It's straightforward to say that when launching your digital workplace, it's vital to have a content strategy. Your content strategy will describe how your Igloo connects people to processes and information to address your specific business challenges. Whether it's a central store for your HR policies, announce workplace updates, or a space for teams to share their expertise, most of the activity in your digital workplace centers on one thing: content. 

Effective content needs three things: a purpose, an audience, and an owner. Without purpose, articles are content for content's sake. Each item should have a goal, whether that's to inform, instruct, or inspire. Understanding and being specific about the audience can help drive engagement. If everything is sent out to everyone, then the work of finding out which content is relevant to them falls to your members. Instead, used Channels and Widgets to ensure that they're only seeing the things that matter to them. Finally, your content needs an owner. That may not be the author, but they are the person who will answer questions in the comments, provide additional resources, and correct any errors found after publishing. 

Purpose

The different Channel types in Igloo offer a lot of tools for quickly and easily creating a purpose-driven user experience for your members. Storing processes in Wiki Channels and Q&A in Forum Channels will also let you leverage the according widgets to the best of their ability. You can add a description to a Channel using the edit option in the Action Button, which is also indexed in search, and makes your Channel easier to find. Being intentional about the Channels means content will be in the right place, go out to the right widgets, and ultimately reach the right people. 

Ownership

Another essential element is ownership. Content owners typically have elevated Access in their respective Channels, often accompanied by Moderator or Space Administrator roles. Having an owner means someone is responsible for content creation moderation, scheduling, editing, and archiving. In digital workplaces older than a year, it's easy to tell when a Channel has strong ownership. Content is consistent and directed, and organized for easy navigation and searchability. Channels without ownership tend to have orphaned folders, stub articles, and months (sometimes years) between posts. 

Expectations

When establishing ownership, be sure to set expectations. When should new updates be posted? What format should they follow, and are there any templates that need to be created for it? It's not strictly necessary to have a content schedule for every Channel, but it's worth thinking about each Channel's role in ensuring a consistent flow of communication in your digital workplace. Ultimately the goal is to take communication out of long email threads accessible to a few people and move it to tight, searchable articles that can be reached by everyone who needs them. 

Content strategy is a key part of any organization's digital transformation, and making early decisions about your Channels' purpose, ownership, and audiences will pay off in the future. 

If you have questions about the Igloo platform, workflows, or best practices, you can leave a comment here, or ask a question in the Community area.