Stay ahead of your content updates
Make sure your web content stays relevant, accurate and current by planning your updates ahead of time!Think of these content strategy best practices as standard operating producers for continuous improvement of your web presence.
Collect Feedback
Create a mechanism where colleagues can send you page updates, feedback and ideas. Similarly, work with colleagues and student audience to record feedback about your pages: what’s working and what’s not working. How well is the page performing in internal and external search results? Then, work with your department to prioritize those concerns. You may decide to introduce new multimedia content (ie videos, social media stream) or restructure the page to focus on a particular initiative or activity.Review Analytics
Are users visiting your landing pages? How long are they staying on the page? Request an analytics report to understand the page views, average time on page, entrances, exit percentage, and traffic sources for pages managed by your department. Then, compare the analytics report with CCBC’s overall website key performance indicators to set new performance goals for your pages.Audit content
At least once a year, assess the freshness, validity, accessibility and accuracy of your department’s content. If the content is for students, audit the content in the summer before the start of the new academic year. If the content is for a fundraiser, audit the content before the launch of the next fundraising campaign. During the audit, (1) proofread the content, (2) test your links and calls to action, and (3) validate the contact information. Is the information still relevant?Develop a Content Calendar
Having a well laid out plan, such as a content calendar, is essential to ensure that your content updates are posted on time. We know planning your content ahead of time sounds like a big commitment at first, but you can rest assured it will save you time and frustration in the end and you’ll enjoy the peace of mind knowing that all your content updates will be published on time.Think of content strategy as a cooking recipe for your favorite dish. You could try to go from memory, but why risk it.
What is a content calendar?
Why is this important?
What content should be included in your calendar?
How to create a content calendar
Remember, web publishing is not instantaneous. When creating your plan, make sure it accounts for the processing time needed for publishing.
For example, if you have program data that needs to be updated once a year, in your content calendar, allow enough time to account for the 2-3 days approval time.
Use the below chart to help you plan when to submit your updates to the Web Team.
For example, if you have program data that needs to be updated once a year, in your content calendar, allow enough time to account for the 2-3 days approval time.
Use the below chart to help you plan when to submit your updates to the Web Team.
Estimated Completion Time
Services | Trained Web Content Contributors & Owners | All Other Departments |
---|---|---|
Update existing page | 2-3 business days | 1-2 weeks |
Add new event | up to 5 business days | up to 5 business days |