Marketing, Engagement and Content

For years we have been learning about managing content and how to build effective websites.  Or at least we thought we were.  Actually, we have learned a lot, but the landscape keeps changing and we find ourselves using old and ineffective strategies.

I think we need to consider separating the following elements of an online presence as we develop strategies for implementation.

1. Content.  I would suggest that content is comprised of educational units - FAQ, procedures, research findings, supporting data, reports ... - information relevant to our audience.

2. Context.  In the past, context was supported by site navigation.  This approach does not scale well, is hard to distribute, not very flexible nor very dynamic.  I'm beginning to believe content should be managed in a flatter structure, tagging would provide a more flexible and scalable approach for navigation and posting articles can tie together content (internal links) more effectively for context.  What's relevant and timely (context) and how do we support it (content).

3. Marketing.  Simply put, what are our campaigns?  What message is important now?  What services do we provide?  Marketing strategies should take advantage of context as well as our networks (thinking of Kevin's comment about "Page rank being the ultimate measure of online influence).  

4. Engagement.  How can we and how do we want to engage our audience?  Be selective.  Not every area should have feedback, nor does feedback necessarily provide effective engagement.  Keep in mind that web 2.0 is more than just giving your audience voice... it should be about employing that voice to increase the value of your services.  Also, engagement should be about people and trust.  

The challenge is to define an approach for connecting these four elements into a coherent and sustainable model.  

Who is doing this right?