Digital Business Structure

Learn what an effective digital business structure looks like and why this makes managing content challenging.

Digital Business Structure

This lesson looks at what an effective digital business structure looks like and why this makes managing content challenging.

To better understand the role of the content manager, it’s helpful to look at what happens when businesses build a digital presence.

In this lesson, we look at why many businesses have the wrong picture of what an effective digital presence looks like and the challenges of managing content effectively in an organization.

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Before You Begin

Before completing this lesson, please watch the video below. It explains why many businesses struggle to get results and why they need effective digital management.

Go here to learn more about The Small Business Digital Manager.

The Wrong Picture Of A Digital Presence

As explained in the role of the content manager lesson, a web presence comprises both technical and content areas, and both areas need effective management.

Basic business website diagram. — Websites comprise technical and content areas…and both need management!

As we also explain in The Small Business Digital Manager, businesses typically see their digital presence as part of their sales and marketing.

With this picture in mind, many businesses (especially small businesses) hire a web developer to look after their web presence and digital marketers to drive traffic, generate leads, etc., hoping this will leave them and their staff free to focus on “running the business”.

Chart: How Businesses Typically Picture Their Digital Presence. — This is how businesses typically picture their web presence…but it’s the wrong picture! Click on the image to view an enlarged version.

This, however, is the wrong picture.

We’re now well and truly into the Digital Information Age and digital processes impact every aspect of your organization.

It’s hard to find any area of your business where digital processes are not involved.

A chart showing many digital businesses processes. — Digital processes impact every area of your organization! Click on the image to view an enlarged version.

In fact, if we were to flowchart all the areas of an organization that involve digital processes, this is what the structure of an effective digital presence would really look like…

Organization chart of an effective digital presence. — This is what an effective digital presence looks like…who looks after all this? Click on the image to view an enlarged version.

Who looks after all of these areas?

It certainly won’t be the website developer hired to look after the website or the digital marketer running PPC ads. If you understand the three levels of decision-making explained in the content management mindset lesson, you’ll immediately see why.

As you can see, any organization wanting to have an effective digital presence would need a sizeable digital department.

Organization chart showing digital presence roles. — Businesses need a sizeable digital department to manage their digital processes effectively. Click on the image to view an enlarged version.

Few organizations can sustain or afford such a complex and sizeable department.

Just because a business can’t afford to build a structure of this scale and complexity, however, doesn’t mean it can ignore or avoid the needs of the structure, especially if the business expects to run a digital presence effectively that can deliver results.

Digital Processes Need Management

All digital processes need management. Some digital processes require technical management (e.g. managing servers and the website) but many digital processes involve content and these also need content management.

This means that regardless of whether you are a “one-person” business, a small business, or a medium to large enterprise, there are many content-related roles and responsibilities to fill.

As we discuss in our lesson on digital business setups, anyone tasked with the role and responsibility of managing content in an organization will most likely be required to wear many different hats and assume the responsibility for many different roles.

This, of course, makes things very challenging.

Many large companies have tried employing a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) to oversee a digital transformation of their existing business, only to find their CDOs leaving the organization a short while later feeling quite dispirited.

One of the main reasons for this is that it’s very difficult to radically change an existing structure that’s already in motion. It’s like trying to transform an old steam locomotive into an electric bullet train while the train is filled with passengers and speeding down the tracks at full speed.

Companies seem to be fine when hiring someone like a Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to look after their technology and their technical areas, but finding someone to manage all of their content processes presents an entirely different set of challenges because content is so “merged” into all areas of most businesses.

Content-Related Roles

If your organization can’t afford to hire someone to fill a specific content-related role, then a Content Manager (or a Chief Content Officer, Digital Content Officer, Head of Content person, or whatever title you want to give someone tasked with managing all of the organization’s content) has to step in and do their best to try and handle it all.

Below are just some of the roles a content manager may need to manage or assume responsibility for. Even if your business hires people to fill these roles, the content manager should also be acquainted and familiar with the duties and responsibilities of the filled role and how it serves your content team and your organization.

Click on the links below to learn more about different digital roles:

Digital Content Team

An overview of different digital team roles, responsibilities, and job descriptions.

Digital Strategy Director

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a digital strategy director.

Digital Content Strategist

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a digital content strategist.

Digital Content Manager

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a digital content manager.

Content Production Manager

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a content production manager.

Digital Content Editor

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a digital content editor.

Digital Content Writer

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a digital content writer.

Digital Media Manager

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a digital media manager.

Interactive Media Manager

Learn about the role and responsibilities of an interactive media manager.

Internet Marketing Director

Learn about the role and responsibilities of an internet marketing director.

Content Marketing Specialist

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a content marketing specialist.

Digital Communications Professional

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a digital communications professional.

Search Engine Marketing Director

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a search engine marketing director.

Digital Marketing Manager

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a digital marketing manager.

Internet Marketing Coordinator

Learn about the role and responsibilities of an internet marketing coordinator.

Internet Marketer

Learn about the role and responsibilities of an internet marketer.

Email Marketing Manager

Learn about the role and responsibilities of an email marketing manager.

Social Media Director

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a social media director.

Social Media Strategist

Learn about the role and responsibilities of a social media strategist.

Outsourcing Resources

Here are useful resources to help you find people with the right talent and skills for outsourcing your content needs.

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In addition to assuming various roles and responsibilities, a content manager has to develop a wide range of skills and be proficient at using various content management tools.

Before doing this, however, it’s important to understand the mindset of the content manager. This is covered in detail in the next lesson.

Summary

Many businesses struggle to get better results online because they have the wrong picture of what an effective digital presence looks like.

An effective digital presence requires building and maintaining a sizeable digital department. Most businesses cannot afford this, but someone ultimately has to be responsible for managing all the content and content-related processes in the business.

This can be very challenging as there are many roles and responsibilities involved in managing a digital content department, so anyone tasked with managing content typically needs to wear many hats and assume many additional responsibilities to perform competently in their role.

Useful Resources

We recommend the following resources:

The E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work And What To Do About It – Michael E. Gerber’s classic book provides valuable information on how to stop working in your business and start working on your business.
The Small Business Digital Manager – This guide covers the challenges many small businesses face running an effective digital presence and provides practical ways to address these.
Content Troubleshooting Guide – Use this guide to troubleshoot content-related issues.

Visit our tools and resources section for additional courses, guides, and helpful tools and resources for content managers.

References

From Dazzling to Departed: Why Chief Digital Officers Are Doomed To Fail

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This concludes our lesson on the structure of a digital business.

Action Steps

Please make sure to complete all lessons in this module before proceeding to the next training module.

Next Lesson

Go here for the next lesson in the Digital Business training module: Content Manager Mindset

Digital Business – Module Lessons

Click on a link below to view all the lessons in this module:

The Role Of The Digital/Web Content Manager

The Role Of The Content Manager

Learn about the role of a content manager and what you need to know to manage content effectively in a digital business presence.

View Lesson

Digital Business Structure

Learn what an effective digital business structure looks like and why this makes managing content challenging.

View Lesson

Content Management Mindset

Develop the mindset needed to manage content effectively for any type of organization.

View Lesson

Content Management Skills

Learn about the skills you will need to develop to manage content effectively in your business.

View Lesson

Digital Business Setups

Learn about different kinds of digital business setups and the challenges of managing content effectively in these.

View Lesson

Digital Business Basics

This lesson looks at some of the basic steps your business should complete before it can grow using content.

View Lesson

Digital Content Team

An overview of different digital team roles, responsibilities, and job descriptions.

View Lesson

Content Management Tools

Learn about many useful and time-saving tools and resources that will help you manage your content effectively.

View Lesson

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Image: Pixabay

Digital Business Setups

Learn about different kinds of digital business setups and the challenges of managing content effectively in these.

Digital Business Setups

This lesson looks at different kinds of digital business setups and the challenges of managing content effectively in these.

A Digital Team — Content managers need to handle all kinds of digital business setups.

In previous lessons, we looked at the role of the content manager and where this role fits within the organization of a digital business structure.

We also looked at the mindset and skills required to manage content effectively in your business.

In this lesson, we look at different types of business setups that you may find yourself working in and the challenges involved in managing content in these setups.

Let’s start with…

The Ideal Setup

As discussed in our Digital Business Structure lesson, if an organization could afford to hire all the digital roles needed to run its digital presence effectively, it would ideally begin by appointing someone to oversee the development and management of all its digital business areas.

This person would then hire someone to manage all the content-related areas of the business and someone to manage all of its technical areas.

Organization chart with Digital Business Roles — A digital presence needs content management and technical management.

So, for an organization to effectively manage all of the areas shown below…

Chart: Content Manager - Areas Of Responsibility — Someone has to look after all these content-related areas of the business. Click on the image to view an enlarged version.

It would need a digital department that looks something like this…

Digital Department Roles — It takes many roles to run a digital department effectively. Click on the image to view an enlarged version.

We’ll ignore the technical areas, as this is not the focus of this course, and focus only on the content areas.

To manage content effectively, then, an organization would ideally maintain a digital department that looks something like this…

Ideal Content Management Digital Department — This is what a digital department for managing content effectively looks like. Click on the image to view an enlarged version.

If you calculate the payroll required for all these roles, you will quickly realize that few organizations can afford to run a digital department like the one shown above.

This, however, doesn’t stop businesses from advertising for a content manager, hoping to find someone that will organize all of their content and manage all of the content-related processes and areas of their business.

Content Manager Job Descriptions – Expectations vs Reality

It’s clear from looking at advertisements for the role of content manager that many of the businesses posting ads don’t understand the three levels of decision-making as explained in the content management mindset lesson.

For example, take a look at the content manager job description below, sourced from a popular job posting site…

Betterteam - Content Manager Job Description — The Content Manager’s responsibilities described here span across all three decision-making levels. Source: Betterteam.

The responsibilities of the role advertised in this company’s job description span across all three decision-making levels:

Executive Level = E
Managerial Level = M
Technical Level = T

Content Manager Responsibilities. — Skills and access to all three decision-making levels are required to fulfill these responsibilities.

If we map all the responsibilities listed above to the ideal digital department organization chart we created earlier, then this company is advertising for a content manager to run a digital team that looks like this…

Chart: Content Managers Wear Many Hats — Here is what many businesses expect a content manager to do. Click on the image to view an enlarged version.

In the above diagram, whoever ends up filling that advertised position of content manager (e.g. YOU) would have to assume all the dark-colored roles shown above, while managing a team of people in the light-colored roles (at a content manager’s salary that does not include the cumulative salaries of all those additional roles, of course!).

It might not seem obvious to companies advertising for a content manager just how many different roles and responsibilities they are actually expecting applicants for the position to assume.

Whoever ends up filling the role, however, will discover very quickly what a huge and complex task managing content is, especially if the business is chaotic as many businesses are.

So, let’s focus on a more realistic scenario and look at the challenges of managing content for an organization that does not have the resources to run an ideal digital department.

Business Setup Flowchart

From the perspective of a business with a digital presence, the need for a content manager is obvious…they want to create and publish content and they need someone to help them manage these processes.

From the perspective of the person applying for the role (e.g. YOU), however, things are not so clear-cut, so it’s useful to have a better understanding of the business structure you will be working in.

Use the flowchart below to help you determine the kind of business setup you will be managing as a content manager.

Content Manager - Role Decision Chart — Use this chart to help you figure out the business setup you will be working with. Click on the image to view an enlarged version.

Business Setup #1 – Your Team

How many people are on the team that you will be managing?

Let’s start with the size of the team you will be working with.

If you’re the only one managing all the content in the business, then clearly you will have to assume all the roles.

This very website that you are on, for example, is an example of a one-person team (me), so I’ve assumed all the roles and do everything that needs to be done on this website, from content strategy and content planning to content production, content promotion, and content management.

If there are a few or many people in your team to help take on different roles and responsibilities, then great! It’s better than having to do it all on your own, but there are still decisions to make and challenges to address.

For example, if your team members have specific roles (e.g. illustrator, video maker, or pay-per-click ad manager), then you may still be left with a number of other roles to fill.

Business Setup #2 – Budget

“Is there a budget for hiring/outsourcing team roles?”

The next area to look at is whether or not the business has a budget to grow the team and invest in content management resources such as systems, tools, training, etc.

If you’re working with a startup, you may be expected to advise, contribute, and help lay down the foundations for digital growth and the future expansion of the organization.

In this case, you will want to understand what kind of financial resources are available or will be made available to grow the team.

Or you may join an organization that already has an established digital team and systems in place, and be expected to perform your duties within a more defined role.

Anywhere in between working with a startup or an established digital team is also an option. Every business has its own way of doing things. You may simply be told that “as we grow, we’ll find the money to hire more people and invest in better tools and systems,” and you will have to work with that.

The takeaway here is that the more people the business can afford to place into digital-based roles, the fewer hats you will have to wear, and vice-versa (i.e. the smaller the team, the more content management skills you will need and the more responsibilities you will have to assume).

Business Setup #3 – Business Strategy

“Is there a digital business strategy?”

Once you have an idea of the size of the team you will be working with and the organization’s willingness to invest in building a digital department, the next area to assess is whether the company has a digital business strategy in place or not.

A digital business strategy is a blueprint used to build a digital business presence.

Business flowchart - Digital business — The digital business strategy is used to create a digital presence for the business.

If there is NO digital business strategy in place for the business, you will need to help them create one.

As explained in The Small Business Digital Manager, without a digital business strategy, things can quickly become chaotic and unmanageable, and it will be a constant uphill battle to try and stay on top of things.

If there is a digital business strategy in place, then everyone in your team should follow it.

Business Setup #4 – Content Strategy

“Is there a content strategy?”

As we cover in our Content Strategy training module, the digital business strategy drives the content strategy of the business, as well as other digital strategies.

Digital Business Strategy overview — A digital business strategy drives the content strategy of the business.

If there is NO content strategy in place for the business, you will need to help them create one.

See our Content Strategy training module lessons for help in this area.

If there is a content strategy in place, then everyone in your team should follow it.

Business Setup #5 – Content Plan

“Is there a content plan?”

A Content Plan helps the business achieve its strategic objectives by formulating a plan of action specifying all the content it needs to create to connect the business with its target audience.

Different target audiences need different content because prospects, customers/clients, subscribers, members, etc. have different needs.

Different users also consume content differently, so businesses need to produce content in different formats (e.g., blog posts, videos, podcasts, email newsletters, screenshot tutorials, infographics, reports, case studies, multimedia presentations, social media posts, etc.)

If the business has NO content plan, you will need to help them create one.

See our Content Planning training module lessons for help in this area.

If there is a content plan, then everyone in your team should follow it.

Business Setup #6 – Systems & Documentation

“Are there systems and documentation for the role(s)?”

Managing content effectively for a digital business presence requires having very good systems and documentation.

Digital Systems - Flowchart — Does the business have documented systems for managing its content?

If the business has NO documented systems and processes for its digital department, you will need to help them create these. This also includes tools (e.g. software) and training.

See our Systems and Tools training module lessons for help in this area.

If the business has documented systems and processes in place, then everyone in your team should follow them.

Start documenting guidelines for all the different roles that you or your team perform and make sure to keep this documentation up-to-date.

You can start with simple bullet point documents and checklists and turn these into “operation manuals” later when hiring people to fill those roles.

Content Guidelines - Documentation — Make sure to document guidelines for your team and keep your documentation up-to-date.

Summary

Few organizations can afford to maintain a digital department with specialists hired for every role in which content plays an important part.

This, however, doesn’t stop businesses from advertising for content managers. Despite what the job description says, more often than not, anyone tasked with managing an organization’s content will need to fulfill many additional duties and responsibilities to perform successfully in the role.

The better you understand the digital setup of your organization, the clearer you will be about the challenges involved in managing its content and how to address these.

Useful Resources

In addition to completing the lessons in this training module, we recommend the following resources:

The E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work And What To Do About It – Michael E. Gerber’s classic book provides valuable information on how to stop working in your business and start working on your business.
Digital Business Video Courses – Video courses to help you develop the digital skills you need to manage content effectively.
WordPress User Manual – A detailed and comprehensive step-by-step WordPress user manual for non-technical website users.
The Small Business Digital Manager – This guide covers the challenges many small businesses face running an effective digital presence and provides practical ways to address these.
Content Troubleshooting Guide – Use this guide to troubleshoot content-related issues.

Visit our tools and resources section for additional courses, guides, and helpful tools and resources for content managers.

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This concludes our lesson on the different setups and situations you may need to handle in the role of a content manager.

Action Steps

Please make sure to complete all lessons in this module before proceeding to the next training module.

Next Lesson

Go here for the next lesson in the Digital Business training module: Content Management Tools

Digital Business – Module Lessons

Below are all the lessons included in this module. Click on a link to go directly to the lesson:

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Images: Business Meeting

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