Before You Storm the Castle ...

mlns='> Let's connect at Content Marketing World! [View Message in Browser]( / [Add Us to Safe Sender List]( Weekly News 7.16.21 Connect With CMI [How to Use Google Analytics to Find Your Unicorns (and Avoid Content Donkeys)]( Stop wasting time on content that doesn’t bring engagement or conversions. Instead, study and optimize your traffic champions, potential champions, falling stars, and conversion winners. Try these tips from Andy Crestodina to find them. [Read more]( By Ann Gynn More of this week's best stuff: - [9 Tips to Drive More Web Traffic From Social Media]( Madison Tierney - [4 SEO Factors to Consider Before Removing Outdated Website Content]( by Mike Murray - [10 Best Practices to Write the Perfect Email Subject Line]( by Evaldas Mockus - [2 Lessons in Bold Content – and 1 in Following the Leaders]( Content Marketing Institute Team Want to Be Featured on the CMI Blog? Fill out [this short form]( to share your opinion about any exciting, unique, puzzling, or eyebrow-raising content example, idea, or trend you’ve seen this week (including pieces you’ve created). We’ll credit you as the source (and include your commentary) if we include your submission in an upcoming Friday article.  A Note From Robert Rose Before You Storm The Castle … "We can’t manage budget or resources for content because we’re never sure what other teams will need.” I hear this frequently. You’d think this problem would exist only where a centralized content team serves as an internal “content factory” for multiple areas of the organization. A content team that produces assets based on ad hoc requests from multiple groups can never get a handle on when demand for their services will spike, and they struggle to manage resources as a result. But this problem also affects decentralized teams where multiple teams maintain their own budget and strategy for content creation and management. One of the biggest challenges in this arrangement arises from the lack of reliable coordination among the teams. Both scenarios remind me of the classic computer science challenge called [The Two Generals’ Problem](. The Two Generals’ Problem is a thought experiment that shows the challenge of coordinating when communication is unreliable. Here’s the scenario that illustrates the problem: Two armies, commanded by two generals, want to conquer a heavily fortified castle that stands in a valley that separates the armies. The only way to take the castle is for both groups to attack at the same time. The two generals have agreed to attack simultaneously, but neither knows exactly when the other will make their move. They could send messengers through the castle’s valley to communicate with each other – but there’s only a tiny chance the messenger would make it to the other side. Neither general can get confirmation that the other one received their message, so they are both stuck. Neither one will attack without confirmation that the other side will join at the right time. It’s an impossible problem. I’ve seen a version of this scenario play out with content teams. In one organization I worked with, the demand generation team created and published a buyer’s guide. After it went live, the field marketing team wanted a customized version to use. Then, the business leaders for Asia Europe markets wanted a version tailored for their regions, too. So, the global marketing team had to spend time and money to get a buyer’s guide customized for each team and created in multiple languages, even though they didn’t have a buyer’s guide in their budget or plan. Months later, the PR and communications team got word that multiple buyer’s guides existed, and they chose to feature the field marketing team’s version on their news blog. So visitors coming in through a press release got the buyer’s guide without registering, but those who came in through the Demand Gen programs had to register to get it. The teams didn’t confirm each other’s position before they made a move – so they failed to take the castle. Imagine every silo doing the same thing, and you can see how this lack of coordination becomes a huge challenge. The head of global marketing told me they could never manage their budget or plan because they couldn’t predict other teams’ “big rock” content projects. “No one realizes the ripples that upend other teams when we don’t coordinate on the rocks we’re creating.” Fortunately, none of our teams face highly fortified castles ready to intercept our messages or kill our messengers. It’s possible to coordinate content creation plans. So, should your teams be fully centralized? Fully decentralized? A hybrid? Perhaps. If that makes it sound like there is no perfect answer, well, there’s not. Engineers have concluded the only way to solve The Two Generals’ problem is to increase the reliability of communication and hope for the best. While you can improve communication around your content strategy, no model or plan is infallible. They are all perfect, and they are all flawed. The best one for you will all depend on what enables the most reliable communication. It’s your story. Tell it well. (And [tell us your thoughts](mailto:cmi_info@informa.com?subject=Feedback) about Robert’s note.) Robert Rose Chief Strategy Advisor Content Marketing Institute You're getting this exclusive article from Robert Rose as a perk of your newsletter subscription. Do you have colleagues or friends who would benefit from Robert's weekly updates? If so, please invite them to [subscribe]( here.  A Word From One of Our Content VIPs Get Competitor Insights in Seconds Get to know your organic, online competitors on a whole new level. Start your site analysis for free now. [Try For Free »]( A Word From One of Our Content VIPs [Infographic] Know Your Online Event Tech Do you know the difference between a virtual event, a webinar, and an online meeting? This infographic will guide you through the decision-making process of choosing the best technology. [Download Now »](   Content Marketing Job Listings Currently on a job search? Thinking about switching gears with your career? Please check out our job listings below. Available positions: - Director, Content Marketing, LeanIX, Inc., Remote (Boston) - [Learn More]( - Sr. SEO & Content Manager, Merchant Maverick, Remote (U.S.) - [Learn More]( Interested in posting a job here? Please see our [CMI Careers page]( for more info.   More From CMI Content Marketing World this year is all about CONNECTIONS! We are bringing together the brightest minds in the business to give you practical guidance for today and to prepare you for the future. Join us in person or virtually and fill your brain with new ideas and inspiration. COMMUNITY100 saves $100. [Register Now »](   Do you know what words work like magic in an email subject line? The ones that attract the most attention and increase your open rates? Watch this clip from Nancy Harhut's CMWorld 2020 session, Human Behavior Hacks that Make Your Email Crazy Effective for some great tips! [Watch Now »](  [SEO Resources]( Events [Content Marketing World]( [ContentTECH Summit]( [Content Marketing Awards]( Resources [Research]( [White Paper/eBook Library]( [Content VIPs]( [CMI Business Directory]( Education [Content Marketing University]( [Chief Content Officer]( [Webinars]( [Job Listings]( Interested in advertising with CMI? [Learn more.]( To stop receiving future Content Marketing Institute update emails, please respond [here](. Copyright © 2021 Informa Connect, All rights reserved Content Marketing Institute, an Informa Connect brand 605 3rd Ave | New York | NY 10158 [Terms of Service]( | [Privacy Statement]( [informa tech]