Content transformation is the process of making existing content more versatile and reusable. It’s about liberating content that is locked inside legacy formats and transforming it into a library of modular and dynamic content assets.
In this blog series, we look at each of the four steps of content transformation. For a more detailed resource, including content transformation best practices and an overview of the content transformation toolkit, download our eBook Content Transformation: Breathing New Life into Legacy Content.
Step 4: Do the Work
Now that you have located your content, decided which content to transform, and selected the transformation methods, it’s time to get in there and do the work.
And it’s worth it to do the work.
Why do the work?
Transforming your content makes your content ready for anything.
As customers have come to expect a much more personalized experience (thanks, Amazon) … and as the amount of information coming at us every day has increased exponentially (thanks, Facebook) … and as the reality of cognitive systems has taken hold (thanks, IBM Watson) … content teams are increasingly under pressure to deliver content in new and innovative ways.
For at least 30 years, we’ve known that componentized, structured content is the key to:
- Improving content quality
- Reducing time to market
- Delivering intelligent content
- Training cognitive systems
- Supporting digital transformation of the enterprise
However, until the past 5 years or so, the systems to support all this were not fully mature.
Benefits of content transformation
The benefits of transforming your content are many:
- Save money
- Save time
- Improve accuracy
- Enhance customer experience
- Deliver personalized content
- Fulfill the promise of digital transformation
It is not surprising that organizations are creating strategies for transforming their content. Whether it is across different models of the same product, different products, or different types of content (marketing/technical/training), it makes sense to write once and use everywhere.
Digital transformation makes many promises. To fulfill those promises, you must transform the content first. Otherwise, you’ll end up with expensive new tools and the same legacy content. But now you’ll have expensive legacy content.
Unlocking the potential of existing content is what content transformation is all about.
Content Transformation: Breathing New Life into Legacy Content
Ready to liberate content from legacy formats? Want to transform it into modular, dynamic content assets? This eBook shows you how.
Val is on the Advisory Board for the Technical Communications Program at the University of North Texas. When not working with customers or students, Val can be found sitting behind her sewing machine working on her latest quilt. She also makes a mean hummus.
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