How do you ensure content consistency when working with multiple writers, editors, and stakeholders?

A style guide is essential for anyone working in content creation, and is especially helpful for teams. I have found it's helpful if one person is in charge of creating/maintaining the style guide, even if others have a say in it. Everyone involved in the content should refer to the guide and follow it.

We use Notion to house our style guides. This means that we can quickly direct those new to the brand to our tone of voice, key messages, etc. The information in our style guide includes information on: - Grammar - Tone of voice - Key messages - Examples of our work - Typical article structure - Templates for case studies - Words we don't use - Different ways we like to reference people/products/our work

Content goals and guidelines are not a one-off approach. It is something that must be consistently honed, evaluated, and updated. Part of this requires and ensuring that team members are not static in their approach. They are "keeping up" with the times. Don't be afraid to reconsider your content goals. Team members that don't keep up with things like popular culture, acquisition, and even politics should be made aware so they are in "the now." This requires communication between different levels of the organization and a thorough approach to management. Brand identity has changed for many iconic companies over the years, including Campbell's Soup and Coca-Cola. This is how brands stay "on top of their game," and continue success.

Centralized Content Calendar: Utilize a shared content calendar to manage content creation workflows. This ensures everyone is aware of upcoming tasks, deadlines, and assigned content pieces. Content Templates: Develop pre-defined templates for different content types (e.g., blog posts, product descriptions) that outline the required structure, information hierarchy, and tone. Collaborative Editing Tools: Use online editing tools like Google Docs or shared document platforms to facilitate collaboration between writers and editors. These tools allow for real-time edits, comments, and feedback exchange.

A lot of businesses are turning to AI for their content and while this can speed things up, the review and edit stages have never been more vital. Fact-checking is an important part of the process, while also looking at things like grammar and tone of voice.

Ultimately, maintaining consistency in your content is a dynamic and ever-evolving goal that is contingent upon your context, audience, and goals. This entails taking what you've learned and applied it to your experience, criticism, and output. It also entails experimenting, testing, and developing your content to see what connects with readers and sets you apart from the competition. Utilising instruments such as A/B testing, polls, or user testing can assist you in assessing and refining the impact and efficacy of your content. To acquire and implement new content strategies and trends, you can also make use of case studies, best practices, or courses.