A six-page snapshot of 2017 content trends was released earlier this year, showing the state of play in digital content development and delivery for those who work in the industry.
The survey of 1900 writers, managers, IAs and content strategists asked about their use of tools, processes, content types, customer content expectations and more. The resulting data from Data Conversion Laboratory (DCL) and the Center for Information-Development Management (CIDM) wanted to track how, and if, organisations or individual professionals were adapting their processes and content to be more viable in an increasingly electronic world.
One comforting finding for some will be that just over half (51%) of those polled felt that their content was not ready for the future – a 21% increase over last year. “There is comfort in knowing you are not alone in the challenges you face,” said Dawn Stevens, Director of CIDM and President of Comtech Services. “I think so many participate in this survey year after year to see where they are in comparison to other companies, and to ensure that they are not being left behind.”
The fact that so many more respondents this year felt their content was not ready is a big wake-up call, however. “My sense is that the bar is constantly rising both in functionality and data volume, and if you’re not keeping up, you’re falling behind. I think the people who thought they’d just wait and see, are finding that they’re now that much further behind,” added Mark Gross, DCL’s president.
Key highlights
One of the biggest areas that needs improvement is the ability of customers to find and consume content more easily:
- 66% said their “search capability needs improvement”
- 53% “have so much content that customers cannot find the correct information to help them be successful”
- 44% noted that their “current content does not fully support customers’ needs”
Other issues included time, budget, resources, and “content not designed or written appropriately”.
See 2017’s full survey results here.
We’ve pulled out five particularly interesting results for our readers below (click on to view larger, opens in a new window):
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