content strategy for everything
TRANSCRIPT
CONTENT STRATEGY FOR THE WEB Everything
Kristina @Halvorson
Coauthor, Content Strategy for the Web
CEO, Brain Traffic and Founder, Confab Events
I wrote the first version of Content Strategy for the Web in 2009.
In it, I defined content strategy as “the practice of planning for the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content.”
Not just...
• What
But …• What
• Why
• How
• When
• For whom
• By whom
• With what
• Where
• How often
• What next
In 2012, I coauthored the 2nd edition with Melissa Rach.
This time, defining “content strategy” was a bit trickier.
(Read: there were several caveats.)
At exactly this time, there was another trend on the rise.
Content marketing is the approach of
creating and distributing valuable and
consistent content to a targeted audience,
with the objective of driving some
profitable action…
– “The Evolution of Content Marketing
Will Include Intelligent Content”
Joe Pulizzi, 1/12/2015
“
The marketing industry happily complied.
This is big trouble for companies who still can’t manage the content they had in the first place.
Content strategy is more important than ever.
What is content strategy?
Core strategy: This defines where you
will focus your efforts
to improve content
substance, structure,
workflow, and/or
governance.
It must provide clear
boundaries for what
you will do … and what
you won’t.
© Brain Traffic 2015
Substance: Story, topic, brand elements, voice and tone
Structure: Organization, categorization, component elements
CONTENT
Substance… …fulfills business objectives by meeting audience needs.
Structure… …makes content findable and usable for users, and manageable for technology.
CONTENT
PEOPLE
Workflow: Roles, processes, tools
Governance: Policies, standards, guidelines
Workflow... ...creates efficiencies across content properties.
Governance… ...empowers, facilitates, and aligns.
PEOPLE
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Lots More To Learn About
10 Definitions of Content Strategy by Monica Bussolati
Point of View: Content Strategy by Kevin Nichols
What Is Content Strategy? by Aha Media Group
What kinds of content strategy are there?
Content Strategy for User Experience
Infographic published by IBM Customer-Facing Solutions.
http://blog.braintraffic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/structured-content.png
Adaptive Content Strategy
Enterprise Content Strategy
Adapted from http://www.gollner.ca/2015/03/defining-intelligent-content.html
Workflow and Governance
What does a content strategist do?
Point of View: Content Strategy by Kevin Nichols
What is the content strategy process?
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What is “a content strategy”?
• A content strategy—any strategy—is the path you’ll take towards meeting your goals and fulfilling your vision. It may be one of a few parallel paths towards the same goals.
• A content strategy helps define what you WILL do and what you WON’T do.
• All tactical content initiatives must map back to your strategy.
• Your content strategy should force you to prioritize and to say “no.”
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How To Get There
1 : Assessment, Analysis, and Strategy
2 : Architecture and Editorial
3 : Implementation
4 : Maintenance
1 : Assessment, Analysis, and Strategy
2 : Architecture and Editorial
3 : Implementation
4 : Maintenance
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Business objectives Current technology
Project objectives Functional requirements
User research Cross-platform initiatives
Stakeholder interviews Industry trends
Usability testing Competitors
Design research Content inventory
Typical Discovery Checklist
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Content ROT Stakeholder agenda
Current style guide Content owners
Content readability Workflow and timelines
Search analytics Metadata integrity
Legal requirements Translation requirements
Channel requirements Accessibility requirements
Content Strategy Checklist
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After the Assessment: Your Analysis Report
EXAMPLE ONLY
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EXAMPLE ONLY
EXAMPLE ONLY
EXAMPLE ONLY
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Example: Content Strategy Framework
CORE STRATEGY
Evolve our print production model to deliver single-source, omnichannel content.
We communicate effortlessly with priority audiences everywhere.
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Example: CS document intro
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Example: CS Guiding Principles
1 : Assessment, Analysis, and Strategy
2 : Architecture and Editorial
3 : Implementation
4 : Maintenance
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“Define and Design”
Project plan High level architecture
Success metrics Content requirements
Dependencies Features definition
Branding elements Development plan
Design mock-ups User testing/QA
SEO guidelines Launch plan
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Messaging Content models
Topic maps Content types
Style guide Taxonomy
Page tables Editorial calendar
Architecture and Editorial
You can find all sorts of tools and templates here.
1 : Assessment, Analysis, and Strategy
2 : Architecture and Editorial
3 : Implementation
4 : Maintenance
Example: Content Strategy Roadmap
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Example: Editorial Workflow
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Example: Enterprise Workflow
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Example: Team Structure
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How do you make the case for content
strategy?
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Pain Points
• “We’re struggling with too much content across our digital properties, with more being produced every day.”
• “We don’t know who owns the content.”
• “Our content is inconsistent, off-brand, outdated, even incorrect in places.”
• “We’re partway through a website redesign and suddenly have major content problems.”
• “We’re duplicating work efforts in digital and print content.”
• “People in our company all talk about content and content strategy in totally different ways.”
• “There are lots of politics and opinions that make progress very difficult.”
Unanswered Questions
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Opportunities DIGITAL SERVICES IMPROVEMENT
• Reduced content operations cost
• Reduced content approval cycle time
• Decreased content redundancy
• Increased flexibility of content production and distribution
CUSTOMER VALUE IMPROVEMENT • Higher content quality, lower error rates
• Increased customer satisfaction
• New customer interactions
• Increased direct bookings
How can you make content strategy a part
of your world?
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Smart Next Steps*
Read:
Attend:
Work with:
* I am biased.
Content Strategy for the WebThe Content Strategy Toolkit
Any Confab content strategy conference
Brain Traffic
CONTENT STRATEGY FOR THE WEB You!
Kristina @Halvorson
Coauthor, Content Strategy for the Web
CEO, Brain Traffic
Founder, Confab Events
More Ideas: Books and Articles
- How To Create a Clear Project Plan
- Auditing Big Sites Doesn’t Have To Be Taxing
- Audit Sampling: It’s a Numbers Game
- Good Kickoff Meetings, by Kevin Hoffman
- Moments of Impact: How To Design Strategic Conversations that Accelerate Change
- “Interviewing Humans”
- Just Enough Research
- Good Strategy, Bad Strategy
- What Is Strategy and Does It Matter?