The Seven Components of a Global Content Strategy

Taking Your Content Strategy Global

Val SwisherFounder & CEO

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

@contentrulesinc

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Who Am I?

Founder and CEO of Content Rules 25+ years in content arena Specialty areas:

Global content strategy Terminology management Content quality Single-sourcing / XML / DITA

Finishing third book, “Global Content Strategy,” due out in 2014

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

What is Content Rules?

Professional services firm specializing in: • Content strategy / Global content strategy• Content creation• Content quality / Global readiness

Based in Silicon Valley Founded in 1994 Acrolinx Authorized Services Provider Authorized provider of The Rockley Strategic Method™

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

First…A Definition

A global content strategy is a structure for managing all of your content that is consumed by people who speak or read languages in addition to the source.

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Why Do You Care?

1. Save money localizing and translating content

2. Improve content quality in all languages

3. Save time localizing and translating content

4. Someone told you that you need to figure out this mess (see 1-3, above)

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understand GoalsContent Lifecycle

AnalysisContent Audit Gap Analysis

WorkflowRecommendations

Content-Specific Recommendations

InfrastructureRecommendations

Global Content Strategy Components

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Understanding Goals

Identify business goals for global content strategy Identify current issues preventing the

achievement of the goals Outline criteria for successful global content

management

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Common Goals Of Global Content Strategy

Increase sales by expanding into additional markets

Lower the cost of translation Increase the quality of global content in all

languages Lower cost of maintaining global content Improve time-to-market for global content Respond to region-specific feedback on global

content

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Goal Setting

Talk to stakeholders• Product management / Brand management

• International managers / Region representatives

• Content creators

• Localization managers

• Others Write it down• Identify common issues

• Look for consensus for success criteria

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Content Lifecycle Analysis

Identify issues associated with global content

• Creating source content

• Translating content

• Managing global content

• Delivering global content Look at current processes and tools

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Content Lifecycle Common Issues

Lack of communication between and among groups

Lack of common goals Lack of consensus on audience Loss of control over content creation Loss of control over translation process Outdated or isolated tools

• CMS, TMS, MT, Terminology Management, others

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Content Audit

What do you have? Who created it? How is it organized? Are there missed opportunities for reuse? Is it properly tagged for multilingual search? Is it global-ready?

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Content Audit (Continued)

What content is translated? Localized? Transcreated?

Which vendor is translating which content? How many translation memories do you have? Where are the TMs? How are the TMs being used? Is your pivot language acceptable?

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Gap Analysis

How far off is the current situation from the goals? How does current situation map to industry best

practices? Outline each area for improvement

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Recommendations

Usually fall into three areas:

Tools / infrastructure improvements Content global readiness improvements Workflow improvements

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Tools / Infrastructure Recommendations

Content management system Terminology management Translation management Authoring environment Site-specific infrastructure:

• Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD)

• Geolocation

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Content Global-Readiness

• Reduce word count• Increase use of identical sentences• Decrease word variability• Reduce sentence length and complexity• Eliminate word usage errors (idioms,

jargon)• Evaluate and change offensive,

meaningless imagery

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Workflow Recommendations

Workflow needs to be an end-to-end process that starts with content creation and ends with worldwide delivery:

Interaction between people and tasks Touch points and handoffs between groups Dependencies Governance

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Summary Of Seven Components

Understand goals Analyze current content lifecycle and workflow Audit existing content Analyze the gap Recommendations for tools and infrastructure Content global-readiness Workflow that enhances success

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

What You Can Expect To Achieve

Global content that is: Easier to manage Cheaper to translate Easier to find Easier to read Quicker to market Better aligned with sales and product goals

© 2013. Content Rules, Inc. All rights reserved.

Val Swisher CEO & [email protected]@contentrulesinc