amy nicholson - content marketing
TRANSCRIPT
© Sticky Content Limited
Amy Nicholson
@StickyAmy
#EdgeFinance
Who’s taking care of your
content?
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• WHY is this copy going on the site? How will this copy help advance your business goals? What will users do after reading this copy? How will you measure the success of this copy?
• WHO is the copy for? What can you say about how busy they are, their motivation for reading the copy, their knowledge about the topic? When, where, how will they be coming to this copy?
• WHAT is the key message of the copy? What questions will readers want the copy to answer?
Ginny Redish, Letting Go of the Words
Before you start writing…
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“Welcome to Inc.com, the place where entrepreneurs and business owners can find useful information, advice, insights, resources and inspiration for running and growing their businesses.”
An example…
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For ‘killer content’, you must accept 3 things:
1. Driven by millions of years of conditioning, your customers focus on their own needs and those of their families and loved ones
2. Making your customers feel special means understandingwhat they really care about
3. What they really care about can sometimes be the oppositeof what you really care about
The first and most vital step in creating killer web content is to create a small set of living, breathing readers. People you can think of as you write. People you have empathy for and can care about. People you want to design the best (content) in the world for.
Taken from a blog post by Gerry McGovern, author of Killer Content| copyright Sticky Content Ltd
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Content personas
• User personas translate your business goals into real content needs
• Your personas need to work as creative tools
• Not necessarily a full representation of your entire market
• Pen portraits of representative groups
• Throw in telling details to help you sharpen your content
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The 3 elements of a tone of voice:
1. What you choose to say –messaging/content strategy
2. How you present those messages – information design
3. The actual words you use to do this – language/style ©PAImages
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1. Establish a consistent approach that all writers
can follow
2. Improve brand recognition – consistent,
repeatable and distinctively yours
3. Make your written content more usable and
even boost your sales
4. A benchmark to keep your communications
on track, and to ease the stakeholder sign-off
process
Tone of voice guidelines
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Plan like a publisher
• Maintain an editorial calendar confirming agreed frequency, timelines, volumes, content owners, formats, channels etc
• Create content departments and give them owners
• Cultivate subject matter experts and other content sources
• Capture ideas regularly
• Develop guidelines: style guide, tone of voice, format guidelines
• Put in place an editorial board to review content effectiveness
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Harness the hivemind
Trust they will come
Ask around internally
Make use of data and insights
Work your beat
Where do ideas come from?
©PAImages
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Your domain of expertise
Your users’ information
needs
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ISA investing tips
ISA investment ideas for a
falling market
ISA investment ideas for a rising
market
Saving for your child
Cash v Stocks and shares
10 of the best ISAs
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What goes in a briefing form?
destination of content eg position in IA
source material or stakeholders to provide input
audience (eg customer segments or user personas)
deadline
parameters and constraints egwordcounts, keywords
format eg case study, Q&A, video tutorial
additional guidance to consult egsocial media policy, style guide, format guidelines, compliance guidance
list of named approvers
CTA: what you want the audience to think, feel or do as a result of this content
metrics: what will success look like and how will you measure it (egdownloads, sales enquiries, seotraffic, etc)?
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When to use your brief…
When you’re planning content
• To help you crystallise your goals and intentions.
• To how a piece of content fits within your whole activity.
When you’re writing
• To keep you focused on the desired outcomes and the
task at hand.
When you’re commissioning content
• To give writers a clear, agreed understanding of what
their content needs to achieve and the form it should
take.
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When to use your brief…
When you’re checking content
• Check you've got all the content elements you need in
place.
When you’re submitting content
• Get approvers to check copy against the briefing form –
seeing the thinking will help them appreciate the
execution.
• If you're managing a lot of stakeholders, do they all need
to sign off on the final content? Can some approve the
brief instead?
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‘Recipe book conjures up a specific image complete with format, structure, content, organisation, context and purpose.” Peter Morville, Ambient Findability
Form makes content usable
| Digital Content Strategy copyright Sticky Content Ltd
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Tried-and-trusted digital formats
• FAQ
• Step-by-step
• Q&A
• Document summary
• Timeline / chronology
• Product page
• Case study
• What is… ?
• How to… ?
• User guide
• Facts at a glance
• Menu
• News story
• Testimonial
• Top 10 tips
• Factfile
• Buyer’s guide
• Destination guide
• Checklist
• Biography
| Digital Content Strategy copyright Sticky Content Ltd
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Format guidelines: job ads
Section Content Format
Title Job title Title
Standfirst Engaging description of what the person
will be doing
1 sentence
We’re looking for… Top-level description of the ideal candidate 1-2 paragraphs
What’s the role? What the person will be doing day-to-day. The
responsibilities and opportunities of the job
2-6 short paragraphs
You are someone who… Personal qualities, attitudes and skills of the
successful candidate
Bullet list (up to 10 bullets)
Boxes to tick Necessary experience/qualifications in order to
apply for this job
Bullet list (up to 10 bullets)
What’s in it for you? Practical benefits of the role 1 paragraph
Why now? Why Fortune Cookie? Compelling reasons to choose the company
and explanation of current need to recruit
1 paragraph
| Digital Content Strategy copyright Sticky Content Ltd
© Sticky Content Limited
In your content toolkit:
1. Mission statement
2. User personas
3. Writers’ guidelines
4. Editorial calendar
5. Good ideas – and ways to capture
them
6. Briefing forms
7. Formats
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Who do you need on your side?
©PAImages
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The Content Strategy quad
People
components
© Brain Traffic 2011
Content
componentsCore
strategy
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The guard
Most likely to say:
‘No, I can’t move your deadline.’
Do delegate:
Looking after the calendar, scheduling
Don’t delegate: social media
©PAImages
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The captain of the quiz team
Most likely to say:
‘I think you’ll find…’
Do delegate:
Managing your style guide, proofreading
Don’t delegate: stakeholder engagement
©PAImages
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The teenager
Most likely to say:
‘That’s really boring.’
Do delegate:
Idea generation, platform research
Don’t delegate: scheduling ©PAImages
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The safety officer
Most likely to say:
‘Have you read the FCA guidance?’
Do delegate:
Approval, compliance, final sign-off
Don’t delegate: Idea generation
©PAImages
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@stickycontent
Content strategy workshop
for FS June 2015:
(1/2 day) An introduction to content strategy
for senior executives in FS: framework,
business case and operational implications
(Full day workshop) Content strategy for
Financial Services