Managing the Content Process

MANAGING THE CONTENT PROCESS

sara wachter-boettcher @sara_ann_marie

Digital Project Management Summit

con·tent /ˈkäntent/

a seven-letter word that you say like it’s a four-letter word

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we already have all the content

we need!

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we’ll just need to run this by a few

stakeholders!

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the CEO has a few comments.

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we’ll definitely have our content ready by launch!

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project management?

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project management?

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project management?

There is another way.

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give content a parallel process.

Work content into the design process.

Consider success beyond your project.

Create Revise

Publish

Review

ReviseRetire

BETTER CONTENT,LESS PAIN

without losing our minds

our goal:

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1 Put content at the core.

Content strategy defines a purpose and a realistic plan for content.

It connects business strategy with day-to-day publishing.

How could content help us get closer to that goal?

What’s our organization trying to accomplish?

What will it take to make that vision possible?

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Content strategy helps us focus.

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We do this best together.

Make it easy to focus on core decisions.

Include: • Core audience • Audience goal(s) • Organizational goal(s) • How content will help reach them • What that content looks/feels like

Mad libs take us from hand-wavey to specific and audience-centric.

Create simple reminders.

‘‘Content Vision Deliver accurate, relatable content about all facets of college life—helping overwhelmed students find college matches that make them feel prepared and excited.

‘‘Content Vision Deliver accurate, relatable content about all facets of college life—helping overwhelmed students find college matches that make them feel prepared and excited.

‘‘Content Vision Deliver accurate, relatable content about all facets of college life—helping overwhelmed students find college matches that make them feel prepared and excited.

‘‘Content Vision Deliver accurate, relatable content about all facets of college life—helping overwhelmed students find college matches that make them feel prepared and excited.

‘‘Content Vision Deliver accurate, relatable content about all facets of college life—helping overwhelmed students find college matches that make them feel prepared and excited.

‘‘Content Vision Deliver accurate, relatable content about all facets of college life—helping overwhelmed students find college matches that make them feel prepared and excited.

Content Principles Keep it simpleStudents have a lot going on: courses, clubs, jobs, and sports. Make life easier, not more stressful.

Go beyond the booksCover every aspect of college life—from majors to school spirit to social life.

Empower, don’t adviseProvide clear, complete information that helps students make their own choices.

content starts withCOMMON GROUND

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2 Find what’s realistic.

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big ideas are great.

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reality…not so much.

What are the implications of our decisions?

‘‘You’ll have to rewrite all your content for this new responsive design.

‘‘All product descriptions are too long; they need to be cut in half to fit the design.

‘‘Each of those 5,389 PDFs need to be transformed to structured content.

Avoid the overwhelm.

Agree on what’s achievable now.

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Get help prioritizing.

Scale back if your content can’t keep up with features.

not perfect, but ACHIEVABLE

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3 Set people up for success.

‘‘Okay, here’s the new content guideline! Get writing!

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Go beyond training.

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Build habits, not just rules.

Does not support the core content or

align with the brand.

Serves our core

content needs or

aligns with the

brand.

Redundant/wasted space! I’ve already

clicked “Buy a Home.”

Confusing—simpler and less similar

labels needed.

Clear CTA options and

nicely prioritized on

the page.

Labels for loans,

calculators, etc. are easy to understand.

Why are so many

headlines Qs? Doesn’t inspire

confidence.

Create simple tools to lend structure.

Partnership Profile

SUMMARY

2-3 sentences that provide a brief introductory summary of the partnership and the partner organization. These should be around 40 words.

DESCRIPTION

The complete partnership content. Do not repeat the content from the summary. Explain the programs underway, what the partnership looks like, how is collaboration happening, when the partnership started, etc.

Overview (2-3 sentences)

About the partner (3-4 sentences)

About our partnership (3-4 sentences)

O R G A N I Z A T I O N

Structured Content Writing Practice

N A M EANATOMY OF PRODUCT CONTENT

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PRODUCT NAME

POSITIONING STATEMENT

MARKETING HEADLINE

ALT HEADLINE

MARKETING PARAGRAPH 1: INTRO

MARKETING PARAGRAPH 2: PROFILE

BULLET POINTS

A widget that adapts to fit you.

REQUIRED. Always include the model number, if one exists.

100 CHAR // REQUIRED. The “elevator pitch”—a single line that tells us what the point of the product is. Be translatable and approachable, not awkward.

50 CHAR // OPTIONAL. Be short, punchy, and creative, but focus on the customer. Used in marketing material (e.g. advertising).

180 CHAR // REQUIRED. Answer the question, “Why would I buy this product?” Be conversational, translatable, and benefits-focused. Use search keywords. Must be able to stand alone, while also naturally leading into the marketing profile.

180 CHAR // REQUIRED. Describe who and what the product is good for, focusing on the user experience. Make sure this flows after the marketing intro.

50 CHAR // OPTIONAL. If you include a headline, you must include an alt version for markets that can’t use creative copy. This should be engaging, but straightforward and literal.

80 CHAR/BULLET // REQUIRED. Use minimum of 2 bullets for simple products, up to 8 for more complex items. Describe a single feature or essential spec per bullet.

Use active voice and simple language to make each bullet as short as possible. Be translatable and conversational.

A quick guide to producing on-brand, CMS-ready content.

practice leads to PROGRESS

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4 Clarify the path.

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‘‘And you’ll find ‘content delivery’ right there in week 37 of our Gantt chart.

Focus on one bite at a time.

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Content workshop

Content batch 1

Internal review CMS entry

CONT

ENT

MAN

AGER

S Batch 1 revisions

Content batch 2

Internal review

Batch 2 revisions

QA

Content batch 3

Internal review

Batch 3 revisions

Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.PR

OJEC

T TE

AM

Backend development

High-level IA

Content modeling Editorial &

CMS guide

Front-end developmentStyle tiles

Prototyping Prototyping

Content principles

QASample content

Content workshop

Content batch 1

Internal review CMS entry

CONT

ENT

MAN

AGER

S Batch 1 revisions

Content batch 2

Internal review

Batch 2 revisions

QA

Content batch 3

Internal review

Batch 3 revisions

Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.

PROJ

ECT

TEAM

Backend development

High-level IA

Content modeling Editorial &

CMS guide

Front-end developmentStyle tiles

Prototyping Prototyping

Content principles

QASample content

Content workshop

Content batch 1

Internal review CMS entry

CONT

ENT

MAN

AGER

S Batch 1 revisions

Content batch 2

Internal review

Batch 2 revisions

QA

Content batch 3

Internal review

Batch 3 revisions

PROJ

ECT

TEAM

Backend development

High-level IA

Content modeling Editorial &

CMS guide

Front-end developmentStyle tiles

Prototyping Prototyping

Content principles

QASample content

Get a sample you can work with in design.

Test the workflow with a small set of content.

Work in batches so you can track progress.

Cross-check content with the design and the CMS as you go.

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Find a content champion.

Kickstart the writing process.

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Pair up.

• Align around goals and standards • Partner across groups or roles • Trade off writing • Ask questions of each other’s work • Share with the whole room • Gather feedback from other teams

keep teams moving TOGETHER

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Content is chaotic.

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But you can bring more harmony.

Flickr images used via Creative Commons Attribution license unless otherwise noted.

@sara_ann_marie sarawb.com

Thank you.