Content Strategy: Why Now?

Content Strategy: Why Now? Content Strategy Seminar 2012 8 February 2012

Rachel Lovinger @rlovinger

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Photo by Rohanna Mertens

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

• Associate Content Strategy Director,

Razorfish, New York

• Co-editor of scatter/gather, a content

strategy blog:

http://scattergather.razorfish.com

• Author of Nimble: A Razorfish

Report on Publishing in the

Digital Age (June 2010):

http://nimble.razorfish.com (@NimbleRF on Twitter)

RACHEL LOVINGER

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• Where we’ve come from

• Why content strategy matters

• Where we’re headed

CONTENT STRATEGY: WHY NOW?

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

WHERE WE’VE COME FROM

WHAT IS CONTENT

STRATEGY?

First, a definition

“Content Strategy plans for the creation,

delivery, and governance of useful, usable

content.”

- Kristina Halvorson

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• Text on the site

• Images

• Video

• Audio

• Data

• User Comments

• Email

• Online Conversations

WHAT IS CONTENT?

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

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Photo by zandperl

CONTENT IS THE REASON PEOPLE GO TO YOUR SITE

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• Messaging: What are we trying to say, and to whom?

• Sourcing: Where is our content coming from?

• Management: How are we going to deliver and maintain it?

• Engagement: How do people find and connect with our content?

CONTENT STRATEGY RESPONSIBILITIES

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

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• Messaging

• Content evaluation

• Editorial strategy

• Content/Brand alignment

• Features & formats recommendations

• Sourcing

• Gap analysis

• Content specifications

• Content creation guidelines

• Governance plan

• Syndication strategy

CONTENT STRATEGY ACTIVITIES

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

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• Management

• Content Model

• Editorial workflow

• Metadata & Taxonomy

• CMS consulting

• Engagement

• Platforms/channels recommendations

• Search strategy

• Social strategy

• Mobile strategy

CONTENT STRATEGY ACTIVITIES

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

12 THESE ACTIVITIES ARE INTER-RELATED

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

Messaging

How are we going to deliver

and maintain it?

Sourcing

Engagement Management

What are we trying to say,

and to whom?

Where is our content

coming from?

How do people find and

connect with our content?

13 CONTENT STRATEGY IS INTERDISCIPLINARY

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

Messaging

How are we going to deliver

and maintain it?

Sourcing

Engagement Management

What are we trying to say,

and to whom?

Where is our content

coming from?

How do people find and

connect with our content?

designers writers

developers information

architects

marketers

search social media

editors

strategy

& planning

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

A bit of history

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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Go

ogle

Resu

lts

Year

Results for "Content Strategy"

MENTIONS ON THE WEB: 2000-2008

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

16 2000: CHECKLIST FROM INC.

17 2001: JAKOB NIELSEN – “WRITING FOR THE WEB”

18 2002: PAUL FORD OFFERS HIS SERVICES

19 2003: ANN ROCKLEY – MANAGING ENTERPRISE CONTENT

20 2004: CS FOR EMAIL NEWSLETTERS

21 2005: AMY GAHRAN STARTS A SERIES

22 2006: RSS IS THE “HOT NEW THING”

23 2007: RACHEL LOVINGER – BOXES & ARROWS

24 2008: KRISTINA HALVORSON – A LIST APART

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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Go

ogle

Resu

lts

Year

Results for "Content Strategy"

MENTIONS ON THE WEB: 2000-2008

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Go

ogle

Resu

lts

Year

Results for "Content Strategy"

MENTIONS ON THE WEB: 2000-2011

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Go

ogle

Resu

lts

Year

Results for "Content Strategy"

MENTIONS ON THE WEB: 2000-2011

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

SOMETHING HAPPENED HERE

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At the IA Summit, organized by: Kristina Halvorson @halvorson and Karen McGrane @karenmcgrane

Attended by:

CONTENT STRATEGY CONSORTIUM: 19 MARCH 2009

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

Ian Alexander @eatmedia

Margot Bloomstein @mbloomstein

Jennifer Bohmbach @evoljennifer

Shelly Bowen @shelbow

Lorelei Brown @beezy

Christopher Collette @collettico

R. Stephen Gracey @RSGracey

Stephanie Hale @HaleStephanie

Margret Hanley @magshanley

Colleen Jones @leenjones

Rachel Lovinger @rlovinger

Jeff MacIntyre @jeffmacintyre

Keri Maijala @clamhead

Laura Melcher @lmelcher

Elena Melendy @emelendy

Chris Moritz @chrismoritz

Melissa Rach @melissarach

Erin Scime @erinscime

Gene Smith @gsmith

Samantha Starmer @samanthastarmer

29 CONTENT STRATEGY FOR THE WEB: 22 AUG 2009

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Photo by Jeff Myers

THEN: UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH

31 CONTENT STRATEGY COMMUNITY

32 CONTENT STRATEGY CONFERENCES

CS Forum 2010: Paris, France

2011: London, England

2012: Cape Town, South Africa

2011 & 2012: MINNEAPOLIS, MN CONTENT STRATEGY APPLIED

33 ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS

34 OTHER CONTENT STRATEGY BOOKS

35 COLLEGE COURSES

©2011 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

College Courses

ContentsMagazine.com

36 CONTENTS MAGAZINE

http://contentsmagazine.com/

HOW DID I GET HERE?

A bit about me

38

• Associate Content Strategy Director,

Razorfish, New York

• Co-editor of scatter/gather, a content

strategy blog:

http://scattergather.razorfish.com

• Author of Nimble: A Razorfish

Report on Publishing in the

Digital Age (June 2010):

http://nimble.razorfish.com (@NimbleRF on Twitter)

RACHEL LOVINGER

Photo by Rohanna Mertens

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

39 EDITORS: HOME PAGE

Screenshot via Wayback Machine

40 THE OTHER 10,000+ ARTICLES

Screenshot via Wayback Machine

41 HOW I BECAME A CONTENT STRATEGIST

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

Business Goals

Technology

Editorial Goals

42 HOW I BECAME A CONTENT STRATEGIST

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

Business Goals

Technology

Editorial Goals Vision

Tactics

43 APPROACHES TO WEB CONTENT STRATEGY

Diagram by Richard Ingram

Richard Ingram made

this diagram to show

how people bring

different skills,

backgrounds, and

experiences to their

work in Content

Strategy, and this

impacts the way they

practice, and the aspects

they focus on.

44 HOW DID WE ALL GET HERE?

The following year, Ingram

surveyed content strategists

about their educational and

professional backgrounds. He

mapped the answers

from 265 respondents to get

an even more detailed view of

the paths we took

to get to Content Strategy.

Diagram by Richard Ingram

It’s not necessary to have “Content

Strategist” in your title in order to

practice content strategy.

WHY CONTENT STRATEGY

MATTERS

CLEARING OUT THE R.O.T.

Content Grooming

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• Criteria for

evaluating

content

• This article

is trivial

• These related

items are

redundant

ROT = REDUNDANT, OUTDATED, TRIVIAL

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

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• Evaluate content quality

• Remove or revise content, as needed

• Prevent ROT in new content

• Relevant

• On-brand

• Periodic review

CONTENT ANALYSIS & CREATION GUIDELINES

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

“EVERYONE’S A PUBLISHER”

Content Creation

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©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

• Sourcing or writing

articles

• Creating videos

• Seeding social media

campaigns

• Monitoring

communities

• Etc.

NON-MEDIA COMPANIES

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• Define messaging goals

“Encourage exploration and build

brand loyalty. Foster discussion among

existing and prospective customers.”

• Optimize the organization and operational practices

EDITORIAL STRATEGIES

workflow diagram by Richard Ingram, via Intentional Design

“PRINT IS DEAD”

Content Business Models

54 PRINT IS AT RISK

Photo by inky

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©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

ATTENTION IS DIVIDED

Photo by me

56 CREATE NEW DIGITAL EXPERIENCES

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57 CREATE NEW BUSINESS MODELS

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved. Source: The New York Times Corporation

DISRUPTIVE PERSONAL TECH

Content Delivery

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©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

READ ON OUR TABLETS

Photo by TheCreativePenn

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©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

UPLOAD PHOTOS FROM OUR PHONES

Photo by Mathias Klang

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©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

STREAM VIDEOS ON OUR TV

Photo by Dennis S. Hurd

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©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

TALK TO OUR CARS TO PLAY MUSIC

Photo by HighTechDad

Multiplatform publishing follows the principle:

Produce once, use multiple times.

64 OPTIMIZE: CONTENT CREATION & EXPERIENCE

Photo by cvander

THE UBIQUITOUS

CONVERSATION

Content Communications

66 ENGAGING ON MANY CHANNELS

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

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You don’t

control the

conversation.

But you can

participate.

SUPERFANS, DEEPLY ENGAGED

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

Fan Art by kidnotorious

68 TRACK SOCIAL ACTIVITY

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

WHERE WE’RE HEADED

FUTURE TRENDS & NEEDS

71 INCREASED CONTENT STRATEGY COLLABORATION

Social

• Integrated Processes

• Commercial Tools

Marketing

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• Markup that provides more meaning and context

• Ad hoc and standard methods of adding structure

STRUCTURED DATA

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

<b>Madonna</b> Indicates that the text within the tags

should be bold.

<H1>Madonna</H1> Indicates that the text within the tags

is a headline.

<foaf:name>Madonna</foaf:name> Indicates that the text within the tags

is a name, as defined in the “Friend

of a Friend” vocabulary.

<amgID=64565>Madonna</amgID> Indicates that the text within the tags

refers to the recording artist

Madonna, as described on AllMusic.

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Example: Drupal 7

• Open source CMS

• Native support for standard data structures

STRUCTURED DATA IN THE CMS

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

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SEMANTIC TECHNOLOGY

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

Connect your content and data to

other rich data sources

Copyright ©2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

<IMDbID=tt1193138>Up in the Air</IMDbID>

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GLOBALIZATION/LOCALIZATION

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved. Photo by me

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MULTIPLATFORM PUBLISHING

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved. Source: Fast Company

CONCLUSION

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• Content Strategy has arrived

• It will continue to develop and grow

• We were doing Content Strategy without even knowing it

• Now we’re getting disciplined

• It’s work that matters

• Almost everything we do online involves content

• We’re almost always online

Content strategy is going to help us

make sense of this digital world

CONTENT STRATEGY: WHY NOW?

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

RACHEL LOVINGER @rlovinger

Thanks!