We’ve blogged previously with tips about how to get your management team to buy into the idea and fund a content management system (CMS). One of those tips was that one presentation does not fit all. Know your audience and plan an appropriate presentation.

It’s been a great year of tips for selecting, implementing, and using a component content management system(CCMS). After all, CCMS technology is truly transformative for any business, helping organizations ring in the New Year with cost savings, additional operational efficiencies, and increased customer satisfaction.

When deciding on which CMS is best for your organization, you’ll likely find quite a selection of choices. One common question we are asked is how an open source CMS compares to a commercial CMS. Here, we offer a comparison of these two options:

While structured authoring for content management can lead to more consistent ways to process content in your organization, the actual implementation of a structured authoring approach can pose a significant challenge. As with any new process, workers need to become familiar with how to incorporate structured authoring for content management into their specific job functions. They also need to learn how to use it in the most effective manner.

Component content management is all about reusing content modules to save on content creation time, avoid inconsistencies in content, and trim translation costs. When you’re given a new writing assignment, you must be able to find the right content to reuse. If no matches are available, then you know you need to create something new. Here are three effective ways to find existing modules in a CCMS:

In a new content management environment, some writers refuse to give up ownership of “their books“. They work alone in the safety of their self-built silos. They desperately try to protect their work from others, keeping their arms wrapped firmly around their computers so their files won’t be shared with anyone. After all, their work might get “messed up“ if anyone else touches it! (We all know at least one of these writers, right? Or maybe we are one of these writers!?)

We’ve given tips in previous articles about what to consider when choosing a CMS. Now, let’s take a look at the flip side and consider what NOT to do when choosing a CMS. It’s good to know what to avoid, too, rather than learning the hard way (and the expensive way!). These tips were derived from experiences we’ve seen with organizations in the past that made a few big mistakes in their quest to buy a CMS. Take a lesson from them and do not follow in their footsteps:

You may have a long-term goal to implement a component content management system (CCMS) and structured authoring, but you may only have the staff and budget to dip your toe in and wade slowly through the shallow end rather than to plunge into the deep end all at once. Is it possible to break the implementation down into manageable steps?

How do you know if a CMS is right for your organization? Many people struggle to find the answer to this question. Often, these are the questions we hear: Is my content base too small to make it worthwhile? Is the cost of a CMS too expensive for my organization? Is my staff too small to benefit from a CMS? What is the breakeven point for adopting a CMS?

You may be looking in all the wrong places for justification for a CMS. The size of your team, the size of your content base, and the cost of the system may only play a small role in the decision to implement a CMS. The more important factor is: how much will you save in time and costs if you implement a CMS? Here are some criteria to consider:

A new year is upon us once again, and everyone is making their New Year’s resolutions. Topping the list is usually to get fit by eating better and exercising more. From a business perspective, the start of the new year is also the perfect time to think about ways to improve the fitness of your corporate assets. This year, resolve to get your organization’s content assets in shape, too.