Curated Inspiration: Future-Proof Content

There’s content everywhere. So much of it that curating and crafting the content – to be understandable, well-structured, nicely displayed and is reaching the right people at the right time and place – has become a science in itself. If you’re a content creator, it can all sound quite intimidating, especially when there are already so many channels to consider, and who knows how many new ones to come in the future. So in order to make sure your business and content are prepared for whatever challenges tomorrow’s channels throw at you, here are some articles to help.

Designing Future-friendly Content

Source: https://gathercontent.com/resources/designing-future-friendly-content

If you want to dive deeper into content design and have a bit of time on your hands, then this webinar is definitely worth watching. The experts behind it explain step by step how to future-proof your content and helpfully illustrate the whole process with examples.

The key to future-friendly content is to look beyond the interface. That means designing the content even before thinking about the UI. And because bots and algorithms cannot utilize content unless it is structured, it’s crucial to build connections between your content items. Not only will this make your content cross-channel ready, it also eliminates the need to manually adjust all of your content in case of a redesign.

Future-proof design begins with knowing how important concepts relate to each other, as well as the rules that govern them within the subject domain. Having a clear understanding of the domain and how its world fits together will be a big help when you move on to create, first a domain, and later a content model.

It is therefore important to regularly zoom out and take a bird’s eye view of the complete domain. Because when we browse the web, who actually reads all content that is available on a certain subject? Instead, we are constantly cherry picking information. So remember: your users’ interest in the subject does not begin and end with your content.

What is a Headless CMS: Here’s What You Need To Get Ahead

There’s been a lot of fuss over headless CMS. But what is it all about and is it something you should consider implementing? Unfortunately, too many people have offered too many different definitions, and often with a deluge of technical details. This article will help sort everything out for you in simple terms, making the basics easy to grasp even for those who don’t have a technical background.

In short, headless CMS means splitting content from it’s presentation or front-end layer. This makes it possible to reuse the content in different formats. This is an important towards making your content future-proof and suitable for new technologies, channels and screen sizes. Furthermore, as customers increasingly expect that content will come to them, rather than having to search for it, with a headless CMS, you’ll be able to add new content and make it available in different applications instantly.

Beyond Fitness: Adidas Steps Into The Future with New App

“9,999 … 10,000!” Now that the 10K-steps fad is walking towards the end of its trend cycle, fitness apps need to be more than just a step counter to keep their users engaged. The best (and proven) way to keep users engaged is to combine functionality and science with elements of fun. That’s where content comes in.

Content about exercise, recipes and inspirations for a healthy lifestyle tends to be fragmented, and users are often forced to download multiple apps to access the different content. Adidas addressed this problem with their new All Day app. It gathers all the content that will help establish and sustain a healthy routine within one app, and combines it with new monthly ‘discoveries’ in the form of challenges that are created by influencers. This was a strategic move as influencers play a big role in the fitness industry, and partnering up with them can help bring in more users and increase trust.

So now you have a better idea of how to future-proof your content. In a nutshell, start with a roadmap in mind; think beyond interfaces, your own content and platforms; step back to see the big picture; and understand what your audience is looking for. If you can do all that, you can be sure that your content will always be engaging enough for a constantly changing audience.

That's it for now, but we’ll be back soon with a new dose of digital inspiration!