Intelligent content management (ICM) refers to creating personalized experiences for users by using technology. Intelligent content management will be the cornerstone of marketing strategies in the upcoming years. It became popular during the peak of the web 2.0 revolution, and it will be a necessity for companies when web 3.0 finishes implementation.
In the report called Intelligent Content Management, Forrester Consulting compiled answers they got from the high executives from over 200 top European companies regarding their priorities in the next 12 months:
- Aligning the customer experience offered by the brand with its promise (40%).
- Pursuing customer centricity (39%)
- Making better use of data and analytics (39%)
- Increasing customization capacity (36%)
There is one way to achieve all these objectives – content. But, creating content that will be engaging enough is burdened with problems related to content management.
The same research we mentioned above, carried out by Forrester in collaboration with THRON, has identified the main nuisance points of content management processes.
The Content Challenges
The biggest challenge companies face when it comes to intelligent content management is they don’t possess the necessary technology. Over 40% of them said they didn’t implement appropriate software for data analysis.
The second problem, connected with the first one, is when technological tools are implemented but aren’t used properly or don’t coordinate between phases of the content life cycle.
Data scattered across multiple platforms won’t give us the analytical framework necessary to customize the customer experience.
Intelligent Content Management
The research showed that around 20% of companies adopted an intelligent content management strategy, and that gave them a 10% a performance advantage over companies that have still not implemented it.
ICM solutions typically include features such as content creation, storage, retrieval, and distribution. They can also help automate tasks like content tagging, metadata management, and content categorization. With ICM, organizations can reduce manual labor, increase productivity, and deliver better customer experiences.
Companies that adopted intelligent content management were labeled as “early adopters”. They have been able to scale their content production and automate customization thanks to:
1) Centralized Distribution
Centralized distribution in intelligent content management refers to the process of storing and distributing content from a central location. With centralized distribution, content creators can upload and publish content from a single location, and authorized users can access and distribute the content across various channels, such as social media, email, websites, and mobile apps. This ensures that all content is up-to-date, relevant, and consistent across all channels.
2) Content Intelligence
ICM systems use machine learning algorithms and other AI techniques to automate content workflows, extract insights from data, and improve the overall content management process.
By using the power of AI and machine learning, ICM systems can help organizations gain valuable insights from their content and make more informed decisions about how to use it effectively.
Some examples of ICM technologies include Natural Language Processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms, which can automatically analyze and categorize content based on its characteristics. Other ICM tools might include chatbots or virtual assistants that can help users find and access relevant content more quickly.
NLP is around for some time, and search engines use them to recognize the content that gives the most useful info to users. On the other hand, chatbots are just beginning to impact business. They are still in a test phase, but this is the right time to include them in your ICM strategy.
Forrester’s research showed that “early adopters” meet users’ expectations 19% higher than the other companies, and their ability to automate content personalization is 42% (against 35% for companies that didn’t implement ICM).
Conclusion
Intelligent content management is important because it helps organizations efficiently manage large volumes of content while also ensuring that the right content is delivered to the right people at the right time.
By implementing ICM, your company will achieve several benefits. Among them are improved productivity (because you will automate most of the time-consuming tasks), you will give your customers a better user experience, and you will reduce the risk of having outdated content.
Intelligent content management allows teams to collaborate more effectively, sharing and reusing content across departments and projects. This can help improve efficiency and reduce duplication of effort.
Those are all things that speak in favor of intelligent content management, so if you are running a business, you should at least try it.