Here’s how you know when it’s time for a content refresh
When good advice gets stale
A friend of mine is looking for a new dog, and while I was at the vet’s office last week, I picked up a book called How to Choose the Right Dog for You. It sounded perfect—exactly what she needed. But as I flipped through the pages, I started to wonder when it was written. The advice about researching breeds and training techniques felt oddly dated. Sure enough, when I checked the copyright page, it said 1998.
More than a quarter of a century ago.
That got me thinking: When does information stop being useful? If I were looking for guidance about moving workloads to the cloud or protecting against cybersecurity threats, a source from 1998 would be laughably out of date. But what about an infographic dated 2018? A demo video from 2020? An eBook about AI from 2022?
In the technology world, what counts as “current” changes fast, and that’s true for your content and your brand, too.
Your content starts to age faster than you think
If you work in a technical industry—software, IT services, manufacturing, or hardware—you already know how quickly things move. Your content might not be wrong, but it can still feel stale. Statistics from a few years ago, screenshots from an old interface, or messaging that no longer reflects your current offer can all make your audience pause and wonder whether your company is keeping up.
That means even content that looks “fine” on the surface can start costing you if you’re not actively maintaining it.
What makes content feel stale
Outdated content isn’t just about the year in the footer. It’s about signals your audience picks up subconsciously:
References to technologies or product versions that no longer exist
Old logos, fonts, or brand colors that clash with your current look
Links to broken pages or obsolete offers
Stock photos that scream “2015 corporate”
Long paragraphs, jargon-heavy phrasing, or formatting that doesn’t translate well to mobile
When a prospect lands on content like that, it sends the same signal as that 1998 dog book: This might not be the best advice anymore.
Looking ahead to next year’s marketing campaigns
As you start planning your campaign calendar, it’s worth asking: Do you have the assets you need to make those campaigns successful?
A new year usually brings new strategies, new budgets, and new goals. But before you dive into creating everything from scratch, take stock of what you already have. You might find that your content doesn’t need a complete overhaul. It might just need a tune-up.
Maybe your eBook is still relevant, but the examples are dated. Maybe your demo video is great but doesn’t reflect your current branding. Or maybe your blog series still ranks well, but it doesn’t reflect the new AI capabilities that match your current messaging.
Refreshing what you have can be faster, more efficient, and more consistent with your existing brand voice than reinventing everything.
Questions to ask yourself as you plan
Before you start building next year’s campaign calendar, run through this quick checklist:
Do our existing assets still align with our current strategy?
Make sure to focus on the right services, audiences, and outcomes.Are we using the right formats? Are they mobile-friendly?
If your audience has shifted from PDFs to short-form video or interactive web content, your format might be holding you back.Is the messaging up to date?
It should reflect the current market, your product value, and customer priorities and pain points.Does the content look and feel current?
Visual style, photography, and tone can all age faster than you think.Are our calls to action still relevant?
Make sure every piece directs audiences to the right next step based on your goals.What’s missing?
Identify gaps. Maybe you need a stronger top-of-funnel offer, a refreshed case study, or new nurture content for a product launch.
Answering these questions can help you determine which assets just need a light update and which ones need to be rebuilt from the ground up.
Refresh with purpose
Refreshing content doesn’t mean doing it for the sake of “looking new.” It means being intentional about what will actually move the needle.
Start with a content audit. List your key assets (web pages, case studies, videos, infographics, eBooks) and note the last time each was updated. Then rank them by business value and effort to update. High-impact, low-effort items, like updating a popular blog with new stats or refreshing an existing video with new branding, are quick wins.
For bigger projects, such as website redesigns or product rebranding, build updates into your roadmap early. This ensures creative teams, agencies, and budgets are aligned to support those changes before campaigns launch.
And remember, refreshing isn’t just about polishing the surface. It’s about ensuring every asset still communicates the expertise, innovation, and clarity your brand stands for.
The takeaway
Just like that 1998 dog book, your marketing materials might look fine on the shelf, but that doesn’t mean they’re still relevant.
Before the new year kicks off, take the time to review, refresh, and realign your content and brand assets. You might not need to start from scratch; often, the best results come from modernizing what’s already working.
Because when your campaigns launch next year, you want your materials to feel credible, current, and confident, reflecting a brand that evolves as fast as the technology it represents.
To make it easier, download our Content Refresh Checklist. It’s a step-by-step guide to auditing your existing assets, updating what’s stale, and ensuring your campaigns launch next year feeling credible, current, and confident.
Want to talk about getting a dog - I mean, want to walk through your current sales and marketing assets and build a content roadmap for the upcoming year? Email lisa@emminc.com to get started!