Context As A Content Strategy: Creating More Meaningful Web Experiences Through Contextual Filtering

Context As A Content Strategy

Creating More Meaningful Web Experiences Through Contextual FilteringInternet User Experience 2010 - 07.26.10

A Few Disclaimers:

1. I am not a neuroscientist by trade, but I enjoy trying like hell to be one in my spare time.

2. I am constantly questioning the various definitions that have been provided for content strategy

3. This is a high level version of a much deeper conversation that needs to be explored. I NEED your help to start it.

4. We’re all from different backgrounds and smarter than one another in many areas. I attempted to be cognizant of that fact in this presentation.

So, you may have heard that content strategy is the next big thing.

You may have also heard that ...

“Content is King.

- Just About Every Content Strategist or Content Marketer You’ll Meet”

I disagree.

“ Content is something we connect to emotionally, converse about or learn from ... but content without context is useless.

”

Content strategy and information architecture are more than a means to achieve ‘findability.’

“We owe visitors and our site owners more than content, we owe them context

”

Content Strategy In 13 Slides

Content Strategy Plans For:

Governance• Guide (Tags /Meta Data / Best Practices / SEO) • Measure (Success Metrics / Refining Measures)• Maintain (Refresh Schedule / Removal Criteria)

Delivery• Push (Where Does It Get Placed?)• Pull (What Information Do We Bring In?)• Exchange (What Partnerships Do We Leverage?)

Creation• Source (Where Does It Come From?)• Execute (Production Method / Medium / Tone)• Approval (Editing / Review)

Content strategists combine consumer insights and product strategy to yield messaging matrices. These matrices aid in the oversight of new content creation and provide key insights into the governance of all content living in the digital space.

Consumer

Insights

Soc. Media

Insight

Analytics/

SEO

Product

Strategy

Content Strategy

Planning Sourcing GovernanceCreation

Content Strategy and Planning

Content strategy will help answer:• What messages should be communicated?• What medium supports the message?• What tone of voice should be used?• How long will it take to produce the content?• When should content be published?• What kinds of content need to be created?

Planning }Helps to define:• Information• Ownership• Support

Sourcing

Content Strategy and Sourcing

Content strategy will help answer:• Where is our content? (Content Inventories)• What content is missing? (Gap Analysis) • What content from our inventory exists to fill the gaps?• How will the new content be sourced? Is it:

- Original- Co-Created- Curated- Third Party

} Helps to define:• What we have• Where the gaps are

Creation

Content Strategy and Creation

Content strategy will help answer:• What best practices and templates can be created to aid writers and content creators?• Who assists in final editing and serves as quality control?• What does the writer, editor or project management need to create content that adheres to product strategy and consumer insight to deliver against agreed upon metrics?

} Helps to define:• Who should produce• What do they need to be successful

Governance

Content Strategy and Governance

Content strategy will help answer:• When do we need to review, adjust or delete content? • What metrics do we need to determine if our content is successful?• Can content perform better in a different channel/medium based on current performance?

} Helps to define:• Guidelines for content management• Creation or adjustment of metrics

Deliverables?

Content Audits

Heuristic Reviews

Messaging Strategies

Content Strategy Roadmaps

User Personas

Personal ProfileMelanie is a hardworking, 31-year-old mother of one.

She has never owned a 'new' vehicle and is in market to purchase or lease. She prides herself on balancing home, work and a busy personal life.

She is a heavy user of social networking and social sharing Web sites.

In her quest for a new vehicle she has utilized a variety of review and research sites in addition to discussing her decision with a variety of friends and family members.

Melanie Taylor - Potential Malibu Buyer

Background• 31-year-old female• Yoga three times per week• Works as a radiology tech at her local hospital• Married for 5 years• Thinking about expanding her family in the next three years

Attributes• Middle Class • White• Generation Y• Influenced by peers and online reviews• iPod and Smartphone user• Spends time in social media (blogs, Facebook, Yelp!)

"I want a safe, reliable, family friendly vehicle that reflects my

personal style."

Melanie's Needs• Information about safety and engineering features • Photos and video that highlight vehicle's styling• Guidance and education• Nameplate validation from peers or others• Ability to gather and share information easily

!"#$%&%'()#*+&(

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From Asset Bank • Running Footage• DVPOD• Chevy.com Galleries• Targeted Print• BYO/Matte Art• Catalog Images• Tours• 'Other' Images

Publishing Plans / Governance Models

PUBLISHER

(CLIENT)

CREATIVE

DIRECTOR

(CE DIGITAL)

SOCIAL MEDIA

MODERATOR

(CE-SOCIAL)

WRITER

(WS)

EXECUTIVE

EDITOR

(WS)

EXPERIENCE

DESIGNER

(SHERMAN)

WRITER

(WS)

SITE

STRATEGY

(CE SITE)

PublisherThe Publisher (Chevy/GM Executive client) serves as Group director for governing the production of all content. This role has final say over what content is used where and serves as keeper of editorial voice, style and tone. Serves as chief report for all creation, management and experience planning leads.

StrategyResponsible for developing best practices for content production, managing nameplate specific personas and providing editorial direction to Experience Planning Teams. Also serves as a review layer to ensure content produced is on strategy and ready for governance.

Experience PlanningResponsible for the planning, design, creation, editing and implementation of social content. Collaborates with Strategy and Publishing Executive to adhere to agreed upon content strategy plan and messaging matrix. Provides raw assets to Content Management team for ingestion into a Content Management System.

Chevy Social Publishing Process

And Lots More ...

Aveo

Chevy Content Plan - as of 2/5/10

MalibuCorvetteCamaro Cobalt/Cruze Impala

• Owner Testimonal

• What went into the

Camaro Spring Edition

SEMA Camaro and

Tech Specs.

•!C6.R To Debut on

iRacing System (w/

photos from Corvette

Quarterly)

• ZR1 Technical Story

from Corvette Quarterly

(w/photos)

!•.Owner Testimonal

• Interview with Aveo

Forums influencer

(http://

chevroletforum.com/

forum/

forumdisplay.php?f=11)

Stories Stories Stories Stories Stories Stories

Photos Photos Photos Photos Photos Photos

•!Interview with Jonell

Smith, owner of

Cobaltss.net about

expectations for Cruze

• Interview with GM

Performance Division

about the Cruze Design

•!Interview with Cargo

Experts on usable space

for Malibu, Equinox and

Traverse.

• Safety testimonial from

OnStar/Malibu owner.

•!Ask users to submit

photos of their

customized Chevy

Malibus.

•!GM Design Conceptual

Drawings Gallery

• Cruze around the world

gallery including WTCC

car.

•!How To: Install a car

seat in a Malibu

• Road Stories: Interview

with Malibu owners.

• Competitive owners test

drive Malibu and provide

background on Chevy

perception and vehicle.

• Google/YouTube

annotated videos (Photo

Hunt Style)

•!Tour of thoughtful

functionality (i.e. cell

phone space, sunglasses

holder in grab bar)

• Design videos of Cruze

durability testing and

quality testing from

around the world.

• Competitive owner's

first look at Cruze and

their vehicle and their

reaction.

Video Video VideoVideo

• User submitted

photos of their modified

Aveos.

• Gallery of Aveo RS

show car

• Interview with GM

Design about the

design of the Aveo

Extreme Concept

Vehicle

• How to Pack Your

Dorm room into an

Aveo

•!Gallery of C7

Conceptual drawings

• Gallery of the history of

Corvette

•!ZR1 Testing at

Nurburgring

• Video of performance

testing of Corvette Grand

Sport at Milford Proving

Grounds.

• Performance Features

series (Which

accessories, tweaks and

features boost

performance and why)

•!Gallery of the evolution

of the Camaro.

• User submitted photos

of their modified

Camaros.

• Interview with GM

Design Team about

Rabid Fan Response to

initial vehicle success.

• Competition Vs.

Camaro comparison

video.

Video

•!Interview with GM

Design about next

generation Impala

• History of the Impala

and its influence on

automotive design

•!Gallery of user

modified Impalas and

gallery of race-reay

Impalas from NASCAR

Video

•!How To: Install a car

seat in a Impala

• Road Stories:

Interview with Impala

owners..

• Look at Impala design

from past to modern

day, with GM Design

But Where Hell Is The Context!?

People and search engines do not consume content in the same way ...

=

Search engines consume via tags, data, code, etc.

Conversely, our brains are affected by everything — from the amount of sleep we

get to the temperature in the room.

FACT: These strange creatures think and learn differently.

Thinking and learning differs by device.

And just having content, or a content strategy isn’t going to necessarily get our message across.

WHERE IS THE CONTEXT?!

Context Starts Here

Personal ProfileMelanie is a hardworking, 31-year-old mother of one.

She has never owned a 'new' vehicle and is in market to purchase or lease. She prides herself on balancing home, work and a busy personal life.

She is a heavy user of social networking and social sharing Web sites.

In her quest for a new vehicle she has utilized a variety of review and research sites in addition to discussing her decision with a variety of friends and family members.

Melanie Taylor - Potential Malibu Buyer

Background• 31-year-old female• Yoga three times per week• Works as a radiology tech at her local hospital• Married for 5 years• Thinking about expanding her family in the next three years

Attributes• Middle Class • White• Generation Y• Influenced by peers and online reviews• iPod and Smartphone user• Spends time in social media (blogs, Facebook, Yelp!)

"I want a safe, reliable, family friendly vehicle that reflects my

personal style."

Melanie's Needs• Information about safety and engineering features • Photos and video that highlight vehicle's styling• Guidance and education• Nameplate validation from peers or others• Ability to gather and share information easily

!"#$%&%'()#*+&(

,-.*"/(

0#'()"#&1(

2*'%-3!-4#5(

From Asset Bank • Running Footage• DVPOD• Chevy.com Galleries• Targeted Print• BYO/Matte Art• Catalog Images• Tours• 'Other' Images

And Continues Here

Content Strategy Is Merely Creating Segments

We Owe Our Users More

Emotional

Cognitive

Physical

DOINGenvironmental factors,

physical activity,habits, disabilities,

preferences, sensory stimuli

LEARNINGcognitive assumptions,

learning ability, education

FEELINGpsychological state, stress

level, desires, wants, needs

Personal-Behavioral Context

The "NEW" Persona

Situation

Need

NeedNeed

TaskTask

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task

Personal-Situational Context

Scenario Requiring Content

Emotional

Cognitive

Physical

Situation

Need

NeedNeed

TaskTask

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task

Task

Situational/Behavioral Context

CONTEXTUAL CONTENT STRATEGY

What Factors Should We Focus On?

Content Planning For Physical Factors

• Segmentation Potential (Age, Need vs. Task, etc.)

• Disability

• Device Type (mobile, laptop, tablet, outdoor, etc.)

• Gender

• Geolocation

• Time

• And Many, Many More

Content Planning For Emotional Factors

• Marital Status

• Personalization Tools

• Recommendations

• User Feedback

• Utilization of social and contextual networking data

Content Planning For Learning Factors

• Familiarity With Content

• Education Attained

• Learning Disabilities

• Reading Level

So What Does This All Mean?

The Era Of Sameness Is Over

• Traditional SEO will suffer

• Context based networks will rise

• Media opportunities will multiply based on behavioral and situational needs

• Increasingly scientific data will become more important to designers and marketers

• Our jobs get harder but more fun

How We Learn Becomes A HUGE Factor

• Different content can be served to target different brain areas

• Targeting the brain’s learning centers provides for relevant contextual connections

• Content will vary based on sociological, age and emotional factors

How We Learn Visually

How We Create Meaning: #1 Primary Visual Cortex

Sight / Visual based center of learningActivates and delivers information to the Ventral Stream, Dorsal Stream and Cerebral Cortex to create meaning and context.

How We Create Meaning: #2 Ventral Stream

The Recognition CenterThe Ventral Stream (left side, Temporal Lobe) figures out what something is visually, like an Apple, or a Computer, etc. It connects images and ideas to words and language.

How We Create Meaning: #3 Dorsal Stream

The Locator (Physical Space)The Dorsal Stream (Top and rear, Parietal Lobe) figures out what something is spatially. This part of the brain is crucial in mental mapping.

How We Create Meaning: #4 Limbic System

Center for Emotional Reaction (Feeling)The Limbic System (Inside the Cortical areas) processes emotions and controls our body’s endocrine and automatic nervous systems.

Anyone Starting To Feel Like This?

State?

Shape?

Color?

Size? Location?

Where?

What?

When?

Who?

Visual Data In

Mental Map

Leveraging The Mental Map

Getting To This Won’t Be Easy

But We Can Start With Basics

• Content Filtering Via CMS

• Creating new taxonomies to organize related items and think beyond the link

• Develop content for the consumer need not for the marketing need

• Begin looking at Personas from a behavioral and situational standpoint to plan content

• Think about device in content planning

And Maybe Soon We Can Be Here

Functional MRI With Functional MRI we can record brain stimulation and reaction while a person is totally awake, learning how our designs, web sites and content affect individual operations in the brain.

So in reality ...

“CONTEXT is the true King. It’s simply powered by content.

”

QUESTIONS?

e: daniel.eizans@c-e.come: daniel.eizans@gmail.comw: danieleizans.comt: @danieleizansslideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/danieleizans

Thanks.

Photo Sources:

(Slide 26) Woman on Laptop - photographer: Ed Yourdon (Slide 28) Sleeping Woman - photographer: Subtle Mistakes (Slide 29) Man Thinking - photographer: Panther1619 (Slide 29) Woman Thinking - photographer: Vishiro (Slide 30) Pair of cell phone users - photographer: ebjSP(Slide 30) Man on Laptop - photographer: Ed Yourdon(Slide 30) Man on iPad - Apple PR (Slides 36-38) Personal Behavioral Context and Situational Context Graphics: Modified from original concept created by Andrew Hinton (Slide 45) Brain Chart - Courtesy, Society for Neuroscience ‘Brain Facts’ (Slides 47-49) Brain Diagram - WikiCommons(Slide 50) Limbic System Diagram - How Stuff Works

Note: All Photos Used were used with permission via a Creative Commons License or with expressed written permission of owner.