Share the Load: Post Content Directly to Your Site with Metadata
How often does someone email you a document to post to a website? Or do you email your documents to someone for posting? There are many good reasons why this happens, and you've probably heard them. They include:
- I wanted you (or someone) to look at it first before it's posted
- I don't have access to the site
- I don't know where to put it
- I couldn't find the right place
- I don't have time (to learn how to upload a file)
- I posted it, but now I can't find it
Asking or expecting someone else to upload your content can create confusion. If someone is emailing you documents to post, seize the teachable moment on the benefits of posting your own content directly to your SharePoint site.
Here are some good ways to leverage SharePoint's core features to address each of these common concerns around web publishing.
I wanted you to look at it first before it's posted
Use your collaboration teamsite to develop and review documents internally. Once you have a final ready for posting to your group's intranet portal, your admins can set Content Approval on the document library to ensure that at least one Approver sees the final document before it's posted. Again, Be Bold and Assume Good Faith.I don't have access to the site
If only site administrators have access, you're losing one of the most time-saving benefits of web publishing. Streamline access across your group to promote peer-to-peer knowledge sharing. Intranets benefit from the Wikipedia principles: Be Bold and Assume Good Faith.While you are planning your intranet portal, it's a good idea to grant Contribute access to the site to all of your senior managers, and to any staff assigned to write for publication. This will let you streamline your publishing process, bypassing the email chain and replacing it with SharePoint web-based workflows for final review and approval.
Once you have Content Approval in place, site administrators and leadership can grant your content owners Contribute access, without worrying that someone will post an inappropriate or incomplete content without review.
I don't know where to put it
Consider using simple metadata tags like Team Name and Region, and then create filtered views of the same library for each team (instead of separate libraries or folders for each). This way, everyone can upload content to the same place--usually by using the Add New Item link at the bottom of a page section. SharePoint will store it in the common library and use the tags to display it in the right place(s) on the site.I couldn't find the right place to put it
With metadata, there is no more navigating through nested folders, or making sure you post to a special Drafts or Approvals folder. Post and tag your content to the common library, and SharePoint takes care of the rest.I don't have time (to learn how to upload a file)
You don't have time not to! With metadata tags, the overhead of figuring out where to put the file is gone. It's just as easy to upload a document as it is to attach it to an email.I posted it, but now I can't find it
For lists that have Content Approval enabled, your document will not appear in published views until it has been approved. Any Contributor can see Pending content in the special My Items view of the document library. If your team is having trouble getting used to Content Approval, ask Keane IT for a group training session to help you practice.What's in it for me?
Once you have your metadata tags in place and your teams working together to post their own content and use content approval promptly, here are some of the benefits you'll enjoy:- No more attachments choking a few people's inboxes
- Better team ownership of your website
- More confidence from your contributors
- Fresher, faster, and better content published to your readers
- Reader trust in who has posted the content and when
- Easy to identify stale content or owners that have left the team
- Better search, browse, and overall findability
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