Future-proofing your marketing: Why your CMS matters more than you think
This guest article by Storyblok highlights how direct-to-consumer brands can reap the many benefits of using a modern headless-CMS in the ever evolving digital landscape of today.
Current challenges of legacy content management systems
If you're running a Direct‑to‑Consumer brand on a headless e‑commerce platform, you already know that a large part of your marketing budget goes towards technology – where an important part of your investment will be picking the right Content Management System (CMS). According to a report published by Zion Market Research, the global content management software market was valued at approximately 35,903 million USD in 2018 and is expected to grow to a valuation of 123,500 million USD by 2026. And as the market keeps growing at record pace, so are the technological advancements being made in the headless CMS‑space – hence, the the rise of modern, headless CMS's like Storyblok, Contentful, Sanity etc. Modern headless CMS's are evolving faster than ever and give global brands unparalleled flexibility and new opportunities for managing content across multiple channels and touchpoints. Traditional/legacy CMS's are typically more siloed and less flexible. So, if you're trying to create a multichannel experience for your visitors, you'll have a much smoother experience with a modern CMS.
We'll soon dive into the benefits of modern headless CMS's. But first, let's take a look at why brands are struggling with legacy CMS's:
Legacy CMS's make it hard to distribute content on across multiple channels. Administering individual content for each channel means double, or even triple the work, as well as losing oversight of your brand messaging. Siloed content is also hard to manage without version and permission control. Not to mention the increased effort for your developers who constantly need to update and maintain your channels.
Another problem with running a multichannel‑strategy on a legacy CMS is siloed data. Successful marketing campaigns require a high level of personalization. Combining a legacy‑CMS and a multichannel strategy is tricky, as data is viewed individually for each channel, which creates a risk of missing the big picture.
When data is siloed, marketers aren’t able to observe the full relationship between a visitor and the brand – and how the visitor's behaviour might shift over time. This often leads to mis‑targeting with irrelevant information, and offering a generic, impersonal user experience. All of these challenges and obstacles grow exponentially – especially once your business kicks off, and you want to add more lines of products, and more localized campaigns.
Another area where legacy‑CMS's are struggling is security. The missing workflows and permissions in some of the legacy CMS's make you vulnerable to data breaches, security attacks, and mishandling of personal data. This can lead to loss of customer trust and brand reputation damage.
Okay, but what exactly is a headless CMS and what are the benefits?
A headless CMS is a backend only content management system, built as a content repository that makes content accessible via API (Application Programming Interface) to be displayed on any device and channel. Its decoupled nature and implicit versatility is the reason why it gained so much popularity, especially when it comes to eCommerce. It’s true that it is a developer‑centric CMS. However the whole point of a using a headless CMS is to make life easier for both developers and content creators.
Image description: ASKET's editing experience in Storyblok. The interface is built to make life easier for both marketing teams and agencies.
The main benefits of a headless CMS
A headless CMS is independent from any platform. Your content is accessible via API and you can display it on any device, enabling you to build an omni‑channel strategy while maintaining brand consistency.
By using headless CMS you overcome the challenges of siloed content. Changes can be made quickly and implemented across all channels, minimizing the impact of redesigns and product changes. Content is reused and practitioners have the freedom of flexibility and experimentation. On top of that, technical professionals are able to build and deploy in short iterative bursts.
Due to its decoupled nature, headless CMS's are virtually a fortress to any security risks or DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks.
Some more specific features are localization of content, customization of workflows, version and permission control, content preview, modular content, and integrated DAMs (digital asset management).
Taking all this into account, it becomes clear that a headless CMS will significantly increase the productivity, efficiency and effectiveness of your content operations.
The headless CMS loved by marketers
There are a number of options to choose from and, most likely, more will join the scene in the next few years. Keeping in mind that the headless CMS's are developer‑centric, it is important to choose one that also empowers your content creators and marketers.
One of our favourite headless CMS's is Storyblok and here are a few reasons why:
The editing experience: Storyblok has a great editing experience. Their unique Visual Editor shows a real‑time in‑context preview that is built for marketing teams. With the help of the internal asset manager, complex content model, intelligent and reusable content, versioning system, and customizable workflows, siloed content becomes a thing of the past.
Security: Storyblok stores data in ISO 27001 compliant data centers in the EU, and is kept secure by use of https protocols, data encryption, two‑factor authentication and backups.
Pricing and affordability: Storyblok is one of the most affordable options on the market – which is is supported by their scalable, transparent and predictable pricing.
Pairs well with Centra: Storyblok pairs very well with Centra. By combining Storyblok and Centra, direct‑to‑consumer brands can serve up a powerful multi‑market, omni‑channel experience with minimal admin overhead. Content creators, free of siloed systems, can use collaborative planning to experiment, deliver, and stay agile to meet the ever‑evolving customer‑expectations.
Curious to find out more? Don't be shy! Visit Storyblok directly, or reach out to us at Centra to find out how the Storyblok x Centra combination has helped many of our shared clients grow globally.
