Get your core content model
Take the first steps by identifying the core of your content model to set the foundation and the heart of your business’s narrative. From there, branch out the core into a network of connections, like a seed grown into a tree. Your content model extends from this core that shapes your content production, representing your business’s goals, values, and offerings.
Unite to model related content together
In the coffee industry, each coffee has a preferred brewing method. In the insurance industry, articles should increase insurance sales. Similarly, content that relates together should be modeled that way too. It’s essential that the content model is approved by all stakeholders. That’s why we recommend involving at least one stakeholder from each department in all steps of this article. Now, let’s get to it!List your core content types
First, put together those content types that are the center of your content production. Go through all your content repositories – your websites, apps, and all types of storage for files like PDFs or Microsoft Word documents. Group them based on their purpose. Feel free to use any suitable tool – a whiteboard, software for diagrams (for example, diagrams.net
), a spreadsheet, or even mind mapping software. You can also use just a piece of paper, but you’ll often redraw parts of the diagrams which creates more work.
This tutorial will use examples from our fictional insurance company project, named Safelife, which you can refer to for guidance. If you have testimonials directly on your website or as PDFs on a shared drive under a company, draw a rectangle representing a content type labeled Testimonial.
Like so, go through all your content and draw a rectangle with a relevant label for each content that you find useful or with purpose.
Include both information that will be displayed on a website or through a different channel (for example, Blog post) and information that serves an internal purpose (for example, Global brand identity).
Example diagram for the fictional insurance company and its related content.
Add structure to the content types
Once you note your core content types, extend each content type so that it also contains the content type’s structure. Look for elements that somehow define the content type and what the content type consists of. Add those elements to the content type’s rectangle. Going back to the testimonial example from the previous step, such a content type may have elements like a Tagline, Quote, Author, and Author’s headshot. Or, similar to blog posts, they often consist of a Title, Lead paragraph, Content, and an Author. But there can also be other elements in the structure, such as related blog posts or CTAs. In this part, try to focus on the actual content. You don’t need to include metadata, which will be described in the next chapters. Do not include elements used for formatting purposes, such as color, font, or layout type. If you’re already familiar with the different elements used in Kontent.ai, also consider the element’s type. You can also check out other terminologies to aid you in perfecting your core content model.Core content types extended with elements needed to be included as content
Change visual content types into semantic content types
Consider whether the content accurately reflects its essence, rather than focusing solely on its presentation.For example, a content type called Page focuses on the fact that the content in it is going to be represented as web pages. However, if you introduce a mobile app, that will no longer be true and your content model will become obsolete. Instead, use a content type called Article to ensure that you think about the content from the point of view of its meaning.On the other hand, some parts of the content model will always relate to their appearance. A content type called Landing page will usually end up being landing pages, no matter what medium you’ll be using. In that case, calling them a “page” is not a problem.
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