Tools, the content strategy killers

Quick! What’s the first thing you think about when you want to change your content strategy (the way you produce and distribute content)? If your answer is “tools,” you’re in good company.

First considering the technical aspects of a project is a common and understandable reaction. However, focusing too much on the tools can be the very thing that kills your content strategy.

Jack killing the giant (from The Chronicle of the Valiant Feats of Jack the Giant Killer, 1845)

Soft—or non-technical skills—are essential to evaluate when you’re hiring new staff. By extension, the non-technical aspects of new processes require your attention, too.

You can implement a rigorous tool selection process and spend a lot of time vetting tools, but those investments are useless if you don’t communicate the value of process change. Getting buy-in from all affected parties means you need to offer tailored messages to the different groups. For example:

• Executives: increased revenue because of shorter times to market.
• Middle management: cost reduction through more efficient workflows.
• Content creators: eliminating tiresome manual chores and learning new skills for career longevity.

Your well-selected tool will make it easier to justify process changes to all parties, but it is not going to introduce itself to the different stakeholders, explain its value to them, or train users.

That’s why your content strategy team’s soft skills—particularly in communication—are as important as the tool itself.