Whose job is it to create content in business settings? At most companies, creating content typically involves multiple departments, depending on the nature of the content and the business’s goals. Below, let’s look at some of the departments that are commonly involved in creating content.
Core Departments That Create Content
Marketing
The marketing department is often the driving force behind content creation. They are responsible for developing the overall content strategy, identifying target audiences, and creating content that aligns with the business’s marketing goals. Examples of typical content assets created by marketing teams include:
- Blog posts
- Social media posts
- Email newsletters
- E-books and whitepapers
- Case studies and success stories
- Webinars and live events
- Advertising copy and messaging
Often housed within the marketing function, the design and creative team is responsible for creating visually appealing content that aligns with the company’s branding and messaging. They can help create graphics, videos, and other multimedia assets that enhance the effectiveness of the content. The types of content this sub-team usually covers includes:
- Infographics and data visualizations
- Photography and image assets
- Video content (e.g. brand videos, product demos)
- Branding and visual identity assets (e.g. logos, color palettes, typography)
Similarly, the SEO and analytics sub-team within marketing can help ensure that the content is optimized for search engines and track the performance of the content. They can provide insights into which topics and formats are resonating with audiences and make recommendations for future content creation. The SEO team will likely create content in these categories, among others:
- Keyword research and analysis
- On-page optimization (e.g. meta titles, descriptions, headings)
- Content performance tracking and reporting
- Competitor analysis and benchmarking
Sales
The sales department can provide valuable insights into the needs and pain points of customers. They can help identify topics that will resonate with potential customers and provide feedback on the effectiveness of the content. Types of content the Sales team (or the sales enablement team) will often create include:
- Sales decks and presentations
- Product demos and tutorials
- Competitive analysis and comparison content
- Sales enablement materials (e.g. one-pagers, FAQs, objection handling guides)
Product or Service Development
The product or service development team can help create content that showcases the features and benefits of the company’s products or services. They can also help identify new content opportunities based on upcoming product releases or updates. Types of content these teams will create includes:
- Product or service descriptions and specifications
- User manuals and documentation
- Release notes and update announcements
- Feature highlights and benefits content
Customer Support
The customer support team is often on the front lines of customer interactions and can provide insights into common questions and concerns that customers have. This information can be used to create content that addresses these issues and provides helpful information to customers.
- FAQs and knowledge base articles
- Troubleshooting guides and how-to content
- Support ticket responses and email templates
- Video tutorials and screencasts
Overall, the specific departments involved in content creation will depend on the business and the goals of the content. However, involving a cross-functional team can help ensure that the content is effective and aligned with the company’s overall strategy.
Of course, this list is not exhaustive and the specific types of content created by each department will depend on the goals and needs of the business. Additionally, some businesses may have dedicated content teams or individuals who are responsible for creating content across multiple departments.
Additional Content Creation Use Cases
Let’s take a look at some of the common types of content required by different industries.
Manufacturing
- Research and Development (R&D). In a manufacturing company, the R&D department may be responsible for creating content that showcases the company’s research and development capabilities, as well as any new products or technologies that they are developing.
- Quality Control. The quality control department may be responsible for creating content that demonstrates the company’s commitment to quality and safety, such as whitepapers, case studies, or videos highlighting their quality control processes and procedures.
- Engineering. The engineering department may create technical documentation, including product specifications and schematics, user manuals, and CAD drawings.
Legal
- Legal. The legal department may be responsible for creating content that provides guidance to clients and prospects on legal matters, such as whitepapers or blog posts on regulatory compliance, contracts, and intellectual property rights.
- Public Relations. The PR department may create content that addresses legal issues affecting the company, such as press releases, crisis management plans, and social media updates.
- Marketing. In a legal firm, the marketing department may create content that showcases the expertise of the firm’s lawyers, such as blog posts, case studies, and presentations.
Finance
- Accounting. The accounting department may create content that provides financial advice to clients, such as blog posts or whitepapers on tax planning or investment strategies.
- Investment. The investment department may create content that highlights the performance of the company’s investment portfolios, such as quarterly reports or market analysis.
- Risk Management. The risk management department may create content that educates clients on risk management strategies and techniques, such as case studies or webinars on hedging or insurance.
Of course, the specific types of departments that create content for companies in these industries will depend on the company’s goals and needs. Additionally, some industries may have unique regulatory or legal requirements that impact the types of content that can be created and distributed.
Commonly Overlooked Content-Creating Functions
The HR department and Security team are frequently not considered when thinking about content creation, but in reality, these teams create a variety of content to support their respective goals and responsibilities. Here are some examples of content that these departments might create:
Human Resources
- Job descriptions and postings
- Recruitment and onboarding materials
- Employee handbooks and policies
- Training and development content (e.g. e-learning modules, workshops, seminars)
- Internal communications (e.g. newsletters, memos, company announcements)
- Employer branding content (e.g. videos, social media posts, blog articles)
Security Team
- Security policies and procedures
- Risk assessments and threat analyses
- Incident response plans and playbooks
- Security awareness training content (e.g. phishing simulations, awareness videos, posters)
- Security-related communications (e.g. advisories, warnings, incident notifications)
- Technical security content (e.g. firewall rules, access control lists, system hardening guides)
The HR department and Security team may also collaborate on content related to employee security awareness, such as phishing simulations that educate employees on how to identify and respond to phishing attempts. Additionally, the Security team may work with other departments to ensure that security controls are included in the development of new products or services, which may involve creating security-related documentation or content.
Overall, the content created by the HR department and Security team will depend on the specific needs of the business and the goals of these departments. However, creating content that promotes security awareness and adherence to policies and procedures can help mitigate risk and protect the organization and its employees.
Advice for Centralizing Content Creation Companywide
Centralizing content creation can help ensure consistency and quality across the various departments that create content at a company. Here are five best practices and advice for centralizing content creation:
- Develop a centralized content strategy. A centralized content strategy ensures that all content created across departments is aligned with the company’s overall goals and objectives. The strategy should include guidelines for creating content that reflects the company’s voice, tone, and messaging.
- Establish content creation processes. Establishing clear processes for creating and approving content can help ensure consistency and quality. The processes should include a clear workflow for content creation, from ideation to publication, and involve feedback and approval loops to ensure that the content meets the required standards.
- Create a content style guide. A content style guide can help ensure consistency in language, tone, and formatting across all content created by different departments. The style guide should outline standards for grammar, punctuation, and tone, as well as guidelines for visuals and formatting.
- Leverage technology. Technology can help streamline content creation and distribution processes, ensuring consistency and quality. Tools like content management systems (CMS) can help manage content creation and distribution, while automation tools can help with tasks such as editing, proofreading, and formatting.
- Foster collaboration and communication. Encouraging collaboration and communication between departments can help ensure that all content is aligned with the company’s goals and objectives. Regular meetings and check-ins can help keep everyone on the same page and ensure that content creation processes are working effectively.
Overall, centralizing content creation requires a focus on standardization, consistency, and quality across departments. By establishing clear guidelines, processes, and technology, and fostering collaboration and communication, companies can create content that supports their overall goals and reflects their brand values and voice.
Special Considerations for Global and Multinational Businesses
Now, what if you’re at a company that does business around the world? This is where things can get quite a bit more complicated. Creating content for a global or multinational company in multiple languages requires special attention to ensure consistency, accuracy, and cultural relevance. Here are some best practices for content creation at a global or multinational company that creates content in many languages:
- Develop a multilingual content strategy. A multilingual content strategy should be developed that considers the language and cultural differences of the target audiences. This strategy should include guidelines for creating content that reflects the company’s brand voice and messaging in each language.
- Know when to use automated translation vs. professional localization services. Some types of content are suitable for machine translation technologies. Meanwhile, others are best suited to professional translation and localization service providers that can ensure that content is accurately translated and culturally adapted for the target audience. Translators and localization experts should have in-depth knowledge of the language and culture of the target market, as well as specialization in the type of content itself (marketing, legal, financial, and so on).
- Create a multilingual content style guide. A multilingual content style guide should be created that outlines standards for grammar, punctuation, and tone for each language. The guide should also include guidelines for visuals and formatting.
- Consider language and cultural differences in visuals. Visuals such as images and videos can be culturally specific, and therefore may need to be adapted or replaced when creating content in multiple languages. Often, for marketing content, transcreation is required.
- Leverage technology for consistency and efficiency. Technology can help with consistency and efficiency in content creation across multiple languages. Tools like translation memory software and translation management systems can store translations for future use, saving time and ensuring consistency. Content management systems can also help manage multilingual content creation and distribution.
- Establish a feedback loop. Feedback from native speakers of each language can help ensure accuracy and cultural relevance. Establishing a feedback loop with native speakers can help identify any cultural or linguistic issues that may arise in the content creation process.
No matter which departments at a company are creating content, doing so for a global or multinational company in multiple languages requires attention to language and cultural differences, accuracy, and consistency. By developing a multilingual content strategy, using professional translation and localization services, creating a multilingual content style guide, considering language and cultural differences in visuals, leveraging technology, and establishing a feedback loop, companies can create effective and culturally relevant content for their target audiences.
