By now, most marketers understand the massive impact content marketing can have for a business: 55% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority, according to HubSpot.
But there’s more to the content puzzle than just the writing—though no one is going to read a blog or other content that is boring, dry, or otherwise bad. The ability to write great content is a necessary skill, but it’s very different from managing a content marketing strategy and program.
When leading the content charge, marketers have plenty to think about: The topics to cover, the keywords to include, the frequency of publishing, and the tone of voice for content all come to mind as obvious considerations.
But one massive part of content marketing that’s often not given enough attention goes beyond basic campaigns. It digs into how the content machine runs: It’s about the entire content marketing operation.
“Content operations” refers to everything that helps content marketing efforts run smoothly and drive impact for a business. That includes people, technology, and processes.
Marketers know that producing consistent, high-quality content is difficult: Writers may not be subject-matter experts; subject-matter experts might not be available; content must stay aligned with overall brand… And content marketing managers don’t have time to do everything.
Clearly, the challenges for content managers are plenty.
A well-oiled content operations may not come quickly; and the people, processes, and technology may change over time; but having the following five foundational elements will help lay the groundwork for success and ensure companies set off on the right foot to creating consistent, compelling, impactful content at scale.