Clear, Concise, & Compelling: Use Content Strategy to Better Tell Your Story

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Clear, Concise, & Compelling

Use Content Strategy to Better Tell Your Story

#CBIMinneapolis

@wd45

Table of Contents

•  Some background •  Your station •  Your audience •  Content strategy •  Cut through the clutter •  Examples •  Questions

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SOME BACKGROUND

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Who?

•  I’m Clinton Forry, VP Content Strategy at Weber Shandwick.

•  I’ve practiced content strategy for over 15 years.

•  These are my cats, Alfred Jazz and Simon Sparkle.

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My broadcasting street cred

•  KGRK student radio •  KHKE-FM •  KUNI-FM •  University’s Board

of Control for Student Broadcasting

•  PRI, Public Radio International

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Broadcasting as an influence

•  Communications is a fine foundation for many things

•  Radio programming is content, too

•  It has a beginning and an end within a larger context

•  Each second becomes a part of the entire identity

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Things change

•  A broadcast signal is one of your channels

•  New devices, new formats

•  Linear is history •  Each piece has less

context on its own •  Enter Atomic Content

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Atomic Content

Article • Article • Article • Article • Article • Article • Article • Article • Article • Article

News • Sports • Local • Comics • Business • Lifestyle

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Newspaper #CBIMinneapolis 8

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Atomic Content

Segment • Segment • Segment • Segment • Segment • Segment • Segment • Segment Program • Program • Program • Program • Program • Program

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Radio Station #CBIMinneapolis 9

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Atomic Content

Segment • Interview • Video • Article • Podcast • Tweet • Photo • Social Update

Digital Broadcaster

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YOUR STATION

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Who are you?

•  Format •  History •  How do others view you? •  How do you view yourself? •  What do you want to

accomplish?

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Competitors

•  Other stations •  Other services •  Other media •  Life

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YOUR AUDIENCE

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Who are they?

•  How do they identify? •  Where are they? •  How are they listening or

watching? •  Has it changed?

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What do they expect?

•  When you know your audience and their expectations, you can create content for them

•  Find out more with some quick, informal user research

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CONTENT STRATEGY

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What is content strategy?

Content strategy helps align �an organization’s goals with audience expectations via sustainable online content.

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What is a content strategy?

•  It’s a plan to get you from where you are to where you wish to be.

•  Get together, write it down, review it.

•  It’s a guide for you, your team, and your organization.

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A model for content strategy

A model in five parts: •  Core Strategy •  Substance •  Structure •  Workflow •  Governance

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Core Strategy

•  It’s what you do and why you do it •  Everything you do must support it •  Use a Mad Lib for a quick core

strategy:

Station (does what) for (whom) �via (your content) because (why) .

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Core Strategy

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Radio K - KUOM is the award-winning student-run radio station of the University of Minnesota, playing an eclectic variety of independent music both old and new. Radio K educates students, breaks ground in musical programming, and provides cutting-edge cultural coverage through our specialty shows and Real College Podcast.

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Substance

What you say, and how you say it

Messages. Individual ideas and concepts. Voice & Tone. The way you communicate it. Call-to-action. The thing you want people to do.

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Structure

How content is conveyed, organized, and distributed Think PESO Paid. Funded promotion. Earned. Coverage by others. Social. On 3rd party platform. Owned. On your platform.

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Workflow

From idea… to implementation Roles. Who does what? Responsibilities. Who owns what? Resources. What can we do? Volume. How much can we do? Approval. Who has the final say? Timing. When does it happen?

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Governance

Online content sticks around. Maintenance. Care needed after you hit publish. Measurement. Does it work? Feedback. Inputs into the process.

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CUT THROUGH THE CLUTTER

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Cut through the clutter What You Need

What Your Audience Wants

What You Can Create

table stakes

trustworthy

clear and simple

appeals to emotion

meets user expectations

sustainable

appropriate

unique to station

meets organization goals

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The three Cs of great content

Clear. Keep it simple.

Concise. Respect the audience’s time.

Compelling. Give them a reason to read or watch or listen.

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Make sure it works

•  Support your goals •  Provide a call-to-action •  Measure the results •  Take action when you can

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Create it sustainably

•  Assess your resources •  Be realistic •  Create an editorial

calendar or plan – Map your resources – Account for all channels – Look 3-6 months ahead – Chart your course

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AN EXAMPLE

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Radio K

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Radio K’s website

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Radio K’s Facebook page

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Radio K’s Twitter feed(s)

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Radio K’s YouTube channel

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CONTENT STRATEGY RESOURCES

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More content strategy resources

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The Content Strategy Toolkit

by Meghan Casey

Content Strategy for the Web

by Kristina Halvorson

& Melissa Rach

The Elements of Content Strategy

by Erin Kissane

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QUESTIONS?

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