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Content engineering is a term applied to an engineering specialty dealing with the complexities around the use of content in computer-facilitated environments.
Content authoring and production, content management, content modeling, content conversion, and content use and repurposing are all areas involving this practice. It is not a specialty with wide industry recognition and is often performed on an ad hoc basis by members of software development or content production or marketing staff, but is beginning to be recognized as a necessary function in any complex content-centric project involving both content production as well as software system development mainly involving content management systems (CMS) or digital experience platforms (DXP).
Content engineering tends to bridge the gap between groups involved in the production of content (publishing and editorial staff, marketing, sales, human resources) and more technologically oriented departments such as software development, or IT that put this content to use in web or other software-based environments, and requires an understanding of the issues and processes of both sides.
Typically, content engineering involves extensive use of embedded XML technologies, XML being the most widespread language for representing structured content. Content management systems are a key technology often used in the practice of content engineering.
Content engineering is the practice of organizing the shape and structure of content by deploying content and metadata models, in authoring and publishing processes in a manner that meets the requirements of an organization’s Content Strategy, and its implementation through the use of technology such as CMS, XML, schema markup, artificial intelligence, APIs and others. [1]
In very general terms, content engineering practices aim to maximize the ROI of content through content reuse and improving efficiency of content marketing, content operations, content strategy.
Content engineering can help address content challenges that fairly typical organizations face: [2]
Content engineers bridge the divide between content strategists and producers and the developers and content managers who publish and distribute content. But rather than simply wedging themselves between these players, content engineers help define and facilitate the content structure during the entire content strategy, production and distribution cycle from beginning to end. [3]
With equal parts business and technology savvy, the content engineer does not see content as a static and finished piece. Rather, he or she looks at the value of the content and how it can best be adapted and personalized to serve customers and emerging content platforms, technologies, and opportunities.
Content marketing suffers from two fundamental limitations that constrain the true power and potential that a great content marketing plan can bring to a business' bottom line:
The Semantic Web, sometimes known as Web 3.0, is an extension of the World Wide Web through standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The goal of the Semantic Web is to make Internet data machine-readable.
Personalized marketing, also known as one-to-one marketing or individual marketing, is a marketing strategy by which companies leverage data analysis and digital technology to deliver individualized messages and product offerings to current or prospective customers. Advancements in data collection methods, analytics, digital electronics, and digital economics, have enabled marketers to deploy more effective real-time and prolonged customer experience personalization tactics.
Web development is the work involved in developing a website for the Internet or an intranet. Web development can range from developing a simple single static page of plain text to complex web applications, electronic businesses, and social network services. A more comprehensive list of tasks to which Web development commonly refers, may include Web engineering, Web design, Web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, Web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development.
Database marketing is a form of direct marketing that uses databases of customers or potential customers to generate personalized communications in order to promote a product or service for marketing purposes. The method of communication can be any addressable medium, as in direct marketing.
Data management comprises all disciplines related to handling data as a valuable resource, it is the practice of managing an organization’s data so it can be analyzed for decision making.
An XML database is a data persistence software system that allows data to be specified, and sometimes stored, in XML format. This data can be queried, transformed, exported and returned to a calling system. XML databases are a flavor of document-oriented databases which are in turn a category of NoSQL database.
Enterprise content management (ECM) extends the concept of content management by adding a timeline for each content item and, possibly, enforcing processes for its creation, approval, and distribution. Systems using ECM generally provide a secure repository for managed items, analog or digital. They also include one methods for importing content to bring manage new items, and several presentation methods to make items available for use. Although ECM content may be protected by digital rights management (DRM), it is not required. ECM is distinguished from general content management by its cognizance of the processes and procedures of the enterprise for which it is created.
A software factory is a structured collection of related software assets that aids in producing computer software applications or software components according to specific, externally defined end-user requirements through an assembly process. A software factory applies manufacturing techniques and principles to software development to mimic the benefits of traditional manufacturing. Software factories are generally involved with outsourced software creation.
Product information management (PIM) is the process of managing all the information required to market and sell products through distribution channels. This product data is created by an internal organization to support a multichannel marketing strategy. A central hub of product data can be used to distribute information to sales channels such as e-commerce websites, print catalogues, marketplaces such as Amazon and Google Shopping, social media platforms like Instagram and electronic data feeds to trading partners. Moreover, the significant role that PIM plays is reducing the abandonment rate by giving better product information.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to marketing:
Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online-based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development during the 1990s and 2000s changed the way brands and businesses use technology for marketing. As digital platforms became increasingly incorporated into marketing plans and everyday life, and as people increasingly used digital devices instead of visiting physical shops, digital marketing campaigns have become prevalent, employing combinations of search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, campaign marketing, data-driven marketing, e-commerce marketing, social media marketing, social media optimization, e-mail direct marketing, display advertising, e-books, and optical disks and games have become commonplace. Digital marketing extends to non-Internet channels that provide digital media, such as television, mobile phones, callbacks, and on-hold mobile ringtones. The extension to non-Internet channels differentiates digital marketing from online marketing.
Customer Communications Management (CCM) is a software that companies uses to communicate with the customers. Originally, customer communications referred to printed documents, archived digital documents, and email. Organizations' digital transformation of customer communications expanded communication distribution including SMS, in-app notifications, responsive design mobile experiences and messages over common social media platforms.
Content migration is the process of moving information stored on a given computer information system (IS) to a new system. The IS may be a Web content management system (CMS), a digital asset management (DAM), or a document management system (DMS). The IS may also be based on flat HTML content, including HTML files, Active Server Pages (ASP), JavaServer Pages (JSP), PHP, or content stored in some type of HTML/JavaScript based system and can be either static or dynamic content.
Marketing automation refers to software platforms and technologies designed for marketing departments and organizations automate repetitive tasks and consolidate multi-channel interactions, tracking and web analytics, lead scoring, campaign management and reporting into one system. It often integrates with customer relationship management (CRM) and customer data platform (CDP) software.
The Open Semantic Framework (OSF) is an integrated software stack using semantic technologies for knowledge management. It has a layered architecture that combines existing open source software with additional open source components developed specifically to provide a complete Web application framework. OSF is made available under the Apache 2 license.
Quark Author is Web-based software for creating XML. The focus of the software is to enable non-technical users, such as business users and other subject matter experts, to create structured content without having to know or understand XML. The purpose of the creation of the XML is to allow for automated omni-channel publishing using Quark Publishing Platform. Quark Author is built with HTML5 to provide an app-like experience and consequentially requires the use of modern Web browsers with HTML5 support.
A machine-readable document is a document whose content can be readily processed by computers. Such documents are distinguished from more general machine-readable data by virtue of having further structure to provide the necessary context to support the business processes for which they are created.
A customer data platform (CDP) is a collection of software which creates a persistent, unified customer database that is accessible to other systems. Data is pulled from multiple sources, cleaned and combined to create a single customer profile. This structured data is then made available to other marketing systems. According to Gartner, customer data platforms have evolved from a variety of mature markets, "including multichannel campaign management, tag management and data integration."
Data-driven marketing is a process used by marketers to gain insights and identify trends about consumers and how they behave — what they buy, the effectiveness of ads, and how they browse. Modern solutions rely on big data strategies and collect information about consumer interactions and engagements to generate predictions about future behaviors. This kind of analysis involves understanding the data that is already present, the data that can be acquired, and how to organize, analyze, and apply that data to better marketing efforts. The intended goal is generally to enhance and personalize the customer experience. The market research allows for a comprehensive study of preferences.
A personalization management system (PMS) is an integrated software solution that enables users in an organization to manage and deliver personalized messages, campaigns, and interactive experiences to consumers across different communications channels and devices.