Terra Incognita Exploring Content Strategy Land

UX RomandieNovember 20th 2012

Memi Beltrame@bratwurstkomet

Liip - Agile Web Developmentliip.ch

Trust meI almost know

what I‘m talking about

Disclaimer☟

None of this is mine.All the important resources at the end of the presentation

Content: Status Quo

Most content sucks.

Content is apain in the butt.

Content is treated as a commodity.

It‘s not the desert you can do without.

Content is not a feature.Kristina Halvorson

Picture: Warren Parsons http://flic.kr/p/6kxsc3

Design without content is decoration.

Jeffrey Zeldman

Silverbullets that failed

• A redesign• A new CMS• A different design agency• A facebook page. Or a microsite.• Lorem Ipsum• „We want content up front“

ContentStrategy

H E N C E

The boring part that sounds like work

starts here.Apologies.

To tackle the challenges of content we must have the

answer to a lot of questions.

Not just...

• How?

But...

• How?• Why?• What?• When?• For whom?

• By Whom?• With what?• Where?• How often?• What next?

Some definitions

Content Strategy guides your plans for the creation, delivery, and governance

of content.

Having a content strategy means using content to achieve business goals.

Content strategy is change management.

What a strategist does

Strategists at all times

• create clarity• facilitate smart decisions• align stakeholders• help operationalize change

How will your content support your

organisational objectives

What content does your audience need and why?

How is content organized, prioritized and accessed?

How is content created, delivered and maintained?

How are decisions about content and CS made?

Factors of InfluenceAll the factors that impact the contents lifecycle.

Stakeholders

• Decision Makers• Funders• Champions• Showstoppers• Affected People

Internal Impact factors

• Target audienceThose affected by the content:- Providers,- Editors- Maintainers- Reviewers

Internal Impact factors

• MessagingWhat do you want to say:- Content needs- Keeping content consistent- Aligning content owners.

Internal Impact factors

• Channels- Websites, social media activities,

mobile, intra/extranet, print media, email campaigns, advertising

- Publishing process- Cross check with stakeholders

External Impact factors

• Users- User research

• Competitors- Competitor research

Strategy

Core StrategyThe long-term vision for all your

content related initiatives

„We‘ll develop a state-of-the-art content infrastructure that

makes it easy for us to adapt to new device formats quickly.“

Achieve • Be • Do

• Achieve: What does your CS need to accomplish

• Be: What content product(s) will we create?

• Do: What will the company neet to do to support the effort?

Content ComponentsSubstance & Structure

SubstanceWhat content do you have?

What content do you need and why?

Compelling, useful, actionable credible, substantial,

influential, meaningful, lovable

How do you get content that is

Defining Substance• Topics: The subjects that matter

• Purpose: Every piece of content needs to have a function.

• Voice and Tone: Watch you language, fuckers!

• Source: Where your content comes from.

Content Audit

An assessment of the state and actionability of all available content.

A Note of Warning

Content Audits★ Assess all available content and

define its state (Redundant, Outdated, Irrelevant)

★ Define what is to happen with the content until when

★ Help establish ownership & responsibility

Content Audit

Content Audit

• Quantitative inventory: a list of all the content and its state.- ID, Title, URL, Format, Source,

Technical Home, Metadata, Traffic/Usage Stats, Last update, Language

- Roll your own: Choose other factors depending on your audit goal.

Content Audit

• Qualitative audit Best Practices assessment:Usability, findability, actionability, accuracy, task completion

This expands the quantitative audit.

Content Audit

• Qualitative audit Strategic assessment:Business value, message, brand/voice appropriateness

This expands the quantitative audit.

Crucial

Trivial

Short-livedLong-Lasting

Automate

Get Rid of

A vase with a bouquet of Lorem Ipsum.

StructureHow will your content be prioritized, organized

formatted and displayed?

Reusable, related, shareable, mobile, responsive, adaptive,

contextual, orbital

How do you get content that is

Defining Structure

• Channels, platforms and formats

• Navigation and nomenclature:

• Links

• Microcopy

• Metadata and tagging

People ComponentsWorkflow & Governance

Workflow: Ownership• Business units and individuals

• Need: Budget, time, understanding and approval to take care of content.The power to say NO.

• Roles: Web manager, content creator, reviewer/approver, SEO specialist, subject matter expert.

Workflow: Content

• Creating and sourcing content

- Original content

- curated/aggregated content

- content migration.

Tools for content creation

• Editorial calendarA spreadsheet that captures content ideas and schedules current content for publishing.

• Content requirement checklistA checklist for preferred content attributes.

Tools for content creation

• Curation/aggregation checklistA checklist that helps to select, contract and publish third party content.

• Migration spreadsheetA spreadsheet that maps content from one channel, property or process to another.

Workflow: Content

• Maintaining content

- Keeping it up to date

- Keeping it relevant

- Retiring it

Tools for maintainance• Content inventory

A spreadsheed to record and track all of your content.

• Content maintainance checklistA list of criteria used to evaluate and prioritize content for maintainance

• Content maintainance log A CMS report or spreadsheet to see dates for last update and next scheduled review.

Workflow: Content

• Evaluating content

- Ongoing audit and analysis

- Making sure content still meets user needs

- making sure content helps fulfill business goals

Tools for evaluation

• Qualitative audit spreadsheetExtention of the content inventory

• Measurement scorecardA spreadsheet that helps stakeholders understand your measurement findings.

• Measurement history An ongoing record of your measurements.

Governance

• Authority and ownership policiesRules on who can decide what.

• Process an proceduresHow stuff gets done

• Content policies and guidelinesNon-optional rules and sets of good practices

Tools for governance

• StyleguidesGuidelines that make sure content is consistent and follows certain standards.

• Content planning & prioritization matrixWhich content is done when in what order by whom.

Resources

BooksKristina HalvorsonMelissa Rach Erin Kissane Karen McGrane

Links• Audit spreadsheets:

http://www.kevinpnichols.com/enterprise_content_strategy/

• Audit Questionnaires:http://www.kevinpnichols.com/enterprise_content_strategy/

• Vimeo CS videos: http://liip.to/CS_videos

• Reader with Articles on CS:http://liip.to/CS_reader

• Contents magazine:http://contentsmagazine.com

People

• Kristina Halvorson @halvorson

• Melissa Rach @melissarach

• Erin Kissane @kissane

• Karen McGrane @karenmcgrane

• Rachel Lovinger @rlovinger

• Jeffrey MacIntyre @jeffmacintyre

• Sara Wachter Boettcher @sara_ann_marie

Questions?

MERCI!I‘m @bratwurstkomet