How Smart Marketers Implement a Content Management System

There was a time where marketing consisted of developing a television commercial, radio commercial, and print advertisement. With those three tools, you had covered almost all of the important forms of media that your potential customers would interact with. You were free to kick your feet up, light a cigar, and pour a glass of whiskey at 1 PM just like Don Draper would do in Mad Men.

Of course, things are a lot different in the marketing world these days. For starters, you probably can’t smoke cigars and drink in your office just because it’s a day that ends in “y.”

The mediums by which you reach your current and potential customers have also changed as much as workplace etiquette. Now there is blogging, email marketing, social media, video sharing sites, and countless different types of devices that people consume content on.

If you’re reading this, then you are likely already aware of the many challenges that go along with content marketing. You need to deliver exceptional results while juggling the continually changing landscape of marketing and technology in order to be where your audience is.

This article will outline how smart marketers implement a content management system (CMS) to help manage the exciting, fast-paced world of content marketing. Most importantly, you will learn how a CMS can lead to better results for your efforts.

Why Do Marketers Need to Care About CMS Implementation?

As much as marketing and the mediums used for marketing have changed in the last few years, the coming years will bring about even more exciting change. Without proper CMS implementation, marketers may fall behind as they try to stay on top of the latest trends, manage existing channels, and deliver content to new channels.

Essentially, a content management system is an investment for today as well as the future.

CMS implementation also helps set the standard for your marketing team moving forward. With clear content management rules and guidelines, there will be less room for error and confusion.

These examples only scrape the surface of the importance of a content management system. By the end of this article, you will have a clear understanding of what a CMS can do for you and your team.

What are You Trying to Achieve as a Marketer?

Before jumping into the “how” of implementing a content management system, you must first understand the “why” regarding this type of system. What are you looking to achieve and why is this important?

Once you uncover these pain points that you can improve with a CMS implementation, then you can begin working on creating a system that will work for your unique needs.

Create a Cohesive Omnichannel Experience

As mentioned above, the methods and mediums that marketers are using to reach their audience are constantly changing and developing. For example, by 2022, it is estimated that there will be 55 million VR headsets in America.

How does this changing media landscape relate to an omnichannel marketing experience?

Instead of trying to shoehorn marketing campaigns into different marketing channels, brands need to optimize their content for each channel.

Also, as new channels develop or become available, brands need to be prepared to adapt and change with the trends. All of this, in a nutshell, is what an omnichannel experience is referring to. CMS implementation should address the omnichannel experience as one of the most critical aspects of implementing a system.

Improve Workflow and Collaboration Among Your Team

For any given marketing campaign, there could be many different people working to bring everything together. Copywriters, designers, editors, programmers, and management could all be involved in some or all aspects of each campaign.

Without a robust content management system in place, workflow and collaboration can be significantly hindered by the barriers between teams or team members.

A good CMS brings together all team members so that they can collaborate seamlessly, see the status of projects as they move through the development process, and ensure that everything is delivered in the way it was intended.

Bring Consistency to Your Brand

Every great brand offers consistency. From marketing to service, to product – people trust brands they feel can deliver a consistent experience.

Without an effective CMS, consistency is often one of the main aspects of your marketing that suffers. Even minor differences in messaging or design can shatter the appearance of any consistency. These differences leave your marketing feeling disjointed across various channels.

However, with a content management system that brings all teams together, consistency can quickly become a strong point for your marketing. When everyone is on the same page, you can feel confident that the same message will reach audiences regardless of the channel being used.

Improving Customer Engagement

Making a connection with the customer is the most basic goal of marketing. A campaign should drive customer engagement whether that be increasing social media followers, growth in sales, or some other metric.

Of course, inconsistent marketing with poor team collaboration and not optimizing content for the channel it is being presented on will not be effective marketing.

Many of the reasons for implementing a CMS boil down to improving customer engagement. With better content management will come better marketing and, ultimately, improved customer engagement.

Integrate and Adapt On-The-Fly

By now, you’re well aware of the many different marketing channels, how they are changing, and how that change could affect your marketing strategy in the future. Knowing this information and being able to adapt your marketing accordingly are two separate things.

As a marketer that is creating a CMS, you want to be sure you can integrate new tools quickly and easily without disrupting your entire team. With the right CMS, change is nothing to fear.

Selecting the Best CMS Solution

The importance of an effective, agile content management system is clear to many marketers. Choosing the right CMS solution, however, is not always so clear.

With many different options and types of CMS solutions available, making the right decision can feel a little bit daunting. Luckily, breaking down the differences can help lead you to the right choice for your business.

There are some fundamental, essential, features that you should look for when beginning your search for the perfect content management system. Having these features packed into one solution makes launching your CMS a much smoother experience and allows you to adapt and change as needed.

Step 1: Focus on Where You Need to Focus – Marketing!

First, you want to find a content management system that is relatively hands-off with regards to development and management. It may seem like an easy way to save money but, ultimately, developing and managing your own CMS software will turn into a time vortex from which you may never escape.

Okay, so that was a little dramatic, but you get the idea. Go with a proven solution that allows you to do what you do best: marketing. Leave the technical stuff up to someone else.

Step 2: Examine the Features

Next, you want to find a solution that allows for greater scaling, efficient integrations, and exceptional support. All of these are essential features to help you grow and develop without roadblocks.

A few questions to ask could include: “How can I integrate third-party services we already utilize?” Or, “How do I add new team members, new marketing channels, and other important features as we grow?”

Your content management system shouldn’t hold you back. Being able to integrate the features you want, grow your CMS alongside the needs of your team, and manage multiple channels from one convenient location should be some of the essential features you look for.

Step 3: Look for Efficient Support

Finally, you need a content management system that you can feel comfortable working with. This includes timely and friendly support as well as an intuitive and efficient UI.

With all of these features in mind during your search, you will be able to choose the best CMS solution for your needs.

The Three Types of Content Management Systems

While some content management systems may share similar features, not all systems are built the same way. Choosing the right type of CMS can make all the difference, especially as you grow, add new channels, and look to integrate new third-party services.

There are three types of content management systems you will see as you begin your search to find the right CMS solution for your team. These systems types include: Coupled CMS, Decoupled CMS, and Headless CMS.

• Coupled CMS, also known as a Traditional CMS, connects the content database with the content creation and content publishing areas. At first glance, this may seem like the clean and simple way to do things.

However, the downside to choosing a Coupled CMS solution is that pages and content must conform to the CMS infrastructure for formatting content. This makes growing, integrating new channels, and optimizing content very difficult. Ultimately, the final product may not look as intended during the content delivery stage.

• Decoupled CMS breaks apart the content creation and content publishing. This solves some of the issues with Coupled CMS but it doesn’t go far enough. Even though the publishing is separated from the content and programming, the front-end formatting still dictates how content is to be designed and presented.
• Headless CMS, like Contentstack, uses APIs to connect with different publishing mediums. This means that you can use an API to deliver formatted content for any channel, so that content will fit the medium it is being presented in.

Not only does a Headless CMS take out a lot of the development legwork for marketing teams, but it also provides greater flexibility. As technology changes and the mediums you use to market to your audiences change, Headless CMS is best-suited to iterate and adapt rapidly.

Developing a CMS Implementation Plan

You now know a lot about content management systems, so it’s time to roll up your sleeves and start making a plan. How do the best marketers implement a content management system?

The first step is to highlight the features that are most important to you and your team. What kind of third-party services do you want to integrate when you implement your CMS? What are the pain points you are looking to relieve by implementing CMS?

Next, you need to create a timeline for the implementation and get buy-in from stakeholders. This gives internal and external stakeholders an opportunity to adapt to the changes and also ensures that you will not be negatively disrupting your operations by implementing a CMS strategy.

Examples of Smart Approaches to CMS

Many successful businesses have trusted Contentstack with their CMS strategy including the Miami Heat and PhotoBox. Both organizations saw massive improvements in their marketing strategy as a result.

Miami Heat’s Mobile App

The Miami Heat are a perfect example of the benefits of effective CMS implementation. The results are staggering with 50% reduced development cost and a 220% increase for in-app traffic and active users. Those are numbers that are sure to get every marketer drooling.

Matthew Jafarian, VP of Digital Strategy and Innovation with the Miami Heat says, “What we’re powering with Contentstack today represents one of the most important initiatives for the Miami Heat.”

The Miami Heat mobile app has become a VIP hub of sorts for fans. From using the app as their digital ticket to checking in for fresh offers, to launching season ticket campaigns – fans have a direct connection to the team through their mobile devices, and the results reflect that connection.

PhotoBox

PhotoBox has enjoyed similar success after choosing Contentstack for CMS. They have reduced development hours substantially, decreased load times on their pages, and introduced new features.

One of the biggest things that attracted PhotoBox to Contentstack for their CMS solution was the ability to change and develop rapidly. PhotoBox largely focuses on web and mobile, but they are excited about the prospect of easily integrating new marketing channels as they continue to grow.

Better Performance, Lower Costs, Increased Flexibility

You have seen real-life examples of how world-class marketers are using Contentstack to help implement a content management system that will take their business to the next level.

Are you ready to see how Contentstack can give your marketing team the flexibility and control you have always dreamed of?

Contact Contentstack today to learn more about creating and implementing a unique CMS solution for your marketing team.