Last month, we discussed the new content management system (CMS) offerings that have gained traction against traditional systems. These platforms are growing in popularity for plenty of reasons, including the need to keep up with changes in the way we look for and consume information. Those trends are as influential for the B2B market as they are for B2C businesses, and they demand new methods for creating, delivering, and managing marketing content.
If the trends we’re about to discuss apply to your business (or your clients’ business), then changing—or deciding not to change—the way you manage online content could significantly affect your marketing program’s success.
Content First
As mobile access has grown in popularity, so has the likelihood that customers are viewing your website on a mobile phone or tablet rather than a traditional desktop or even a laptop. If your content is tied to a traditional layout, those customers have a good chance of having a bad experience: chopped-off graphics, hard-to-read text blocks, and difficult navigation.
Traditional CMSs are great at helping you visualize the layout of a standard, PC-screen-based website experience. But as that experience becomes obsolete, so do the benefits of a WYSIWYG CMS. In its place, flexibility becomes key.
Anywhere, Everywhere
Users now consume content not just across a variety of devices but across a range of channels and formats. Social media, email, podcasts, video, storefronts, your website…the list is extensive and ever-expanding. Your brand—and customer retention—depend on a cohesive and successful omnichannel experience. Therefore, the way you think of and manage content must evolve.
Headless CMSs were designed for an omnichannel world. Creating content chunks—heading, lead paragraph, text, and image/caption, for example—that can be served up in any form factor, on any device, enables a smooth experience and better brand recognition.
Forecast: Cloudy
Another factor in the rise of headless CMS platforms is the increasing affordability and reliability of cloud storage. Rather than being locked in siloed servers, cloud-stored content can be utilized quickly and easily, with fewer updates and outstanding scalability. Cloud-hosted storage also helps you with unexpected bursts of traffic, so you can scale quickly to match demand.
Upping the Game with Content Personalization
Buyers are conducting more research on their own, and they’re more inundated than ever with information and options. Content personalization plays a large part in capturing their attention. Whichever CMS you use, the ability to dynamically deliver content that connects to a specific segment’s need, purpose, or buying stage can give your product an edge across the entire buying cycle.
APIs Aplenty
Today’s application programming interfaces (APIs), especially RESTful APIs, are the workhorses of the new CMS options, enabling sharing and delivery of information between systems. In digital experience management (DXM/DXP) and headless platforms, APIs replace the traditional front end to deliver content to a variety of devices and providers. They’re also a vital part of implementing some of the cooler capabilities, like personalization.
The Rise of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI), making waves everywhere, is a factor in CMS changes, too. AI can be a useful tool to help determine the appropriate content to display, for example. CMSWiRE notes that although AI has so far been primarily delegated to content-management automation, it is poised to move into a larger role.
Coming Soon…
As if these factors weren’t enough, other immediate and emerging trends are likely to further drive companies toward DXM/DXP and headless CMS platforms:
Voice search. As voice-driven smart devices like Alexa continue to gain prominence, preferred content delivery methods will continue to evolve.
Content as a service. Content delivered freely in a multitude of formats and form factors provides the flexibility that today’s digital experiences enable and require.
GDPR (primarily for traditional and DXM/DXP systems). Regardless of the platform type, CMS solutions should support your ability to comply with GDPR and other regulations.
Discover What’s Possible
Deciding whether to update your CMS—and if so, which option and vendor to use—can be daunting, we know. In B2B, company needs range across platforms, from traditional to DXM/DXP to headless CMS.
Regardless of where you’re starting, it’s helpful to work with a partner that can offer a full range of CMS options to provide the flexibility you want—and ensure you are getting the best CMS experience for any need. If those needs change, your partner should be able to assist in migration from traditional to DXM to headless, or even work in a hybrid model, which is popular with companies that are in the midst of transitioning toward the headless platform.