In my experience many business leaders, (at least the ones with ultimate budget control), don't understand what the term "content" means, let alone its significance in their business strategy.
The trouble is, even if there is a clued up web team in an organisation, this team still has to go to leadership to get budget sign-off for web expenditure: headcount for content editors or in-house web designers, budget for web enhancements, development, what have you. Each time they have to explain exactly what the expenditure is, and why they need it.
This is often where the communication fails. The clued up web team uses web jargon and web-centric justifications for their budget request. (i.e. to improve content quality and freshness, to increase unique visits, to improve SEO, and so on). The business leaders have NO IDEA what any of this means, and certainly no comprehension of why it is important.... thus web content remains on the periphery.
Imagine a meeting with director level marketing leaders and a web team. The web team tries to present a report on the status of the organisation's website. They refer to "content items"... and the marketing leaders' eyes glaze over in boredom. Chances are traditional marketers have no clue what a "content item" is. Nor do they see how this had anything to do with their own marketing strategies.
A better approach is to speak their language: "copy”, “articles", "press releases", "product details", or other jargon that they already understand. And, always bring it back to their objectives. Spell out why online content matters in terms of brand, sales, marketing,....
Using a Google example is always powerful. Ask them what they would do if searching for a service/product/business like theirs? Then, show them where they are (or are not) in the Google rankings. (In my experience traditional marketers react really well to this exercise), and discuss why their web content is problematic.
I also found using practical stats, like: x% of consumers use the web to research products/services/businesses prior to making purchases, or x% of FT100 business leaders use the web for their business information, or x% of job applicants visit a company's website before accepting a job offer, and so on. Then say, so, if you were to visit your website as a consumer/client/prospect, etc., what would your impression be?
Then walk them through how to improve their "brand" by improving the information they have on their website. When an organisation starts to make the link between their brand, the quality of the content they have on their website, and their actual business objectives, they start to rethink the way they manage (or don't manage) their content. It finally clicks that this is NOT a technical issue, nor a peripheral one!
Of course, for those of us who make our living from companies who can't seem to get the online content issue right, maybe we really want to keep our mouths shut!!
