What is a content hub?
A content hub is a central location where organizations can centralize all types of content. It also helps you to give structure to a jumbled mass of content. A process for both internal and external content – such as texts supplied by external partners – is set up. The route for your content is mapped out from start to finish, and you and your team go through the process until you have content that’s ready for automatic distribution through your own channels.
Advantages of a content hub
Using a content hub has several advantages, such as easy and controlled sharing of valuable content. Because you work to a fixed structure and the distribution of the content is automatic, quality is improved. It also gives you an efficiency advantage, because you have the opportunity to focus on the important question which is ‘how do we create good content?’ .
A further advantage is that you gain a good overview of the content. This prevents you from writing the same content multiple times, which can be disastrous for your SEO strategy. With the help of a content hub, the process is faster and easier, because you work together in one central location, making content easier to find. The tool is also great for organizations with different sites abroad. They are able to present themselves in the same way as the head office, promoting consistency.
Implementing a content hub
Before we start implementing a content hub, we examine three things. Firstly, the content. A certain structure is always present. Think of a blog post: you need a title, subheaders, a body text, streamers and so on. We will work with your organization to define the content model. In the next step, we look at how we can optimize the production and distribution process. Together we find the best way to help your organization create and distribute content as quickly and effectively as possible. Finally, we look at how we can truly create a content hub.
Content hub playbook: Discover, define, create, optimize
Implementing Sitecore Content Hub is all about our playbook: our predefined approach. Macaw goes through a number of phases with your organization.
We start in the engagement phase by asking questions such as: what is a content hub, what problems are you encountering, and how can we start working together? This is followed by the discover phase, with questions such as: what is the business case and how can we find a solution based on our roadmap? In the define phase we come up with a concept together, with the aim of implementing a content hub and then continuously optimizing it.
Our content hub playbook is therefore a toolkit that makes it easy to get started. It’s a set model that we follow at Macaw in order to have a standardized approach.
One of our business cases is that of the product catalogue. Manufacturers in the technical industry want to ensure that product descriptions, manuals, specifications and safety instructions are all up to date. It is important that no old versions are used – not only for the company’s own employees and technicians, but also for external partners such as suppliers, contractors, distributors and retailers. A content hub offers a solution to this.
Product texts, manuals, product photos, assembly instructions, maintenance instructions and safety instructions: all are necessary to define technically complex products and their specific details. Some specifications change on a daily basis, making it invaluable to have a single system that keeps track of all changes. The content hub contains all the latest versions of documents and specifications; changes or modifications can only be made by those who have permission to do so. This ensures that all the details of every technically complex product are available. As it’s possible to consult the content hub from any location, this is a handy tool for technicians who are often on the road, helping them to keep up to date with the latest specifications and work instructions. But it is also very useful for external partners, who can easily find all product details and adjust their products accordingly.
Macaw helps you with an effective content hub strategy
Macaw can help you come up with a suitable concept based on a predefined roadmap. Through workshops and information sessions, we get to know your organization better and can present a suitable solution. Any questions? We are happy to help you out.
