how not to let content set your hair on fire

How Not to Let Content Set your Hair on Fire

AHAVA LEIBTAG

PRESIDENT

AHA MEDIA GROUP

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•122.4 miles•13 rest stops

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Content is like a rest area.

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Karen McGrane

“The 11th Hour Sh**tstorm”

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SAVE YOURSELVES!

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When thinking about content What do I need on the:•People•Process•Technology

Side of things to be considered successful?

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TODAY: Set up for success1. Pick the right type of content strategist or professional

2. Define clear roles and responsibilities

3. Identify a scheduler

4. Weekly meetings about content ONLY

5. SHOW editing & approval timelines

6. Define collaboration; not technology

7. Get in the same space

8. Checklist when things go wrong

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People

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#1: Pick the right type of content strategist or professional

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What business problem are you trying to solve?•Messages

•Formats: Text, audio, video and visual

•Delivery

•Navigation

•Usability

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Content Strategists & WritersEDITORIAL & BRAND STRATEGY

•Writing

•Style guides

•Voice and tone

•Character limits

•Brand strategy

TECHNICAL

•DITA

•XML

•Metadata

•Structured content

•Adaptive content

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#2: Clarify roles and responsibilities

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Who is in charge?•Project Manager: What is your job? Explain it to the content people.

•Content Strategist: EXACTLY what are you in charge of doing?

•Writers/Content Creators: • Who sources your material? • Who writes it? • Who edits it? • Who approves it?• Who gives legal approval? (In highly regulated industries?)• Who gives executive approval?

•Who quality assures the content once it is up?

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#3: Identify a scheduler

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Process

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#4: Separate meetings about contentContent is a separate entity in a project. Treat it like that.

Discuss:• Templates• Character counts• Calls to action• “The No Man’s Land of Content Development”

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#5: SHOW editing & approval timelines

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Make sure you start the clock properly

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Establish

Content

Governance

Content

Analysis

Content

Creation

Establishing workfl

ows

• Persona Development

• Messaging Architecture

• Identity Pillar Identification

Content

Planning

Build OR

clarify the

business

case

Content

Auditing

Discovery

YOU ARE HERE

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Technology

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#6: Define collaboration; not technology

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Don’t be fooled: Technology is not collaboration.

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#7: Get in the same spaceWhen in doubt:•Pick up the phone•Don’t be a stranger•Don’t guess

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When things start to go bad?

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Checklist of how to avoid disaster

1. Identify the bottleneck(s)

2. Hold an emergency “yellow light” meeting

3. Inform higher ups that timelines will slip if you keep repeating this disastrous content pattern

4. Bring in reinforcements (Who can help clean up this mess?)

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Ask artful questions

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TELL ME WHY…

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I’M WONDERING ABOUT…

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HELP ME UNDERSTAND…

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WTF????

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www.thedigitalcrown.com

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Questions?Ahava LeibtagAha Media Group, LLCahava@ahamediagroup.com @ahavaL @ ahavaleibtag

THANK YOU!