In this crash course on content velocity, explore what it is and the impact it can have on business results. Also learn how to assess content velocity and get practical tips on how to increase it.
Published on Aug 22, 2024
Content velocity is a relatively fresh take on the foundational concept of right place, right time. So, what does content velocity mean—take a guess!—and why is it worth taking a deeper look at?
In this blog, we’ll talk through what it is and why it’s important, then offer some recommendations and ideas on how to accelerate content production to meet wider business goals.
Velocity takes into account both speed and direction. Content velocity, similarly, is more nuanced than the speed at which content is created; it can’t adequately be captured by a single metric.
Generally, there are three key dimensions to consider:
Compared to other iterations of the term—content throughput, cadence, or timing—content velocity conveys a heightened sense of urgency and judgment, as digital innovation and consumer needs often dictate what is expected to be delivered.
Along with other pillars of success, including content quality and content availability, content velocity is a helpful way to gauge how content impacts goals like brand awareness, customer retention, and business growth.
Content velocity is a powerful indicator of an organization’s ability to stay relevant and resonant with its target audience. Here are some positive outcomes of high content velocity.
When an organization creates and publishes content consistently, it has a greater chance of getting in front of audiences more often. In a time when everyone’s clawing for fragments of attention, maintaining a steady stream of relevant content is essential. Plus, when that content is really good, it’s gold, uplifting a brand or organization to the status of thought leader as a trusted, credible source.
Different stages of the customer journey require different types of content. High content velocity ensures that there is a constant flow of content tailored, or even personalized, to various customers and their needs—whether it’s awareness, consideration, or decision-making. Additionally, when the messages at different touchpoints are cohesive and timely, consumers are more likely to feel positively about a brand or organization.
It’s true (for now!): content velocity impacts search engine rankings. In this case, the notion of velocity is tightly connected to content quality. Simply, websites that are regularly updated with valuable content are favored by algorithms. Plus, a consistent content release schedule can readily capture trending topics and keywords, a great complement to SEO efforts.
Google is pretty explicit about how content usefulness impacts rankings with what they call the helpful content system. In March 2024, it became part of their core ranking systems to ensure reliable results are prioritized over content that’s simply designed to play the algorithm game.
Especially in highly competitive industries, brands with higher content velocity are equipped to outpace their competitors by being more responsive to viral or cultural moments.
Because of the nature of their businesses and audiences, a number of industries have a strong focus on maintaining or increasing content velocity.
For media and publishing, content velocity is what makes the business the business. News organizations in particular aim to be the first to report on “breaking news”. A lack of preparedness can quickly damage credibility and push an organization down the ranks.
In a similar vein, non-profit organizations may need to match their communication, support, or fundraising pace to news and events unfolding in real time.
No surprise here. For online retailers, content velocity means keeping product listings fresh, driving seasonal promotions or mega sale events (think Prime Day or holidays like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Singles Day), and engaging customers with well-timed and time-limited offers. Regularly updated content, combined with effective product descriptions, customer reviews, and targeted marketing, can sway buyers to make a purchase and reduce cart abandonment.
The healthcare industry relies on high content velocity to disseminate critical information, most notably in times of public health crises. Regular updates help educate the public, inform patients, and share the latest research findings.
Many Kontent.ai customers, especially in the healthcare space, make use of what’s called content modularity—breaking content down into smaller, reusable blocks, in order to help speed up the creation, editing, and updating of content, so that even the smallest detail within a larger piece can be updated in an instant.
High content velocity for those in financial services and insurance means keeping clients informed about market trends, investment opportunities, and financial advice. In fields where information is hugely influential, the timely distribution of content is foundational.
To anchor the upcoming advice, let’s double back to emphasize the interplay of content velocity, quality, and availability. Focusing solely on upping content velocity could harm an organization’s efforts if the content isn’t really fit for purpose or available on the right channels. But it’s also not fair to say that all three must always be on equal footing. As with anything, it’s important to consider where and when to make strategic trade-offs based on defined goals, resources, and capacity.
As outlined in the beginning of this blog, content velocity should be looked at from three dimensions. But how can this assessment be done, exactly? At Kontent.ai, we think this question isn’t being adequately addressed by any content management system (CMS) on the market.
That’s why we created Mission Control, the industry’s first content efficiency dashboard that gives content teams a bird’s eye view of their content operations. Content teams who use our CMS now have access to the insights they need to make positive changes to their operations and workflows.
Let’s analyze the three dimensions of content velocity using Mission Control insights.
Mission Control’s dashboard view shows the progress of all content at a glance, including items published on time, delayed content, and most overdue tasks. These insights act as alarm bells to help teams fix any issues that stand between a great content plan and its deadline.
In this example, there’s a high number of delayed items detected. This could indicate that a content team is having a tough time meeting the expectations outlined during content planning.
Here are some possible actions to keep the volume of content up:
Every piece of content is the result of a full chain of events, from briefing and drafting to feedback and approvals. To keep a steady production pace, it’s important to track how long different types of content spend in different steps. Insights from Mission Control can help reveal bottlenecks or potential time sinks.
In this example, content is spending a lot of time in the “draft” step of the content approval workflow. This may signal that the workflow isn’t designed with complex content types in mind. Simple workflows (Draft, Review, Translation, for example) can make it harder to analyze the way people and processes work in reality (Draft, SEO Check, Graphics Review, Translation, Translation Review, for example).
Here are some possible actions to ensure production pace remains steady:
Beyond the benefits of improved SEO and consumer engagement, which we already touched on, content timeliness and freshness also play a big role in how consumers perceive, and even judge, content velocity. This is an important reason why content velocity can’t always be viewed as a singular metric or definitive score.
It’s crucial to recognize what target audiences themselves consider as “acceptably” or “unacceptably” outdated content. Additionally, if an organization is held to governing or regulatory requirements, that will affect how often and how quickly content should be updated too. Recurring audits help ensure that published content not only remains accurate, but also aligns with current trends and statistics.
A bonus tip: regular audits of drafts that never made it to publication can uncover ideas worth revising—a possible quick-ish win compared to starting a piece from square one.
Here are some possible actions to stay in step with audience expectations:
As we round out this guide, here are some ideas to help you increase content velocity. Some involve making changes to how teams work, while others encourage leaning into technology.
By breaking down larger content projects into smaller tasks, teams can often produce and publish content more quickly, as well as adapt to changes as they come. Many project management tools already recommend planning milestones to ensure teams take the time to assess progress at regular intervals.
Quick check-ins and iterative feedback can also help ensure everything stays on track, while also giving space to entertain tweaks or changes. This more agile approach to content production is also a nice way to gradually shift the mindset of a team to one that is proactive and ready to hop on new opportunities.
This is a fancy way of saying: get creative with (the potential lack of) resources and cultivate a reliable, credible network of internal and external contributors, especially for peak periods. When external agencies or creators are contracted to increase output, make sure to also establish guidelines to help thoroughly vet the quality and accuracy of outsourced content.
Additionally, seek out thought leaders in the organization. If an enthusiastic, pitch-in culture is nurtured, it is easier to diversify content sources and speed up production. Unsiloing content creation and making it a collaborative effort helps maintain high and consistent content velocity.
Technology plays a critical role in accelerating content production and distribution.
Content management systems (CMS) that support automation can significantly reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks, such as scheduling content ahead of time, distributing content across multiple channels, or making chunks of content available for use and reuse across different departments, brands, campaigns, and more.
Tools that assist with copywriting, like Grammarly, or keyword research, like Ahrefs or Google Trends, also enhance efficiency and can help teams more quickly decide what content to produce next.
AI, of course, can be used at every stage of content production. For example, the AI in Kontent.ai acts as a force multiplier for content and asset tagging, authoring and editing, translations, and more. How a company decides to employ AI should depend on its specific pain points or roadblocks. By focusing on real outcomes, it’s easier to land on the most practical approach for the business.
Content velocity is not just a way to describe how fast content is produced; it’s a strong signal of how well content is serving the business as a strategic asset. By tracking content velocity as a key pillar of content success, companies can continue to meet the increasing demands of their audiences and stay ahead of the curve.
To explore how top organizations are accelerating their content production with a CMS like Kontent.ai, check out their stories or talk to one of our experts.
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