Professional conferences are always an engaging way to build networking and discover new opportunities. But the return of in-person conferences is even more of a reason to celebrate the long-missed personal connections within the community.

CIDM’s ConVEx 2022, which took place in Tempe, Arizona (2-4 May, 2022), was an immersive experience for content creators, architects and developers. The event offered a wealth of ideas and information to support content creators in defining and executing a comprehensive content strategy.

Zoomin was proud to sponsor ConVEx 2022 and support the community of documentation experts. We always look forward to meeting new folks and sharing our view of the trends and themes in the industry. There were also almost 20 sessions by Zoomin and Zoomin customers, highlighting the importance of delivering better content experiences, both for internal groups who want to share their information as well as customers looking for it.  

In addition to hearing great best practices, attending the conference and various networking events was also an opportunity to hear what other organizations are focused on as well as where they’re struggling.

This year, we identified three major themes in the documentation world:

1. Delivering content from “omnisource” to omnichannel: Organizations are realizing that moving from content silos to unified content everywhere is essential for delivering users the right knowledge, at the right time and in the right context. Multiple, isolated content portals mean that content cannot be integrated and may be kept in various formats on different delivery channels. Customers want a simple, integrated content experience that provides the answers they need from anywhere in your organization, without having to search multiple sites or ask support for help. The omnisource to omnichannel approach eliminates this frustration, making it easier for internal groups to publish any content to any destination and for customers to consume content on their desired channel.

2. Content analytics empower documentation teams: Data about users’ behavior can transform not only the quality and availability of your content, but also  your content strategy. Having these content insights can determine which topics users are most interested in and if customers are struggling with specific product features, as well as more tactical decisions, like what languages should you prioritize for translation or which devices they use most often. Giving documentation teams the ability to make data-driven decisions enables them to focus on the content that delivers the greatest impact. Having that data readily accessible and easy to understand enables them to react quickly and do more without time consuming analysis or IT requests.

3. Stepping up doc managers’ career path: There is no doubt that technical content is a critical tool organizations must use to create better customer experiences, drive greater product adoption and foster trust. Yet, outside the documentation team, executives and the rest of the organization are not aware of the huge impact content has not only as a source of knowledge, but also to increase web traffic, simplify customer on-boarding and reduce support costs. Hence, we are glad to see content experts learning how to “sell” their invaluable knowledge and impact internally, to demonstrate the connection between content and key business metrics, create a business case for further investment, earn their seat at the table and take due credit for the value they deliver in driving customer engagement and satisfaction.

What’s next

The good news is that all these trends are all designed not only to improve the value of content to businesses and their customers, but also to enhance technical documentation’s professional perception and position within organizations.

Yet the challenging aspect is that these trends also require content experts to communicate their work better, as well as develop cross-collaborations between different parts of the organization, to make other teams understand technical content’s value. While this skill set was never a main focus for documentation, it is one that is becoming necessary - especially as you seek to advance within your organization.

Simply put, the discussion on the power of docs and the best way to communicate it is here to stay, and hopefully will bring more recognition and empowerment. See you next time!