Using Contensis to create workflows that improve your content production efficiency

Contensis CMS is a powerful and flexible platform designed to help teams manage content workflows with ease. By providing tools for creating structured workflows, assigning roles, and automating processes, it enables organisations to improve efficiency, create a flexible digital estate that can evolve with the organisation and deliver high-quality content on time.

• Step-by-step guide to creating a workflow in Contensis
• Tips for optimising Contensis workflows

In this article, we’ll take a step-by-step look at how to use Contensis to build workflows that streamline your content production. From setting up approval stages to automating notifications, you’ll learn practical ways to optimise your workflows and enhance your team’s productivity.

Workflows play a critical role in organising content production, guiding teams from the initial concept to final publication. By establishing clear steps and assigning responsibilities, workflows create a structured approach that help teams collaborate effectively to meet deadlines, and produce useful and usable content.

Well-defined workflows offer several benefits:

• Reduced errors: By ensuring that each stage of production follows a clear process, workflows minimise the risk of overlooked details or unauthorised changes.

• Faster production: With clear roles and automated notifications, teams can avoid delays and keep tasks moving efficiently.

• Consistent quality: Defined workflows standardise the approval process, ensuring every piece of content meets organisational standards and style guidelines before publication.

For a more in-depth discussion on the challenges of inefficient workflows and the benefits of structured processes, read our other articles, How your content workflow can help increase efficiency and Speed up content approval with defined workflows, roles and permissions.

By implementing workflows tailored to your team’s needs, you can take control of the content production process and deliver excellent results on time, every time.

Contensis offers a range of tools designed to help teams build efficient workflows, ensuring that content moves smoothly from concept to publication. Here’s a look at some key features and how they can be applied.

With Contensis, you can define distinct stages in a workflow—such as drafting, editing, reviewing, and publishing—ensuring clarity and accountability at each step.

For an article workflow:

1. Drafting: Content creators write the initial draft.

2. Editing: Editors review and refine the content.

3. Reviewing: Approvers verify the content meets standards and is ready for publication.

4. Publishing: Senior editors or publishers handle the final sign-off and publish the post.

This structure ensures everyone knows their role, and content progresses logically through the pipeline.

Contensis allows you to create custom roles and permissions tailored to your team’s structure. In version 16.2, these capabilities expand further, letting you control access to specific tabs in content entries and determine which fields users can edit in the composer.

You can set up a workflow where:

• Creators draft content but cannot edit specific fields like metadata or SEO.

• Editors refine the draft and update fields, but cannot publish.

• Senior editors have final publishing rights, maintaining accountability and ensuring only approved content goes live.

This granular control helps teams maintain content quality while aligning responsibilities with skills.

Contensis keeps workflows moving by sending automated notifications when actions are required. These notifications can be tailored for each stage, ensuring that team members are aware of pending tasks and deadlines.

By combining these features, Contensis empowers teams to create workflows that are both efficient and adaptable, enabling seamless collaboration and high-quality output.

Creating an effective workflow in Contensis involves careful planning and thoughtful configuration. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you design workflows that streamline your content production process.

Start by outlining the goals and stages for your content. Consider the target publication date, audience focus, and any necessary approvals. Contensis allows you to map out these stages within its workflow tools.

For a content plan:

1. Drafting: Content creators focus on crafting initial drafts.

2. Editing: Editors ensure the content is polished and error-free.

3. Reviewing: Approvers check the content’s alignment with brand standards and objectives.

4. Publishing: Publishers handle final sign-off and scheduling.

By defining each stage clearly in Contensis, you ensure your team knows what’s expected and stays on schedule.

In Contensis, you can assign roles to align with your team’s structure. If you already have an existing set of user groups or roles in Microsoft Active Directory or Entry ID, you can sync these with Contensis for use in your workflow. Roles like "Creator," "Editor," "Reviewer," and "Publisher" can be customised with specific permissions. This ensures only the right individuals can perform certain actions at each workflow stage.

Top tip: Use permissions to enforce accountability. For example:

• Only editors can make changes to drafts.
• Reviewers can approve content but not edit it.
• Publishers have exclusive rights to publish, ensuring high-quality content reaches the audience.

These role assignments help reduce confusion and prevent unauthorised edits.

Contensis makes it easy to set up automated notifications for task handoffs and status updates, ensuring smooth transitions between stages.

By following these steps, you can create workflows in Contensis that are both efficient and tailored to your team’s needs.

Contensis provides a suite of features to enhance workflow efficiency, making it easier for teams to collaborate and streamline content production.

Contensis allows team members to collaborate directly within the CMS, reducing the need for external tools or prolonged communication chains. Writers, editors, and reviewers can work on the same piece of content in real time, ensuring changes are made quickly and feedback is addressed promptly.

A writer drafts content within Contensis, and an editor reviews and refines it in the same system. Comments and edits are visible to both, eliminating back-and-forth emails and reducing delays. This integrated approach keeps the process focused and efficient.

Version control and audit trails in Contensis make it simple to track changes and manage content revisions. Teams can view a detailed history of edits, compare different versions, and easily revert to previous drafts if needed.

Top tip: Use version control to avoid confusion and save time. For example:

• Review the audit trail to see who made changes and why.
• Compare versions to ensure critical content isn’t accidentally removed or altered.
• Revert to an earlier version if a new edit introduces errors.

By using these tools, teams can maintain transparency, manage edits effectively and ensure content stays on track throughout the production process.

To ensure your Contensis workflows remain effective, it’s important to evaluate and adjust them to align with your team’s evolving needs and goals. Here are some practical tips for ongoing optimisation.

Workflows should adapt as your team grows, goals shift, or content strategies evolve. Periodically review your workflows to identify areas for improvement, such as redundant steps or roles that need adjusting.

Contensis provides an advanced search feature called ZenQL that allows to better understand what's going on with your content. You can use this to find content that has been in a particular workflow stage for a specific length of time – helping you pinpoint delays or inefficiencies in your workflows. Use these insights to refine your processes and improve overall performance.

Here's a ZenQL query that will search for all content that has been awaiting approval for 30 days or more:

sys.workflow.state = awaitingApproval and sys.workflow.transition.invoked < now(-30d) order by sys.workflow.transition.invoked asc

You can find more commonly used ZenQL queries in our cheatsheet.

Creating a feedback loop with your team is essential for identifying hidden pain points and ensuring workflows work for everyone. Encourage team members to share their experiences and suggestions for improvement.

By combining regular reviews, data-driven insights, and team feedback, you can keep your Contensis workflows running smoothly and ensure they continue to support your content production goals effectively.

Contensis offers powerful workflow, role, and permission features that help streamline content production, improve team collaboration, and ensure high-quality content is delivered on time. By taking advantage of these tools, teams can optimise their processes, reduce bottlenecks, and maintain accountability throughout the content lifecycle.

Ready to start streamlining your content production? Explore Contensis’ workflow tools today by scheduling a demo or contacting us for a refinement session to optimise your existing workflows. Let us help you unlock greater efficiency and improve your content creation process.