8.1 What Are Content Management Systems?

What Is Content Management?

To understand content and its management, revisit WorldCorp’s volunteer work with Happy Tails. Since the adoption agency is newly formed, it needs help developing its brand, or organizational identity, as well as an online presence to publicize both the company and the pets available for adoption. This will require the development, distribution, and updating of a variety of multimedia content, including new branding (images, color schemes, logos, and slogans). There will be some design work involved, and we will cover some principles of design a bit later in the chapter. But for now, your teams will need to think broadly about all the aspects of creating and managing content for this small, startup organization.

You have begun by asking the leaders at Happy Tails WC to answer some questions so you and your team can start building the brand for the organization. Their answers will guide the development of the content for the website and other aspects of the organization, both in print and online. Figure 8.3 shows a few questions to consider when creating content and developing a brand image.

Figure 8.3 When creating a brand for a product or organization, it is important to think broadly about the message you want to convey, whether delivered online or through print materials.

The content management process will vary depending on the size of the organization, particularly in the realm of content creation. In large corporations, there are often entire departments, such as information technology (IT) and marketing, working together on these efforts. Furthermore, within these departments there will be experts on website development, social media marketing, and other similar functions, who will have primary responsibility for a small portion of content management. It would be rare to find a single person handling all content management for the business; rather, this would be a dedicated team effort. Teams need to work cooperatively with nearly all business functions, including sales, accounting, and purchasing, to develop the appropriate content and strategies used to maintain that content to meet their diverse needs.

In some cases, a large corporation might choose to outsource content management to a vendor that specializes in this service. Managing content can take time and expertise. A large company may decide that the time and effort involved in content management might be better spent on the products or services they provide, rather than on building a website and posting to social media sites.

You can also expect that large corporations will have content specific to their internal audience (perhaps a company website for employees only) as well as content for external audiences. You might have some experience with this idea at your school. On the school website, you might see a link or an area specially for students. This might include links for your class schedule or where to order books. You probably also need a password to access that area. The general website then contains information for an external audience: prospective students or community members who want to find out more about the college. These two different audience types require different types of content, and as such, different ways of managing that data and information.

A content management system (CMS) is an application that uses a set of processes to manage web content, social media content, and other information online, which allows multiple contributors to collect, create, edit, and publish content. These processes go beyond simply creating and maintaining a website. A CMS could also include managing multiple social media platforms as well as internal company sites where information is stored. In a CMS, the content is stored in a database and displayed when accessed. Information stored in a CMS is usually referred to as digital content. A company can update, delete, or add information as needed. The best content management systems offer capabilities that include site design, content authoring, editing, and personalization. The personalization might include items specific to the industry or company, such as online sales capabilities or an event calendar that could be useful for Happy Tails WC employees as they plan fundraising or pet adoption events.

The CMS is integral to delivering rich digital experiences across all digital channels and enables organizations to manage multiple websites, support more than one language, and deliver a consistent customer experience. These experiences could be through social media platforms such as X (formerly well known as Twitter) or TikTok, or even through emails that prompt the customer to click on a link to find out more information.

There are seven stages of the content management lifecycle: (1) organization, (2) creation, (3) storage, (4) workflow, (5) editing/versioning, (6) publishing, and (7) removal/archiving (see Figure 8.4). In the organization stage, the company’s goals, processes, and requirements are examined to establish measurable indicators for meeting the company’s objectives. The creation stage allows the authoring of original content using editing tools, web forms, and other media tools. At this stage, a company might be concerned with design such as color choices and graphics. At the storage stage, decisions are made about how content will be formatted and stored to facilitate access, delivery, and security based on company use. In the workflow stage, rules are designed to streamline processes, ensuring consistency and adherence to company policies. Editing/versioning involves accountability and tracking of multiple versions of content, such as updates, edits, retrieval, and deletion of files. The publishing stage releases content to users so it is available to view on the front end (customers) and back end (employees). Finally, in the removal/archiving stage, content that is obsolete or infrequently accessed is either deleted or relocated to an archive. You will probably go back to the editing and removal stages frequently as new content is added or as the business grows.

Figure 8.4 The content management lifecycle could include several stages of editing and versioning as the organization sees how users interact with the published content.

A CMS helps an organization work through most stages of the content management lifecycle, starting with creation. Its tools allow a company to design their brand and publish/maintain the content on the internet. Now let’s look at how the content management lifecycle applies to Happy Tails.

After gathering answers to the questions you posed to Happy Tails leadership, you have a clearer picture of the image they want to convey and how they want to use their online presence. These answers give you the information you need for the organization stage. For example, you now understand that Happy Tails wants to use their online presence not only for marketing their available pets, but also for fundraising efforts and special events. You also know that they want to highlight not only pets available for adoption, but also success stories from previous placements of pets with families. Happy Tails has indicated they want their brand to be fresh and engaging, and to communicate the benefits of pet ownership.

Next, the creation stage will solidify the brand, logo, and color choices for Happy Tails WC. This stage will take a bit of time as you expect that organizational leadership will want to get feedback from others on the choices. The next two stages, storage and workflow, will involve more in-depth discussions with Happy Tails WC. They will need to decide who will maintain and update the content, who will be responsible for responding to messages from potential adopting families, and how the content will be kept secure and up to date.

Additional tasks related to keeping the content current will occur in the editing/versioning stage. Here, Happy Tails WC might consider developing a calendar of content and sites (social media posts) to use for scheduling updates and posts. There will be more about this later in the chapter. Finally, once the content is ready to be published and made available on the internet, there will need to be a plan in place to archive material as needed, including old posts, past events, and other related material, to ensure that content remains current.

Benefits of Using a Content Management System

There are several advantages to using a CMS in any organization. One advantage is the ability to update the public frequently on organizational news. For example, Happy Tails WC might want to be able to keep blog posts as new pets become available for adoption and to have the blog posts match the social media post for each pet. Figure 8.5 shows an example of a site that uses blogs. (You will often see Latin text on template websites. It’s to show that you can put whatever text you want there.) You will see that what may seem like a simple task actually involves many steps that need to be documented and managed. This is where a CMS comes in.

Figure 8.5 A content management system can help you keep your online presence current and engaging. (credit: “Animal Shelter” by Colorlib/Colorlib, CC BY 3.0)

Consider that for each update to the website that is needed, the marketing team needs to reach out to members of the adoption agency who manage the list of adoptable pets. You might start by sending an email to the agency director, Tracy, who updates the document you need and then sends it back for you to update the website with the new information. One day, you discover that Tracy is on leave for a week. This delays the process, as you need to find someone else in the organization who can assist you. You locate Domenic, but he is a volunteer who works another full-time job and may not be available to return your call for a few days. By the time your inquiry is first seen, several days may have passed and you’ve missed the best window of opportunity.

In this scenario, a CMS can help overcome the challenges posed by the back-and-forth transmittal of materials, communication lapses, and scheduling. A CMS can centralize content and information sharing so that documents, images, and other assets are accessible to all users at all times. Content can be edited, organized, stored, and shared through the CMS. This will enable users from across different departments and even different time zones to access the material they need to manage.

There are several benefits to using a CMS to operate your company website and to manage other digital content.

Types of Content

Various types of content can be managed through a CMS, including web, mobile, enterprise, and social media, as Figure 8.6 displays. Each plays a different role in creating the overall image of an organization and managing the content that is available online.

Figure 8.6 Content management systems can be used to manage web content, information on social media sites, and information intended for internal audiences.

Content on a website is managed with a web content management system (WCMS). These systems offer website authoring, collaboration, and administration tools. An advantage of using a WCMS is that employees do not have to understand web programming languages in order to use these systems. Instead, they can manage content within the website, using features that give them the ability to design, organize, and update information. Managers can also control content by viewing and approving material before publishing. As described earlier, employees can be trained to use the features of the platform rather than needing to spend time learning the mechanics of a new programming language.

A CMS can also be used to manage the content contained in social media sites. These sites were developed primarily for connecting with others to create a virtual network of friends and connections. These social media platforms have evolved since their inception and are now a source of marketing and connecting with customers for businesses. Social media content management is the process of creating, scheduling, publishing, and analyzing content for all your media platforms. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, X (Twitter), and TikTok have specific audiences and features that require customization when developing original content. Content is tailored to the target audience, and strategies are developed to distribute and manage social media profiles. These strategies include monitoring engagement, collaborating with influencers, building a community, and analyzing reports to ensure you are receiving an adequate ROI. You will learn more about social media engagement in Social Media in Business.

Sometimes it is necessary to make adjustments to websites and content so that it will display on mobile devices properly. Again, a CMS can help make a company’s online presence compatible across a wide variety of devices. A mobile content management system (MCMS) hosts a data store in a centralized location and allows content to be managed across multiple platforms. The MCMS may be a mobile app that needs to be managed for different devices (iPhone, iPad) and platforms (iOS, Android) from a single tool. Another type of MCMS consists of a responsive mobile website design that can manage content by displaying information effectively regardless of the size of the screen.

It is generally necessary to maintain digital content for internal company use. This content could include employee-specific information, such as payroll and benefits information; documents that are meant only for certain departments within the organization; or pertinent strategic goals that are not publicly available. This is known as enterprise content management, often referred to as document management. It facilitates the life cycle of content within an organization, using strategies and tools designed to increase productivity and provide the information employees need to complete their job duties. The enterprise content management system is company-wide, not just for one department. The system allows processes to be implemented by presenting a timeline for the organization’s content—including Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, and scanned images—to be created, approved, and distributed.

For your role in developing the digital content for Happy Tails WC, various types of content must be created and managed by different individuals in the organization, including both paid staff and volunteers. Using a CMS allows for easy development, upload, analysis, and management without the need to receive information via email from another department. At first, you will be doing the majority of the work on uploading content. But the plan is to train Happy Tails WC employees to take over that role as they become more familiar with working in a CMS environment.

Once Happy Tails WC has been trained to use the CMS, they can assign different levels of access and allow various types of content to be distributed. The next challenge is to assign specific types of content to different individuals to optimize the workflow. This could mean that the fundraising director has control over fundraising event information and the donations section of the website, whereas the adoption coordinator or Tracy, the director, maintains the current list of adoptable pets. Also, if an issue or problem needs to be addressed, more than one person can have access to view information and retrieve documents to help reach a resolution in case the primary responsible person is not available.

Primary Features of Content Management Systems

Here, we will identify the primary features of CMS and their uses. These features and uses correspond to different parts of the content management lifecycle discussed earlier in the chapter (see Figure 8.4). A major benefit of many content management systems is that they contain different features that allow their users to control every part of the content management lifecycle.

Content Creation and Editing

The first two stages of the content management lifecycle are centered on organizing and creating content. However, that content will likely need be edited regularly to keep the information fresh and current. Creating and editing content is a critical function of any CMS.

Many content management systems include the use of page templates, which are predesigned and preformatted documents that maximize productivity by offering defined layouts customized for common uses, such as social media, website banners, blogs, letters, and presentations. We have discussed templates in Word and PowerPoint in previous chapters. Templates determine the specific size, structure, or layout that will best meet the needs of the document. The designs and types of documents can be categorized into themes, and an employee can select a theme for a campaign that aligns with the mood or use or customer base. Using page templates also helps maintain quality control.

A content editor allows users to easily review the style and format of the content in a document, which provides optimal design and readability. This editor may also offer drag-and-drop editing, which is a user-friendly function that assists nonprogrammers in designing, editing, and arranging content. This is especially important for Happy Trails WC since you will be training employees to eventually edit, maintain, and update content for the organization themselves.

A feature that allows anyone in the company to add content to a thread of posts is called blogging capability. Users can upload images, tag keywords, and use an editor to style and format their posts. Additional features include password protection for posts, which is ideal for memberships or communities that want to offer exclusivity. This is where you hope to feature Happy Tails WC adoption success stories. The plan is to have a regular spotlight through the blog to share the story.

Another critical functionality of any CMS is its storage system. Managing assets, like digital images, must be maintained to use those assets in any product. A library of images, like the one in Figure 8.7, or documents can be managed in a CMS, giving you the option of adding an image within your content. Images are stored within a central image library, and the multiple file upload feature allows users to add different files to a site at once. The library feature helps with archiving as well.

Figure 8.7 Image libraries will often have the option of viewing photos as thumbnails. This makes it easy for the user to select the ones that they want.