The practice of managing material from its planning, authoring, promotion, assessment, and maintenance is known as content lifecycle management.

Plants, animals, computers, and, yes, humans all have a life cycle. But what exactly is content lifecycle management and why do we require it?

Understanding the lifetime of your content is critical to your company's workflow and performance, now that almost 70% of organizations are utilizing content marketing.

According to Marketing Week, 60% of the content published by the world's largest businesses becomes "clutter," with no influence on consumers' lives or business outcomes. At the same time, the same study discovered a 71% association between content efficacy and brand impact in businesses who get content right. Another study confirms this conclusion, revealing that up to 70% of content assets go underused owing to a lack of a brand asset management plan.

All of this begs the issue of how more businesses might employ a Content Lifecycle Management (CLM) system to maximize the efficacy of their content.

What is content lifecycle management?

The process of planning, developing, optimizing, organizing, distributing, measuring, and protecting material in your company is known as content lifecycle management (CLM). It's a method for increasing efficiency and removing roadblocks to success.

Content lifecycle management solutions enable content strategists to supervise and manage large-scale content projects.

Who needs Content Lifecycle Management?

Large enterprises and corporate brands benefit the most from content lifecycle management (CLM).

Smaller businesses that produce a little volume of content frequently reap less benefits from content lifecycle management.

Larger organizations, on the other hand, that create massive amounts of corporate content - including social media, blogs, videos, infographics, white papers, and eBooks - that cross several platforms, have a pressing need for content lifecycle management.

Furthermore, with a CLM in place, marketing and creative teams will be able to better follow each piece of content over its full lifespan. Implementing a Creative Management tool enhances this process, providing a centralized platform for streamlined collaboration, version control, and comprehensive oversight of creative assets.

What are the stages in a content lifecycle?

The traditional Content Lifecycle Management process is divided into seven parts. Let's start with a short recap of each:

1. Conception: This is the stage at which a marketing collateral is developed for the first time. The steps of content development include brainstorming, content planning, and research. The planning stage serves as the foundation for subsequent content activities. Most of the content strategists' work is spent in this phase developing a sound management plan.
   ‍
2. Production: The material is created or sourced at this stage. This might include writing, design, photography, video creation, and so on.
   ‍
3. Distribution: Once the content project is finished, it must be delivered to your target audience. This might be accomplished through your website, social media platforms, blog postings, or email marketing.
   ‍
4. Engagement: After distributing the material, you must urge your audience to interact with it. This might include marketing the information, creating calls to action, and so on.
   ‍
5. Analysis: In this step, you evaluate the content's performance. This may entail reviewing data such as website statistics, social media stats, and engagement rates.
   ‍
6. Optimization: Using the results of the analysis, you may improve the performance of the material. This might include modifying the headline, the call-to-action, and so on.
   ‍
7. Archiving: When a piece of material is no longer useful, it must be archived. This prevents outdated material from clogging up your website or other channels.

How do you implement the content management process?

So, how can you improve your content lifecycle management strategy to guarantee that your digital assets continue to add value to your company? To get you started, here are eight steps:

Step 1: Define your content’s lifecycle.

The first step toward good content lifecycle management is defining your content lifecycle stages. This will assist you in determining which processes and technologies are required to efficiently manage your material.

Step 2: Recognize your assets.

Make a list of all your digital assets. Everything from photographs and videos to website material and blog entries is included. A great digital asset management solution is the most efficient method to do this.

Step 3: Invest in the right equipment.

It is time to invest in the correct technologies when you have established your content lifecycle and identified your assets. There are several Material Lifecycle Management (CLM) solutions on the market that can assist you in more successfully managing your content.

Step 4: categorize your content.

After you've identified your assets that make up your content, it's time to categorize them. This will assist you in determining which assets are critical to your business and which may be archived or eliminated.

Step 5: Sort through your assets

The following step is to arrange your assets. This involves developing a system for storing and retrieving data, as well as developing a procedure for asset management. Here are a few advantages of using a DAM system to organize your content assets:

• Improved searchability: With the aid of a powerful tagging and search feature, content assets can be readily located and retrieved.
• Version control: A DAM system allows you to monitor different versions of an asset and revert to prior versions if necessary.
• Access control: Role based access enables you to specify who has access to which assets and define permissions.

A good DAM system works as a Workflow management software and can help you manage your digital assets by using tags, categories, and other information.

Step 6: Build a content calendar

An optimized content schedule can assist your content team in better organizing and publishing your items. This tool may also be used to monitor the performance of your content and make modifications as needed. You can use solutions like ContentCal or Trello to achieve this. 

Step 7: Plan your distribution strategy

Your distribution strategy should be designed to meet your marketing objectives while also reaching your target audience. There are several routes available for publishing various stages of material; however, keep in mind that not all channels will be acceptable for every piece of content. To strengthen your digital content distribution arsenal, try maximizing the following channels:

• Social media marketing: Use social media to increase organic brand exposure and share your content with a larger audience.
  ‍
• Email marketing: One of the best methods to segment your audience, promote new material, or draw people back to previous articles is through email.
  ‍
• Paid Advertising: Using paid advertisements to boost web content will help you reach a bigger guaranteed audience and generate measurable outcomes. Take cautious not to abuse them!
  ‍
• Website and web apps: A positive consumer experience starts with a good first impression on your website. It is essential to have accurate material, simple access, and the capacity to communicate with vendor channels.

Step 8: Keep an eye on and evaluate your content

Once your material has been released, it is critical to track its success and make modifications as needed. This will assist you in ensuring that your content is satisfying the demands of your audience while also accomplishing your business objectives. Consider it as a collaborative aid – incorporating online proofing tools streamlines the modification process, allowing for efficient feedback and ensuring that your content consistently meets the expectations of your audience.

Wrapping Up

Content lifecycle management is an essential component of effective content creation. You can guarantee that your content is well-managed and successful by following these eight steps. Content lifecycle management may save you time and money while producing high-quality content that matches your audience's demands.

A high-quality software solution is required for managing digital assets throughout their existence. According to recent field research, while 97 percent of organizations stated that content marketing is part of their marketing plan, just 19 percent claimed to have an advanced content marketing strategy. The key distinction is using the appropriate tools to advance your digital marketing plan.

If you'd like to know how Artwork Flow can help you manage your content lifecycle seamlessly, sign up for a free trial today or book a quick demo with our experts for a personalized walkthrough of the platform.