#Howto do a content strategy

HOW TO DO CONTENT STRATEGY Kristina @Halvorson

Coauthor, Content Strategy for the Web

CEO, Brain Traffic and Founder, Confab Events

What is content strategy?

2009

Content strategy is 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

2012

Content strategy guides planning for the creation, delivery, and governance of content…

…plus a whoooole lot of caveats.

Brief aside: Content strategy vs. content marketing

@halvorson

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

“

@halvorson

But …

• What

• Why

• How

• When

• For whom

• By whom

• With what

• Where

• How often

• What next

How I talk about content strategy

Core strategy: States where you will focus your efforts to improve content substance, structure, workflow, and/or governance.

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

Workflow: Roles, processes, tools

Governance: Policies, standards, guidelines

PEOPLE

Workflow... ...creates efficiencies across content properties.

Governance… ...empowers, facilitates, and aligns.

PEOPLE

What kinds of content strategy are there?

@halvorson

Content Strategy for UX

Guides planning for the creation, management, and oversight of useful, usable content.

Infographic published by IBM Customer-Facing Solutions.

@halvorson

http://blog.braintraffic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/structured-content.png

Adaptive Content Strategy

@halvorson

Enterprise Content Strategy

• Governance policies and standards

• Content management ecosystem design

• Organizational structure and content roles

What does a content strategist do?

Point of View: Content Strategy by Kevin Nichols

Point of View: Content Strategy by Kevin Nichols

Point of View: Content Strategy by Kevin Nichols

How do I do content strategy?

@halvorson

Content Strategy Process

1 : Assessment and Analysis

2 : Strategy

3 : Architecture and Design

4 : Implementation

5: Maintenance

Set the Stage

@halvorson

Set the Stage

PROJECT GOAL: What are the concrete outcomes?

What are success metrics?

PROJECT TEAM: Who lives where on your DACI chart?

TIMELINE: When will activities, deliverables, and sign-offs happen?

@halvorson

Project Goals: Example

Our goals for this project are to:

• Align stakeholders on a content strategy for our website

content that’s based on defined institutional goals and known

user needs.

• Determine the appropriate messaging and content organization

frameworks to support the strategy.

• Assess current content and identify content gaps to develop a

roadmap for creating or revising content.

• Develop content standards for creating and maintaining

content.

@halvorson

Project DACI team: Example

WORKSTREAM DRIVER APPROVER CONTRIBUTOR INFORMED

ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY

EDITORIAL PLANNING AND

WRITING

IA AND MODELS

CONTENT ENTRY AND LAUNCH

1 : Assessment and Analysis

2 : Strategy

3 : Editorial and Structure

4 : Implementation

5: Maintenance

@halvorson

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

Content Inventory

@halvorson

Content Inventory: Uses

• Find content ROT (redundant, outdated, trivial)

• Identify orphan pages

• Get a ground-level look at your site’s structure

• Clean up or add metadata

• Assign content ownership

• Scope a project

• Build a business case (“here’s how much of a mess things REALLY are”)

@halvorson

Content Inventory: sample output

@halvorson

Content Inventory: sample output

@halvorson

Content Inventory

Easy to automate. Here are a few tools to get started.

• Content Analysis Tool [Kristina’s favorite] • Blaze • Clarity Grader • …check with your friendly CMS administrator

User Research (non-negotiable)

@halvorson

User Research: Why We Need It

• We create content that’s for ourselves, not for our users.

• We organize content the way we’re set up internally, not the way people think about what they need from us.

• We want to tell everyone everything, just in case.

• We can’t prioritize content because we haven’t prioritized our audiences, so people are fighting for real estate on the home page.

• We make decisions based on our own assumptions.

@halvorson

User Research: It’s not that hard.

• Do an online poll.

• Create an online survey and invite people via email, social media, website banners.

• Try a Top Tasks workshop.

• Do some online user testing.

• Interview your customer support people.

• Interview your sales people.

Stakeholder Interviews

@halvorson

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

Stakeholders (Hopefully) Know This Stuff

@halvorson

Finding Your Stakeholders

WORKSTREAM DRIVER APPROVER CONTRIBUTOR INFORMED

ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY

EDITORIAL PLANNING AND

WRITING

IA AND MODELS

CONTENT ENTRY AND LAUNCH

@halvorson

Some Good Content Questions • Substance: Who are you trying to reach? Why? What do they want to

know? Is your current content accurate, relevant, up-to-date?

• Structure: Where is your content? How is it organized? What does your

metadata look like? How do people find your content? Are you

delivering content on multiple channels and platforms?

• Workflow: How does content happen (from creation to deletion)? Who

is involved?

• Governance: What are your policies, guidelines, and standards? Who

owns that?

@halvorson

Stakeholder Interviews: How To Listen

• Don’t complete their sentences.

• Don’t try to solve the problem right there.

• If you feel yourself getting defensive, take a breath. This time is not about you or your needs.

• Don’t try to earn trust by talking about your experience.

• Learn how to take notes while mostly maintaining eye contact.

• Get full clarification. (“Let me just repeat that back to you so I’m sure I understand correctly.”)

• Get comfortable with silence.

Pulling It All Together

After the Assessment: Your Analysis Report

After the Assessment: Your Analysis Report

EXAMPLE ONLY

EXAMPLE ONLY

1 : Assessment and Analysis

2 : Strategy

3 : Editorial and Structure

4 : Implementation

5: Maintenance

@halvorson

What is a content strategy?

• A 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 strategy helps define what you WILL do and what you WON’T do.

• All tactical initiatives must map back to your strategy.

• Your strategy should force you to prioritize and to say “no.”

OBJECTIVE

STRATEGY

TACTIC

Case Study: junglebox.com

@halvorson

“We will become the industry leader in the pet frog supplies arena by providing everyone with informative content, real-time opinions, multiple touchpoint engagement opportunities, and our ever-increasing commitment to defining the pet frog lifestyle.”

• Rewrite “About Us” copy

• Curate articles about dart frogs

• Create interactive company history timeline

• Restructure home page around top tasks vs. top interests

• Do Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

• Start a daily blog

Content Strategy Statement

65

Our website delivers limited, laser-focused content that

educates newbies, excites enthusiasts, and motivates purchases.

Content strategy statement

66

This year’s plans and resources will specifically prioritize website content.

We’ll be highly conservative about the content we plan for and create.

The content we feature will be exclusively about dart frogs.

We’ll create “Dart Frog 101” content for people who are curious about what it’s like to raise and breed our frogs.

We’ll keep topics timely and fresh for the advanced dart frog keeper.

Our content is never “nice to have.” Everything we share on our website can be tied directly to a product we sell.

Our website delivers limited, laser-focused content that

educates newbies, excites enthusiasts, and motivates purchases.

Content strategy statement

• Rewrite “About Us” copy

• Curate articles about dart frogs

• Create interactive company history timeline

• Restructure home page around top tasks

• Do Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

• Start a daily blog

Example 1: CS document intro

Example: Guiding Principles

1 : Assessment and Analysis

2 : Strategy

3 : Editorial and Structure

4 : Implementation

5: Maintenance

Messaging Architecture

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

PROOF POINTS

“Is this what I want?”

“How can I be sure it’s what I want?”

“Why should I choose you?”

MESSAGING PYRAMID

@halvorson

Junglebox Primary Message

We make it possible for you to experience the joy of owning, breeding and raising exotic frogs.

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

PROOF POINTS

“We make it possible for you to experience the joy of owning, breeding and raising exotic frogs.”

• You love frogs. So do we. • You might not know

everything about frogs, but we can help out.

• You have found your frog people.

• Our owner has been studying and caring for frogs since forever

• Testimonials tell the story

• All product descriptions are written and edited by our own experts

• We offer 360º service

JUNGLEBOX

Voice and Tone Guidelines

@halvorson

Voice and Tone

The voice of your content embodies who you are as

a company: not just products, not just brand, but the

mind and heart of your story.

Your tone will vary depending on audience and

circumstance.

SmartThese tiny springtails float on the

water’s surface, which makes it easier to remove them for feedings.

Due to their tiny size, springtails float on the surface of water. This trait can

be exploited when attempting to remove the springs from their culture

for feedings.

Helpful Have questions? I’m happy to help out however I can.

Should you have questions or concerns regarding our live

specimens, products, shipping or other subject, please contact us so

we may be of assistance.

Enthusiastic Our new vivariums have us hopping up and down with excitement.

OMG! Check out our awesome new crop of Dendrobates Tinctorius!! Seriously, you’ll freak out over these. FREAK. OUT.

Junglebox is… Like this. Not this.

Content Requirements

http://www.flickr.com/photos/foodclothingshelter/3697096198/sizes/l/in/photostream/

@halvorson

• What

• Why

• How

• When

• For whom

• By whom

• With what

• Where

• How often

• What next

Step on in, content strategist.

@halvorson

Content Requirements: IMPORTANT

Content requirements are more than labels on the site

map.

Content requirements commit us to living, breathing text,

images, sound, video, and all other content … content

that must be consistent, compelling, and cared for over

time.

82

This year’s plans and resources will specifically prioritize website content.

We’ll be highly conservative about the content we plan for and create.

The content we feature will be exclusively about dart frogs.

We’ll create “Dart Frog 101” content for people who are curious about what it’s like to raise and breed our frogs.

We’ll keep topics timely and fresh for the advanced dart frog keeper.

Our content is never “nice to have.” Everything we share on our website can be tied directly to a product we sell.

Our website delivers limited, laser-focused content that

educates newbies, excites enthusiasts, and motivates purchases.

Junglebox.net content strategy statement

high level tree frog audit

Template for a User Journey Map

FEATURED FROGS

Buy Dart Frogs

Buy Supplies Our Gallery

Watch & Learn

Jasper’s Frog Blog

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum non massa accumsan odio consectetur

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum non massa accumsan odio consectetur

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum non massa accumsan odio consectetur

Contact Jasper

Herpetology the way you like it.

Flexible space #1

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum non massa accumsan odio consectetur

Flexible space #2

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum non massa accumsan odio consectetur

Flexible space #3

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum non massa accumsan odio consectetur

FROG 1 FROG 2 FROG 3

Our Story

Login | CheckoutJUNGLEBOX

Page: Products Objective: Help customers understand we are experts who sell the same high quality products we use ourselves, so they will have the confidence to buy.

Source Material: Current site, product box copy, current campaign materials Maintenance: Monthly

Key Messages: After 10+ years of raising frogs, these are the products we recommend. You don’t have to shop around, because everything you need is right here.

Priority 1: Highlight product categories

Only three bullet points (10-15 words each) for each category. - What is it? - What is it for? - Why will it help you?

Priority 2: Intro text One sentence about how Junglebox only offers the products we use ourselves.

Page Table

Qualitative Audit

@halvorson

Content Audit

A qualitative process. Determine if what you already have is what you need, and if it’s any good.

• On brand • Readable • Maps to user journey/needs • Legal requirements • Appropriate voice and tone • etc.

Useful for gap analysis, rewrites, and content migration.

90

Template for a User Journey Map

92

Content Models

@halvorson

Content Models A content type is a kind of content used repeatedly that has a

standardized (agreed-on) structure.

• They give content creators patterns of organization (maybe even

templates) to work with, simplifying their job and ensuring that they

include all necessary content elements.

• They provide a common communication tool for content creators, UI

developers, stylesheet creators, and print and publishing people.

• They give consumers a consistent – and, therefore, more pleasant

and helpful – experience.

• They create opportunities for content reuse that don’t exist when

content is left unstructured.

• They prepare content for automation.

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/intelligent-content/blog/content-types-noz-urbina/

Example: Content Model

Example: Wireframe Based on Content Model

1 : Assessment and Analysis

2 : Strategy

3 : Editorial and Structure

4 : Implementation

5: Maintenance

Example: Content Strategy Roadmap

@halvorson

Workflow

Workflow means understanding not only what

processes and tools you’ll use to create, deliver,

and care for content throughout its lifecycle.

Workflow also means ensuring clarity of roles and

responsibilities.

Example: Enterprise Workflow

Example 1: Team Structure

Example 2: Team Structure

Roles breakdown (annoying but

useful)

Types of Governance Models

https://www.whitehouse.gov/digitalgov/digital-services-governance-recommendations

WORKFLOW TECHNICALEDITORIAL STRUCTURE

INFORMING  STRATEGIES

PRODUCT DIGITAL

CONTENT  STRATEGY

BRAND

• What  is  the  Voice  of  Junglebox?    

• What  tones  do  we  use,  and  when?

• What  is  our  messaging  architecture?  

• How  is  it  applied  across  audiences?

• What  are  the  roles  and  responsibilities  of  people  across  the  content  lifecycle?

• What  system(s)  do  we  use  to  support  the  content  lifecycle?

• Where  do  we  host  our  content?  

• Who  has  publishing  rights?

• What  is  the  metadata  schema  that  will  organize  our  information  and  data?

METRICS

• What  are  KPIs  for  our  content  properties  and  channels?

• What  are  our  benchmarks  for  content  quality?

• What  are  the  tools  and  processes  that  move  content  through  its  lifecycle?

LEGAL

• What  are  our  legal  and  regulatory  requirements?

• What  are  accessibility  requirements?

• How  is  the  content  structured  for  front-­‐  and  back-­‐end  findability?

OVERSIGHT

• Who  gets  to  say  “no”?

• Who  sits  on  the  content  governance  council?  

• How  often  do  they  meet?

UX

• What  are  the  content  requirements  cross-­‐channel?

• What  are  the  primary  “buckets”  of  information,  internally-­‐  and  externally-­‐facing?

ORG  STRUCTURE

• What  are  the  primary  functions  and  drivers  of  each  team?

• What  does  the  RACI  structure  look  like?

Adapted  from  website-­‐governance.com

108

Sample Governance Model

How do you make the case for content

strategy?

@halvorson

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.”

@halvorson

Unanswered questions

@halvorson

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 will you bring content strategy to

your business?

You can find all sorts of tools and templates in here.

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?

Kristina @Halvorson

GET IN TOUCH!

Coauthor, Content Strategy for the Web

CEO, Brain Traffic and

Founder, Confab Events