Content is quickly becoming the currency of all business marketing and advertising efforts. Without content, standing out in today’s business landscape can be difficult. Accordingly, businesses must find a way to pump out as much content as possible. While doing that, you also don’t want to lose track of all your available content assets.
That’s where you might need a content management system (CMS). You might not have CMS library resources in your content creation workflow. If so, there’s a high chance that you’re losing a lot of time, energy, and resources on clunky systems and content creation backlogs.
In this article, we discuss how CMS libraries streamline your content creation process. We’ll also examine how you could benefit from these tools. So, let’s dive in.
Get long-term ROI.
We help you grow through expertise, strategy, and the best content on the web.
What is a CMS library?
What is a CMS library, and what does it do? This tool helps facilitate digital content creation, management, and presentation. These use cases matter, especially in web development and content management.
Typically, companies use this to store and manage website assets. However, the use case of CMS in content management has expanded over the years.
CMS allows users to easily create, edit, organize, and publish content on the web even when they don’t have extensive technical knowledge. This makes it a helpful solution for teams with large content teams to collaborate digitally. So you can focus on creating content for various purposes.
A CMS library can include various pre-built functions, templates, and tools developers can use to build or extend a CMS. These libraries often provide many core features that help a lot. Some include user authentication, content storage, version control, search functionality, and a user-friendly interface for content editors.
Where a CMS library might come in handy
Several company departments can benefit from having a CMS library. Hence, you should use them to manage and streamline content creation processes. Here are some of those benefits:
Marketing teams
Marketing teams can use a CMS library to store marketing assets. Some of those data and assets include graphics and video files. You can even store documents like marketing plans, project briefs, budgets, etc. Even with content marketing for B2B, having a CMS library can bring several benefits. Some of them include organization, collaboration, and faster approval processes.
Creative teams
Before creative assets get into the hands of marketing teams, someone has to make them first. That’s where creative teams come in. These can include writers, video editors, and graphic designers. CMS libraries can provide these creatives with a central place to store all their files so they don’t get lost.
Media and communications teams
Think about how media and communications teams work for PR agencies, marketing agencies, and news and media outlets. Most will need a content repository for any press releases they put out to the public. A CMS library can serve that purpose.
Education teams
A CMS library is a must if you’re part of a company with educational materials for internal training or even external sales. These allow you to store educational materials like training videos, worksheets, e-books, and more.
Legal teams
Legal teams also need one place to store documents and files like contracts, agreements, and legal handbooks. This way, they don’t spend hundreds of hours every month pulling out the necessary documents.
Sales teams
Have you ever had a customer complain because a salesperson gave them an outdated contract or showed them the wrong video? Sales teams can use CMS libraries as a central file database for updated sales assets. Some of those files include presentation videos, slides, and sales contracts and agreements. This central hub ensures all your sales agents have the latest materials when presenting to leads and closing deals.
These are only a fraction of the professionals and team members who could benefit from having a CMS library in your organization. Later in this article, we’ll look at more specific uses of CMS libraries and expand on ways your team could use them.
Examples of CMS libraries
You have several to choose from if you’re looking for the best CMS libraries. Common examples of content management system options or frameworks include:
- WordPress — If you’ve heard about CMS libraries, this is probably one of the first names that gets mentioned first. WordPress is a popular CMS platform that provides a comprehensive library of themes, plugins, and APIs, making it a top choice for website development companies. You can use this for building and customizing websites and blogs.
- Drupal — Drupal is another widely-used CMS. It offers a robust library of modules and themes used to create flexible and scalable websites and web applications. They can also be reliable places to store files for external and internal distribution.
- Joomla — Joomla is an open-source CMS with a library of extensions and templates. These can enhance your website’s functionality and appearance.
- Contentful — This headless CMS provides a content delivery API. That allows developers to use their preferred front-end libraries and frameworks. Moreover, they can access content management capabilities.
- Strapi — Strapi is another popular open-source headless CMS. It offers a flexible content management system with a plugin system that extends its functionality.
What can a CMS library do for content creators?
There are many other ways that content creators can use CMS libraries to make life easier. Here are some of the things a CMS library can do for content creators:
User-friendly content editing
CMS libraries typically have intuitive and user-friendly interfaces built into them. These allow content creators to create and edit content even when they don’t have a lot of technical expertise. Interfaces for user-friendly content editing resemble word processors. With these tools, your content team can easily format text and add images, videos, and other media. You can preview content before publishing it on a website or any other platform.
Content organization
Content creators can also use a CMS library to organize their content efficiently. One study showed that professionals spent an average of 3.6 hours daily looking for files and content. A CMS helps because you can categorize content into sections, tags, or categories. In effect, it becomes easier for users to navigate and find relevant information.
Collaboration
Many CMS libraries support multiple user roles and permissions. Content creators can collaborate with these tiered access points. At the same time, they can also maintain confidentiality and security. Editors, writers, and administrators can collaborate within the CMS. They can create, review, and publish content on these platforms. You can also gate access so that only relevant teams see content you don’t want openly accessible to anyone and everyone.
Version control
CMS libraries often include version control features. These let content creators track changes made to content over time.
This organization helps prevent accidental data loss and provides a history of revisions. If you lose a version you and your team would have preferred, you can simply roll back to that version if needed.
Media management
Content creators can easily upload, organize, and manage files in a CMS library. You can store files like images, videos, and documents so that it doesn’t clog up the offline storage space on your teams’ computers. You can also store them for external releases, like embedding media in articles or pages for your users, leads, and customers to view.
Content scheduling
CMS libraries sometimes offer content scheduling features. This way, creators can publish content at specific dates and times. This feature will be particularly useful for planning and automating content releases. That way, publishing teams don’t miss publishing schedules. Your content will have a better rhythm when you spread it out for release instead of simultaneously publishing it.
SEO optimization
Nowadays, 68% of online experiences will begin with a search engine. Content creators need to expand their search engine optimization tactics and efforts. CMS libraries provide tools and plugins to optimize content for search engines. They let you add metadata, meta titles, descriptions, and other SEO elements. As a result, you improve the discoverability of their content.
Analytics integration
Data analytics in content marketing is crucial to success. Content creators can track the performance of their content. You can integrate built-in or third-party analytics tools into the CMS. This integration helps understand user engagement and make data-driven content improvement decisions.
Security
CMS libraries often include security features. These tools help protect content and user data from unauthorized access and cyber threats. These steps are crucial for maintaining the integrity of the website and that of its content.
CMS library best practices for streamlined content creation
Simply having CMS libraries won’t solve your content creation and management woes. You need to follow standard practices to reap the full rewards and benefits. Here’s a look at ways you can maximize your CMS.
Plan out your content
A successful content creation process begins with meticulous planning. Establish a content strategy that aligns with your organization’s goals and target audience. Create an editorial calendar that outlines your content’s topics, formats, and publication schedules. This strategic approach ensures that content creation efforts are well-coordinated and timely. They also help you stay focused on meeting specific objectives.
Pick a system with a user-friendly interface
Build out a CMS tools list and choose the best option based on the user experience. Choosing a CMS library interface is essential for efficient content creation.
You also need to make sure it’s intuitive and user-friendly. These types of CMS minimize the learning curve for authors and editors. Removing technical barriers allows users to adapt to the platform and produce content more quickly. They save significant time and resources in training and onboarding.
Use content templates
Content templates are pre-designed structures for different types of content. These include articles, blog posts, product descriptions, and so on. These templates within the CMS library help content creators follow a consistent format.
As a result, all your content will adhere to the organization’s branding and style guidelines. This approach simplifies content creation and reduces the need for extensive formatting.
Have a content approval workflow
Implementing a well-defined content approval workflow is essential. That’s because it helps with maintaining content quality and consistency. This workflow should involve multiple stages.
Some of those phases will include content creation, review, editing, and final approval. Content creators should know the specific steps and responsibilities at each stage.
Failing an airtight content approval workflow could result in content that won’t meet your quality standards. However, having a good content approval workflow will produce better-quality output. They’ll be free from errors, confusing messages, and possibly harmful messages.
Keep editorial guidelines
Having clear and comprehensive editorial guidelines to maintain consistency. Some points you want to remain fluid are tone, style, and branding across all content. They also help you dispel information and maintain journalistic integrity. This matters most for media companies.
Document these guidelines and provide them to content creators as a reference. These guidelines ensure content aligns with the organization’s messaging and brand identity.
Contact or ask for help from someone with a public relations degree or journalism background. They can help you develop editorial guidelines.
Optimize for mobile responsiveness
Around 80% of the world’s population now use smartphones. There’s a high chance that content creators will work with those who prefer to use a mobile device when accessing some content. These can include internal teams, clients, and audiences.
Content should adapt to various screen sizes and devices to provide a seamless user experience. Prioritizing mobile responsiveness ensures people can access and engage with your content. They can also do so regardless of their device.
Provide training and support
Give comprehensive training and ongoing support to maximize your CMS library’s effectiveness. Provide these to content creators and team members who need to access the system.
This training should include a rundown of all the CMS tools examples, features, and content creation best practices. You should also include any updates or improvements to the platform.
Other tools to streamline content creation
What other tools might a content creator need to streamline the content creation process? Here are some other tools you might need in your arsenal:
Content planning and organization tools
These tools help content creators manage and plan their content creation efforts. They provide features such as task management, editorial calendars, and collaboration options.
Using content planning and organization tools keeps content projects well-organized. They also help clarify responsibilities. That way, your content teams can carry out tasks effectively and regularly meet deadlines.
Grammar and writing assistance tools
Grammar and writing assistance tools like Grammarly can help content creators immensely. They improve the quality of their written content.
They typically check for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style errors. Use these tools to ensure that content is error-free and more reader-friendly.
Keyword research and SEO tools
SEO tools assist content creators in optimizing their content for search engines. They offer features like keyword research, competitor analysis, and content optimization recommendations.
These help content creators discover keywords, monitor competitors, and rank well. Some great tools to use include Semrush and Ahrefs.
Social media management tools
Social media management tools simplify content scheduling and distribution across various platforms. They often provide features for monitoring, tracking metrics, and analyzing social media campaigns.
These features help content creators maintain a consistent presence. Moreover, they let them engage with their audience effectively.
Email marketing tools
Email marketing tools streamline email creation and email campaign management. Some examples you want to check out include ActiveCampaign and Mailchimp.
These tools offer email templates, automation, audience segmentation, and reporting features. They enable content creators to nurture their email subscribers and deliver targeted content. Additionally, you can use them to track the success of your email marketing efforts.
(Image Source: ActiveCampaign)
Empowering content creation
Empowering content creators will prove to be highly beneficial for businesses and brands. Improving content quality and frequency will boost your marketing and streamline your operations.
So why wouldn’t having a CMS library to help your content creators be a good investment? You might be reading this and don’t have a CMS in your system yet, or you’re using one that doesn’t meet your needs. If so, it’s high time to find one that will bring your content creation to the next level.
