Digital content is the lifeblood of today's online world. But for many businesses, managing the ever-expanding volume of digital assets has created a situation you could call "content chaos."

Recently, 81% of executives surveyed said that they struggle with keeping content branding consistent around the globe while trying to scale content strategies for different regions.

Are you feeling swamped by the sheer amount of content spread across multiple channels? Struggling to maintain brand consistency while personalizing experiences in this digital whirlwind? Finding it challenging to measure the true impact of your content efforts amidst the noise? 

That’s content chaos. And you’re not alone. A joint Contentful / VML survey of 1,000 C-Suite executives across the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands found that this is a common challenge. There is a silver lining though: there are excellent opportunities to bring order to a company’s content strategies.

Taming content chaos

The exponential growth in digital channels and customer touchpoints has created tremendous demands on businesses to create new information and marketing materials rapidly enough to reach consumers.

Eighty percent or more of survey respondents found these to be the top five challenges when managing content at scale:

1. Lack of centralized oversight leading to inconsistent branding.

2. Scaling content strategies across varying markets.

3. Training teams to deliver consistent customer experiences.

4. Managing content production and consistency across markets.

5. Cultural differences impacting marketing effectiveness. 

Similar challenges arise in omnichannel content management, including integrating different communication channels and managing real-time updates across platforms.

The path to strategic content management

The days when companies only had to worry about publishing something once on a central website are long gone.

For international brands, it’s not just all the various channels to manage. There’s also regionalizing everything across local markets, presenting content accurately in different languages, and following local regulations. 

To address these challenges, organizations need to shift their approach to content management in several ways.

Global brand consistency requires strategic governance

Maintain a unified global brand identity across diverse markets (a struggle for 81% of brands) by requiring a robust content governance strategy, which allows for controlled variation within defined guidelines, ensuring both global consistency and local relevance. Establish effective governance: Balance brand consistency with the need for local market adaptation with clear guidelines and processes.

Content as a core business asset

Businesses should treat their content as a valuable asset, intrinsically linked to business goals and customer experience. Aligning content strategy with these objectives ensures content contributes to measurable business outcomes and delivers impactful customer experiences.

A cohesive content supply chain

Design and implement a cohesive content supply chain that maps out workflows, ownership, and stages from planning to measurement — this is crucial for streamlining content operations and maximizing efficiency. Fragmented content operations with siloed teams and processes only hinder agility and impact.

Embrace MACH architecture for agile content delivery

Legacy systems often lack the flexibility and scalability needed for modern content demands. Migrating to composable content stacks built on MACH principles (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) enables agility, seamless integration, and adaptability to emerging technologies.

Technology as an enabler

With content management, strategy precedes technology. While tech is essential for managing millions of assets and rapid production cycles at enterprise scale, it's not a silver bullet — you still need to know what your strategic goals are, and what you’re trying to accomplish. But once the strategy is defined, these technologies can help address content challenges:

• Content Management System (CMS): Modern CMS platforms are expected to do more than ever before, from enabling collaboration to orchestrating omnichannel strategies. However, only 35% of leaders find their current tech stack effective at facilitating flexibility and scaling.

• MACH Architecture: Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native and Headless (MACH) architectures offer increased agility and scalability. While 90% of respondents are familiar with MACH, there's still room for improved understanding of its benefits.

• Digital Asset Management (DAM): 88% of leaders see improved productivity for marketing and content teams as the top benefit of DAM solutions.

• Customer Data Management: Integrating customer data with content strategy is crucial, but challenges persist. Seventy-nine percent of respondents struggle with data silos and inconsistent data quality.

Moving forward 

Today, the content management landscape has gone through a seismic shift. What was once a predictable, marketing-centric function has evolved into a complex, multifaceted challenge that touches every aspect of your business.

The “chaos” many brands are experiencing isn't a sign of failure, but rather growing pains as they adapt to this new content-rich reality.

As content continues to play an increasingly central role in digital experiences, organizations will have to evolve their approach to content management. This means:

1. Shifting mindsets to view content as a strategic business asset.

2. Implementing flexible, scalable content supply chains.

3. Leveraging composable technology stacks to balance control and agility.

4. Using AI judiciously to augment human capabilities.

Remember, effective content management isn't about finding a one-size-fits-all solution. It's about creating a flexible, scalable process that enables collaboration, ensures consistency and allows for measurement and optimization. With the right approach, you can navigate the complexities of modern content management, delivering engaging experiences across channels while maintaining brand integrity.

By embracing these strategies and technologies, organizations can tame content “chaos” and unlock the true value of their content for both customers and the business itself. The future of content management is composable, agile, and strategic. Are you ready?

Learn more about the results of this study. Download the report: Controlling Content Chaos.

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