Do you have a plan for your content, or are you just going with the flow?
If you're unsure, it’s time to learn about content governance. Managing content without a proper system can lead to messy, inconsistent, or outdated information across your platforms. Content governance fixes that by providing a clear framework to control your content from creation to publication and beyond. Let's dive into what this means and why it matters.
What Is Content Governance?
In simple terms, content governance is the system or set of rules that guide how your content is created, managed, and published. It ensures your content is consistent, aligns with your brand's voice, and serves your business goals. Think of it as the “how” of content marketing, while your content strategy is the “what.”
With content governance in place, you're not just creating content blindly. You’re following a plan that helps your content stay organized, relevant, and useful to your audience.
Why Does It Matter?
Without content governance, things can quickly become chaotic. Imagine different departments using inconsistent messaging, or content being published without proper review. This can hurt your brand's credibility. Content governance ensures that every piece of content—whether it’s a blog post, video, or social media update—follows a clear process, looks professional, and reflects your brand values.
Key Aspects of Content Governance
Roles and Responsibilities
One of the most important parts of content governance is knowing who is responsible for what. It clarifies the roles within your content creation team. You’ll know exactly who’s in charge of writing, editing, approving, and publishing content.
This could include content strategists who develop the big ideas, writers who create content, editors who fine-tune it, and analysts who check its performance. Everyone knows their job, which leads to smoother workflows.
Content Workflows
Content governance also establishes a step-by-step process for creating, reviewing, and publishing content. It sets out clear workflows so everyone knows what to do next. No more last-minute rushing to get a blog post approved! These workflows ensure that your content moves through stages consistently, so it matches your brand’s tone, style, and messaging every time.
Editorial Guidelines
To keep your brand voice consistent, you need editorial guidelines. These are the rules that dictate how your content should sound and look. For example, do you want to use formal or casual language? Should you write in American or British English? What about grammar and punctuation? Editorial guidelines answer these questions and keep your content on-brand.
Compliance and Legal Considerations
It’s not just about tone and style. Your content also needs to follow the law. Whether it’s copyright, industry regulations, or other legal requirements, content governance ensures that your content is safe from legal trouble.
For example, if you’re publishing medical content, it needs to follow strict rules about accuracy and sourcing. Content governance makes sure you’re covered.
The Difference Between Content Strategy and Content Governance
Some people confuse content strategy with content governance, but they’re different. Content strategy is about planning your content. It focuses on the “what”—what topics to cover, what audience to target, and what goals to achieve.
On the other hand, content governance is about the “how.” It’s the process behind content creation—how you’ll manage it, review it, and ensure it aligns with your brand’s message.
You need both content strategy and content governance to have an efficient content marketing system. Strategy gives you direction, and governance makes sure you get there in an organized way.
How Content Governance Improves Content Experience
The main reason to care about content governance is that it improves the overall content experience for your audience. When your content is well-organized, accurate, and consistent, your audience knows they can trust your brand. They’ll come back because they know you’re providing quality information.
Content governance isn’t just for big companies. No matter your organization’s size, having a system in place for managing content will help keep everything on track. It ensures your content is always high-quality, aligned with your brand, and compliant with any regulations.
So, do you have a content governance plan? If not, it might be time to start building one. A little planning now will save you headaches down the road, and your audience will thank you for it with their loyalty.
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