With the overwhelming importance of content to today’s online marketing landscape, many brands are struggling to keep pace with the volume necessary. Common challenges include:
As a response to these challenges, based on individualized need, or as a result of internal organization, some brands are fortunate enough to tap into and draw from a wide-range of authors and content producers. For those with limited resources who are having trouble keeping up with their content demands, having several or many authors to leverage may sound like a windfall, but managing those resources can be a challenge unto itself. If you’re trying to manage multiple authors for your brand, here are some tips:
Different writers means plenty of room for disparity, so foster consistency where possible:
With one author planning is essential, with multiple authors it is impossible to ignore. Your shared content calendar can be in any format your organization prefers (Google doc, spreadsheet, content manager platform, etc.), and can be used to:
Brands with multiple authors may have a range of anonymous content that is published throughout their website, social media, etc., that is not attributed to any single author – but just comes from the brand. This “ghostwritten” content needs to maintain a common voice, and adhere to the defined marketing message, while still being authoritative and knowledgeable. Leveraging your Branding Guidelines Book and centralized editor(s) will help, but we also recommend custom training for all your writers to teach them the fundamentals – and be sure they’ve all received the same instruction. Depending on your needs from those writers, your training should include:
You may also have thought leaders who are experts in their field(s), but may or may not be talented writers. For your brand, you may consider whether internal experts should:
In addition to content creation, thought leaders can help further your brand’s reach. You may consider providing them unique training on how they can leverage their own social media presence (such as LinkedIn or Twitter) to further disseminate their content and knowledge or you may, as a brand, assist in managing their Professional Profiles and/or ghost writing content for those channels to maximize their effectiveness.
Having multiple authors can be an asset, provided that a company is well-organized and strategic for how it leverages them. For more tips for your brand’s content marketing see Parts 1, 2, and 3 in our ongoing series on improving Web Content.