Content collaboration can be a powerful force in business, leading to more relevant and meaningful content. Many companies see it as a must-have for a brand to survive and thrive. However, it’s not so easy to execute, especially if your enterprise is operating in silos. Further, many may complain that collaboration leads to too many cooks in the kitchen. There are always two sides to every opportunity; thus, we’re going to explore if content collaboration is a necessary evil or the key to better content.
Content Collaboration Is Necessary but Probably Not Evil
If your team is struggling with how to collaborate both internally and externally with other departments, you may be squarely on the side of it being evil. So, why do many brands suffer from content collaboration challenges?
There are many reasons that you may not be reaping the benefits of collaborating. It could be because of a breakdown in communication, or frustrations may be building because subject matter experts (SME) won’t take the time to work with your content team. Often, the challenge is a lack of tools or technology to streamline the process.
Indeed, collaboration isn’t easy to achieve. That’s true whether you are a small or large business. Small businesses fight with the issue of having employees who wear many hats and don’t always have the bandwidth to be “helpful.” Larger enterprises typically suffer from dysfunctional silos and an inability to understand the value of why they should collaborate.
It’s a lot to dissect no matter your position, but the benefits of content collaboration far outweigh the discomfort of getting everyone to work together harmoniously. There are specific keys to effective content collaboration, and once you establish those, the outcome can be better content.
Keys to Effective Content Collaboration
What are the main issues that prevail with content collaboration? It comes down to consistency and the ability to communicate instantly. Collaboration suffers when there are gaps related to updates and communication. Any organization has difficulties around these processes, especially if you aren’t using an intuitive content marketing platform.
Depending on email notifications or inefficient meetings to bring all the minds together is a complete waste of time. Yet your organization probably depends on these activities to execute content collaboration. They are ineffective and lead many to be disengaged.
To build a culture of collaboration, you need the right tools that streamline instant and constant collaboration. Content collaboration is complex, considering all the possible roles involved—writers, editors, designers, SMEs, business partners, approvers, etc. However, when you have a central hub for collaboration with these features, you’ll have the keys to effective collaboration:
- Central idea repository: Every content project starts with an idea, and when collaborating with multiple people/teams, anybody can have an idea. It’s not relegated to only your content team. Having a place for ideas enables multiple roles to discuss and nurture the idea, tapping into the creativity and expertise of your team.
- Content calendars: Eliminate questions about due dates and responsibilities with a shareable content calendar. Every team member will be able to see schedules and deadlines. It removes the need for long meetings and constant email updates.
- Real-time notifications: As you know, content marketing must be agile. Internal and external forces can impact a project. By implementing a system with real-time notifications, everyone is informed of these changes. It automates notifications, removing the need for inefficient manual efforts.
- Content asset search: Having a searchable archive of your content provides all team members insights into what topics have been covered and where opportunities lie to create new projects. Even if the topic has been covered, that doesn’t mean you should move on to something new. Instead, you may find it’s advantageous to repurpose it.
- Project management tools: When you’re working from one platform, it’s much easier to manage projects. You don’t need a host of disparate tools to streamline processes. Instead, all communication and work happen in one place.
Content Collaboration Will Improve the Quality and Relevance of Your Content
Now that we’ve reviewed the keys to executing effective content collaboration across your company, let’s explore why it all matters. What’s the link between content collaboration and better content?
You’ll find new and unique perspectives.
When you engage a larger pool of teammates, you’re likely to find a new angle for content. For example, when a writer can collaborate with a product manager, they’ll be able to understand why the product is designed as it is and why that matters to the end-user. This is insight that a writer may not be able to access without talking to the people that design the tools.
You’ll realize better content planning.
Content collaboration can improve content planning immensely. When you have different perspectives and intel from those that are customer-facing, they can provide more on target topics. When you’re more relevant to your audience, your content has the ability to make a more significant impact.
You’ll be able to expand into different markets.
Most businesses need to diversify their customer base at some point to ignite growth. Taking on a new vertical can be very cumbersome as you’ll be learning new customer needs, challenges, objections, and motivations. That’s when you need to collaborate the most, gaining valuable information from other groups and what they know about your new market.
Your entire employee base can become more engaged.
An engaged workforce is something that delivers many benefits, including stronger content. When individuals see that their opinions and ideas are wanted and valued, they are likely to come up with more of them and share them. More ideas can then equate to better content.
The road to effective content collaboration can be complicated. After all, it requires everyone to work together, and some will be more apt to do this than others. With the right tools and a commitment to making it part of your culture, you can achieve effective content collaboration. Learn more about how DivvyHQ supports and facilitates better collaboration by trying it for free.