Bear Essentials: Everyone Wants (More) Content, No One Wants to Own It.
Perception
Stakeholders LOVE content. They’re full of ideas (and demands). They’re passionate. They care about the brand.
Reality
They have no clue what it takes to produce great content.
They care until “their” work goes live, then, POOF! they vanish. Everyone wants a microphone, but not the aftermath.
With no ownership, there's no accountability. No accountability means no investment or improvement. Without ownership, content ends up orphaned. And orphaned content never performs.
Why It Matters
Content needs a top-level owner without it:
- Assets lie unused or under-used.
- No one tracks impact or lifecycle, so it's never clear whether the content "worked".
- Content teams get frustrated and overwhelmed.
What Most Teams Get Wrong
- Defining “content creation,” but not “content success.”
- Assuming content will succeed just because it looks good.
- Not identifying success metrics and clear KPIs at the planning stage.
- Defining the content's lifecycle (publish, review, optimization, sunset).
What to Do Instead
- Define a content lifecycle that includes assigning asset ownership; roles accountable for reuse, measurement, optimization, removal, etc.
- Define KPIs at the planning phase and ensure someone monitors and reports, and shares the insights.
- Report on asset health quarterly.
Seventh Bear Take
Creating content is never enough; it needs invested ownership. Without it, content will simply drift.
Deeper Dive
Want more on this topic? Check out: Practice vs. Insanity: it’s a matter of perspective.
