The Book on Change – Ensure Your Content Represents You Today

Too often we treat our websites like storefront signs – long-term representations of who we are, updated only periodically. But are you really what your message says you are? Time marches on, so maybe it's time to ensure your business is in step.

Earlier this week, our friends at Penguin Random House Canada (@PenguinCanada) Tweeted an encouragement to their followers to "Get (re)reading," sharing a Mashable link to a list of 14 books that change when you reread them later in life.

As an old English major and book wonk, I found the list interesting on a personal level. As a content guy, I think it also carries some important lessons that we need to remember about our corporate communications efforts.

I love re-reading stuff I wrote years ago. Sure, there are foundational elements that remain the same, but fortunately I've grown and changed over the years. Experience and exposure have broadened my horizons, added external context to my internal beliefs, and helped me (I hope) form more well-rounded and sensible options on matters.

The same can be said about our businesses. Sure, 10 years ago we may have believed we were something. But are we still that same business? Have we not grown and changed over the years? Have we not adapted to the times?

Like those aforementioned books, are we not able to look back at our goals, missions, and fundamentals through a new, more-experienced filter?

Let's be honest. If you haven't updated your site in 10 years, it's probably because you're out of business. The speed of business (and life in general) has increased its pace dramatically, and there's value in reviewing your own content for updates.

The business you thought you were two years ago may not exist in its totality today. Technology changes, opportunities arise, and exploitable markets ebb and flow. So doesn't it make sense to ensure your messaging is reflective of who you are today? Not stuck in who you were in the past.

It can be a challenge – especially for larger businesses. For all the talk about business wanting to remain at the fore of industry and embracing new opportunities, when it comes to communicating big business more closely emulates the description of the custom ship from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – "Looks like a fish, moves like a fish, steers like a cow."

The larger you are, the harder it can be to change direction. But the fact is that change happens and businesses – large and small – adapt to keep up. And while your bricks-and-mortar branding/location may be more challenging to update, the flexibility of the web gives you tremendous power to keep your messaging focused on your current target.

I'm not talking about fundamental regular changes of your branding and philosophy. Those are equity-rich foundations. But the fact is that our products change, our service offerings change, even the way we do business changes. We already change along with it, so it's important that our customers – both existing and potential – know about it.

It's just a sign of the times. And it's one that, at least online, should be reviewed to ensure it still says what you want it to say. After all, our interpretation of books change as we get older; so too does our interpretation of who we are in business.

Now I turn it over to you. How often do you review your online content? Do you feel it still represents you today as well as it did when it was first created?