Top 3 ContentOps Mistakes to Avoid

Content operations (ContentOps) may seem like just another marketing buzzword, but the principles behind the term address real challenges for modern marketers and content editors.

How do you produce content efficiently, keep quality high, and re-use assets across today’s omnichannel and headless experiences? The answer lies in integrating people, processes, and technology through the principle of ContentOps.

ContentOps works—if you avoid common pitfalls. Here are the top 3 mistakes to skip in 2025:

1. Not Involving People

When we asked about how to excel at ContentOps, Angus Edwardson of GatherContent (now Bynder) advised starting with people. If colleagues, leaders, and stakeholders are not brought in early, the program will struggle.

People plan tactics, write, design, review, approve, and publish. If they don’t understand the purpose, workflows stall, apathy prevails, and quality erodes. The result is a scattershot portfolio with little direction—and few signs of efficiency, assurance, or scale.

• Make roles explicit and publish a simple RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed).
• Kick off projects with a shared brief and definition of “done.”
• Keep a visible backlog so priorities are clear.

See also: Rocketpower Your Content Operations with Enonic »

2. Ignoring AI-driven Workflows and Governance

ContentOps isn’t static. In 2025, AI supports research, briefs, metadata, quality checks, and re-use. Treating AI as a side project leaves speed and consistency untapped. Integrate AI where it truly helps, and pair it with human oversight to protect brand, accuracy, and safety.

Set lightweight guardrails: which tasks are automated, which require review, and which remain manual. Define prompts, approvals, and data handling. Document roles, workflows, and success metrics so the team knows how decisions are made and what “good” looks like—then use AI to accelerate those rules.

• Start with a pilot workflow and measure cycle time, defects, and output quality.
• Store approved prompts and examples alongside your content model.
• Train editors to spot AI failure modes before publication.

See also: We're Testing Our Own AI Translator »

3. Having Outdated Tools

Enthusiastic people and clean processes still fail without the right tools. A sluggish content management system, clunky design suite, or brittle integrations sap momentum. Choose platforms that support collaboration, versioning, structured content, and omnichannel delivery.

Retire legacy systems that drain time through maintenance and workarounds. Keep your stack lean. Automate tagging, routing, and localization. Use content models to enable re-use and consistency across sites, apps, and campaigns. Tools should make the happy path obvious and the right path fast.

• Consolidate overlapping tools and remove unused plug-ins.
• Prefer APIs, webhooks, and schemas over one-off scripts.
• Budget for decommissioning—not just new purchases.

You should procure tools that support transparency and productivity in your digital project. Fewer, better systems reduce friction and free teams to focus on outcomes, not plumbing.

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ContentOps can transform modern content teams. Center people, embrace AI with sensible guardrails, and keep tooling current. Do this and you’ll ship clear, consistent content at scale—without sacrificing quality.

First published 20 August 2020, updated 8 September 2025.