaving Semrush. You tin besides way metrics specified arsenic clicks and engagement.

To docket a post, click “Social Media” successful the near sidebar, click “Social Poster,” past take erstwhile you privation to people your content.

It volition past instrumentality you to the preview page. Here, you tin adhd the contented and prime what clip you privation it to spell live.

Repurpose Content Across Channels

Different platforms cater to varied demographics. Multichannel distribution—whether connected websites, a societal media platform, oregon an email newsletter—ensures your contented reaches its assemblage wherever they are.

For example, you mightiness people an nonfiction connected your blog, stock cardinal insights arsenic graphics connected Instagram, past email a summary and nexus to your newsletter.

We did this for our course, How to Optimize Mobile: The CRAFT of Mobile SEO. It teaches the CRAFT method for optimizing your website for mobile devices.

We past repurposed the CRAFT method mentation into a short Instagram carousel.

5. Maintain and Optimize

Once you’ve published and distributed your content, you request to see ongoing upkeep (tidying) and optimization (updating for hunt rankings). 

This keeps contented applicable and aligned with your evolving concern goals, assemblage preferences, and perpetually changing industry.

Update and Optimize Content

Content optimization means refining and improving your published worldly to get amended visibility and engagement.

It involves boosting the content’s prime with invaluable additions oregon removing irrelevant oregon outdated content. It tin besides see adding caller keywords, updating titles to beryllium much compelling and attracting backlinks by making it much shareable (e.g., by adding infographics).

For example, accidental your nonfiction “Marketing Best Practices successful 2023” has fallen successful hunt rankings. You tin update this nonfiction to bespeak trends successful 2024, adhd immoderate missed keyword opportunities, regenerate outdated graphics oregon statistics, and truthful on.

The extremity is to summation the worth the scholar gets from the content, which successful crook makes it much hunt engine–friendly.

Even if you update a leafage successful your CMS, the aged leafage tin inactive look successful hunt for weeks oregon adjacent months. Google’s Content Removal tool (in Google Search Console) tin assistance you petition a refresh of outdated contented successful Google search. 

Further reading: How to Use Google’s Tool to Remove Outdated Content

Analyze Performance

Tracking show provides tangible information connected what works and what doesn’t. Use analytics tools to measurement however the contented performs successful presumption of engagement, reach, keyword rankings, conversions, and more.

Tools similar Google Analytics 4 (GA4) supply insights into website traffic, idiosyncratic behavior, conversion paths, and more. Track metrics similar leafage views, bounce rates, and league duration to recognize idiosyncratic engagement with your content.

GA4 tin assistance you recognize however visitors interact with your site, from the infinitesimal they get to the infinitesimal they permission (and perchance return).

Further reading: Get started present with GA4 (Google Analytics 4) with our guide: Google Analytics for Beginners

To recognize however your tract performs successful Google Search, usage the escaped tool, Google Search Console (GSC). 

Unlike GA4, GSC focuses connected helping you recognize however Google indexes and views your site. It provides insights into your site’s integrated hunt performance.

Learn much successful our Ultimate Guide to Google Search Console.

If you privation much assistance analyzing your contented successful depth, Semrush includes tools like:

• Position Tracking: This instrumentality monitors the regular rankings of your website for circumstantial keywords crossed antithetic hunt engines
• Site Audit: This instrumentality evaluates and provides a broad investigation of your website’s wellness successful presumption of SEO
• Backlick Analytics: This instrumentality provides elaborate accusation astir your website’s inbound links, helping you place imaginable opportunities oregon threats

Incorporate Data and Feedback

Use insights gained from analytics to pass aboriginal contented strategies and marque improvements. Engaging with users successful the comments conception of blogs oregon societal media posts tin supply real-time feedback and insights.

For example, aft receiving feedback that readers admit video demonstrations, you could commencement adding video to your written reviews.

6. Archive oregon Delete

Content, implicit time, tin go little relevant, outdated, oregon adjacent inaccurate. When this happens, either archive oregon delete it.

Here’s a breakdown of erstwhile each enactment whitethorn beryllium much appropriate:

Archive content:

• When it mightiness regain relevance, specified arsenic articles connected periodic events
• If you enactment successful an manufacture similar healthcare oregon concern that mandates contented retention
• If interior teams tin payment from it, specified arsenic successful grooming materials
• When it’s older, but you tin inactive usage it for comparative analyses oregon research

Delete content:

• When it’s outdated with nary foreseeable alteration successful relevance
• When it's redundant with different pages connected your tract (and redirect, if necessary)
• When retention constraints necessitate removal, particularly for ample files that can't beryllium reduced successful size

Archiving and deleting contented maintains your site’s integrity and relevance.

It besides enhances the idiosyncratic experience. Visitors volition much easy find pertinent accusation without having to wade done outdated oregon unnecessary content.

Types of Digital Content Management (and Examples)

WordPress.org is the astir fashionable CMS connected the web, with a 64.2% marketplace share. But galore much contented absorption platforms exist. 

For astir each contented category, there’s a level to negociate it. And each level has chiseled features and functionality.

Here are immoderate examples:

• Social Media Content Management: Using a instrumentality to negociate your societal media tin assistance you make and signifier it. Some tools person apps that let you to docket and people posts straight from the app to aggregate societal platforms.
• Web Content Management (WCM): Content creators and web developers tin make and negociate websites with a web contented absorption system. It provides user-friendly tools and plugins to negociate website layout and wide idiosyncratic acquisition similar drag-and-drop modules and contented editors.
• Mobile Content Management (MCM): Ensure entree to institution information connected mobile devices similar smartphones and tablets is unafraid with a mobile CMS. It chiefly helps with record retention and sharing.
• Open-Source Content Management: Freely accessible, and developed and maintained by assemblage contributions, an open-source CMS offers customization options to cater to unsocial requirements
• Cloud-Based Content Management: Hosted connected distant servers, cloud-based CM platforms let users to negociate and entree contented done the internet. Scalable, accessible, and large for organizations shying distant from in-house CMS management.
• Enterprise Content Management [ECM]: Large businesses and corporations tin payment froman endeavor CMS. It tin accommodate galore users and a precocious contented volume. 
• Headless Content Management: Not everyone needs a dedicated front-end idiosyncratic interface (UI). A headless CMS allows users to negociate and people contented via the backmost extremity of the CMS.

Create an Effective Content Management System

Every integer plus you create—be it a blog post, video, oregon adjacent a societal media post—reflects your brand. Managing this contented makes definite you people timely, relevant, and up-to-date accusation that provides worth to your assemblage and keeps up with manufacture changes.

Following the contented absorption lifecycle, from readying to updating to archiving, helps you support consistency and quality, and marque strategical decisions based connected performance. This helps you guarantee that you get the astir from your contented truthful you tin proceed attracting caller customers and nurturing existing ones.