Content governance is the set of policies, roles, and processes that define how your organization creates, manages, and delivers content. It helps you ensure consistency, quality, and compliance across your content ecosystem. But how do you choose the right content governance model for your organization? Here are some factors to consider.
The first step is to align your content governance model with your content goals. What are you trying to achieve with your content? Who are your target audiences? How do you measure your content performance? Your content goals should guide your decisions on what content standards, guidelines, and best practices you need to follow, and how you communicate them to your content team and stakeholders.
The next step is to define your content team and their roles and responsibilities. How many people are involved in your content creation, review, approval, and publishing process? What are their skills, expertise, and authority levels? How do they collaborate and coordinate with each other? Your content team should reflect your content governance model, whether it is centralized, decentralized, or hybrid. A centralized model means that a single authority or department controls all aspects of content governance. A decentralized model means that different teams or units have autonomy and flexibility over their own content. A hybrid model means that there is a balance between centralization and decentralization, depending on the type and scope of content.
There are many configurations possible but an important thing to remember is: your content governance model should be tailored to the resources you have. Assess first the number of people and the budget you will allocate to content. Define precisely people's roles in content creation, review, and publishing. Collaboratively consult involved parties to formalise this. There, you have a global content workflow ready to start working. This should enable people to know how they contribute to the content process and who else manages other parts. If you start with a small team, consider fusing some roles (e.g.: review + publishing). You can always decide to split roles into more specific tasks once your content team starts expanding.
The third step is to establish your content workflow and its stages. How do you plan, create, edit, review, approve, publish, and maintain your content? What tools and platforms do you use to support your content workflow? How do you document and track your content activities and changes? Your content workflow should match your content governance model, whether it is formal, informal, or adaptive. A formal workflow means that you have a clear and consistent process for each stage of your content lifecycle, with defined roles, responsibilities, and deadlines. An informal workflow means that you have a flexible and fluid process that adapts to your content needs and challenges, with minimal rules and restrictions. An adaptive workflow means that you have a combination of formal and informal elements, depending on the complexity and urgency of your content.
The fourth step is to identify your content challenges and how to overcome them. What are the common pain points and issues that you face with your content governance? How do you resolve them? How do you prevent them from happening again? Your content challenges should inform your content governance model, whether it is proactive, reactive, or iterative. A proactive model means that you anticipate and avoid potential problems with your content governance, by setting clear expectations, providing training and support, and conducting regular audits and evaluations. A reactive model means that you respond and fix actual problems with your content governance, by communicating effectively, escalating issues, and implementing solutions. An iterative model means that you learn and improve from your content governance problems, by collecting feedback, analyzing data, and making adjustments.
The final step is to cultivate your content culture and how to sustain it. How do you foster a shared vision and values for your content governance? How do you engage and motivate your content team and stakeholders? How do you celebrate and reward your content achievements and successes? Your content culture should reinforce your content governance model, whether it is top-down, bottom-up, or peer-to-peer. A top-down culture means that you have a strong leadership and direction for your content governance, by setting the tone, defining the strategy, and providing the resources. A bottom-up culture means that you have a high involvement and empowerment for your content governance, by encouraging participation, innovation, and ownership. A peer-to-peer culture means that you have a collaborative and supportive environment for your content governance, by building trust, respect, and recognition.
Choosing the right content governance model for your organization is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It depends on your specific content goals, team, workflow, challenges, and culture. By considering these factors, you can find the best fit for your content governance needs and aspirations.
Choosing a content governance model often leans towards establishing strict guidelines, yet consider this: Too much governance can stifle creativity. A better approach is to balance structure with flexibility. Encourage a dynamic model that adapts to emerging trends and fosters creative expression. Instead of being a set of rigid rules, let governance be a guiding principle, providing a framework for innovation. Trust your team to exercise creativity within defined boundaries. It's not about controlling content; it's about cultivating an environment where strategic freedom harmonizes with brand integrity for a truly impactful content strategy.