What Is Intelligent Content? (3 Key Features)

Summary: Intelligent content is a strategy for creating modular, flexible content that operates on a data-driven structure. The result is content that is easily reusable, automated, and distributed, leading to efficient workflows as well as a streamlined customer experience on the front end.

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Today, content drives nearly every customer journey. Whether you’re shopping for groceries or a new car, there are sure to be mountains of company-generated articles, videos, and other touchpoints competing for your business.

It’s enough to make you stop and think: how are these organizations managing these huge amounts of assets and successfully leveraging them into conversions? The answer in a lot of cases is intelligent content.

In this article, we’ll explore what intelligent content is, the benefits it can offer, and how you can get started with it. Let’s go!

Section titled What is intelligent content? What is intelligent content?

For a lot of companies, their content is still in the “artisanal” stage. Each piece is made specifically for a single-use case by an individual, taking considerable time and effort. Except in rare cases, it’s usually not designed to be reused, meaning all that investment only goes towards one project. You end up with:

• A huge, unnecessary drain on resources
• Inevitable inconsistencies between content
• Immense effort required for large-scale changes

The good news is that with intelligent content management, creators can sidestep these problems entirely. Intelligent content is a strategy that relies on creating modular bits of content that can then be modified and reused in different contexts. It’s also filled with rich metadata, so it can be easily automated and organized as well.

Section titled 3 trademarks of intelligent content 3 trademarks of intelligent content

To be considered intelligent, content must meet the following criteria:

Section titled 1. Data-driven structure 1. Data-driven structure

Metadata is an essential part of intelligent content because it makes it processable by machines. Metadata includes information like tags and specific meta descriptions. Content with a data-driven structure is easily archived, structured, and searched by computers at any scale, thus making it much more useful to creators.

Section titled 2. Modular construction 2. Modular construction

A lot of content is produced as one monolith: it cannot be divided up into component parts. By contrast, modular content works on a building-block approach. Instead of one giant block, modular content is made up of multiple smaller ones. These can be mixed, matched, and customized for different finished products.

Section titled 3. Flexible nature 3. Flexible nature

Though it might seem counterintuitive at first, the highly structured traits of points one and two make intelligent content quite flexible. With established, organized elements, it’s simple for creators to access the existing content and readapt it for use in a new context.

Section titled How does intelligent content relate to content marketing? How does intelligent content relate to content marketing?

Offering a personalized experience through content is what companies strive for. The current emphasis on storytelling and brand identity are obvious indicators of this new approach.

Likewise as access to the internet on multiple devices is becoming more common than ever, the need for simultaneous publication of content in different platforms is turning from a novelty to a necessity.

Intelligent content management can be implemented to facilitate both of these needs. Through precise and consistent structuring of data, coupled with an automated publication process, it can deliver highly personalized content to specific target groups. Its independence from format and modular nature encourages omnichannel publication with considerably less effort compared to the traditional approach.

Section titled What are the benefits of intelligent content? What are the benefits of intelligent content?

Here are a few of the concrete benefits you can take advantage of by embracing intelligent content.

Section titled Seamless multichannel publication Seamless multichannel publication

Because intelligent content management is so flexible, it’s easily removed from the context of the presentation. That means it can go out on any channel, reaching any audience base you need. You can publish the same content on multiple channels at the same time. However, it can still be repurposed in the future into a different format.

Section titled More efficient use of resources More efficient use of resources

When you have a large menu of ready-to-use modular content, it’s easy and fast to create new, customized results. All the work your team puts into it can be reused again and again as opposed to only being valuable for one use case.

In addition, the structured quality of intelligent content management makes it easy for computers to work with. That means you’ll be able to instantly see your existing assets when you search a related keyword. Because of this, you’ll be cutting down on duplication efforts and enabling reuse.

Section titled Better quality content at higher volumes Better quality content at higher volumes

Thanks to the structuring of metadata in intelligent content, repetitive tasks can be completed easily by an AI. This ensures consistency in tone and standards which is almost impossible to achieve if done by individuals. As the amount of content and possible format increases, this benefit only becomes that much more valuable.

Moreover, you’ll also be able to create more content faster. Thanks to the modular structure, you can assemble new content out of existing components rather than creating the entire piece from scratch. The result is more original content in a fraction of the time.

Section titled Personalization made easier Personalization made easier

Without exception, intelligent content can deliver the preferred content of specific target audiences in a specific time frame, be it immediately or scheduled. With the help of its optimized search, you can deliver the right content to the right person with little effort.

Section titled Easier behind-the-scenes management Easier behind-the-scenes management

Intelligent content management almost always relies on technology that can help it perform to the best of its ability by breaking down content silos. Without silos, you’re working with a single source of truth for all of your content to go out to all of your channels. This centralization means it's easier to find, sort, and use existing content.

Section titled SEO boost SEO boost

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a vital part of any digital company, as it determines how likely your organization is to be found by users through organic search. Intelligent content maximizes your SEO boost because it relies on metadata. While it is thoroughly tagged for organization purposes, this also makes it extremely easy to read for search engines, boosting your chances of appearing in the top results.

Section titled Who is intelligent content for? Who is intelligent content for?

Intelligent content is a powerful strategy, but it’s not necessarily for everybody. For example, if you’re a small organization that doesn’t rely heavily on content marketing, the effort that goes into intelligent content management is likely going to outweigh the benefits.

However, companies that fall on the heavier side of content creation will see impressive results well worth the effort. Consider using intelligent content if:

• You’re juggling a substantial amount of content or have plans for big growth
• You want to embrace an omnichannel strategy with ease
• Content plays a central role in your brand’s marketing or identity
• If you want to use artificial intelligence tools such as chatbots

Section titled How to get started with intelligent content How to get started with intelligent content

You can’t create intelligent content overnight, unfortunately. You need a strategy as well as the correct tools to truly make sure it succeeds.

You’ll want to start with peak organization. You need to understand not only your existing content but what goals you’re trying to achieve with it and how well it’s performing. This may also require administrative changes in your marketing and content teams based on how much time and effort you could save after switching to intelligent content.

You’ll also want to make sure that you have the technology required to support this strategy. In this case, that means switching to a headless CMS. A headless CMS is compatible with modular content, omnichannel publication, and presentation layer independence. This will let you maximize the benefits.

The result will be a streamlined content creation process, which not only prioritizes personalization and omnichannel publication but does so while being considerably more convenient.

Section titled Key takeaways Key takeaways

Content marketing is a powerful strategy in its own right – and when paired with intelligent content management, it can become a true force to be reckoned with. By using intelligent content, you can create an approach that makes things easier for your team, more enjoyable for your audience, and more effective for your marketing.