creating a great content strategy
TRANSCRIPT
Creating & Executing a Great Content Strategy
ESSAE Annual Meeting 2014
About Me
Helping organizations communicate online
more effectively since 1996
Hilary Marsh, Content Company Confab, June 5 2013
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Why do people visit your website?
Design? Graphics?
Widgets?
The carousel on your homepage?
http://shouldiuseacarousel.com/
Content lets users do what they need to do
• Take advantage of what you offer • Find out why they should join or stay
• Learn how your association helps them in their profession
• Not need to call you to answer a question
Content lets you achieve your goals
• Attract prospective members • Retain and engage current members
• Increase use of programs, resources, tools, and information
• Increase awareness of and participation in political advocacy efforts
• Increase non-dues revenue
Content problems?
• Language/jargon • Prioritized promotion
• Content hoarding
• Bad editorial processes
• New content missing
• Different content on different channels
Yes, content problems
• Hard to find information • Too many publishers
• Who’s in charge of the home page?
• “4002.pdf”
• Website is based on our org chart
• Not accessible from a mobile device
• “We should be on YouTube”
Content exercise
What’s in the bag?
Content lessons
• You are not your member • You are not your audience
h<p://xkcd.com/773/
Who What When of publishing Where content online WHY How
What is content strategy?
Myths your members think about digital • It’s free, instant, and you can do it in your spare time
• Search engines will find your information instantly and display it at the top of the first page of what anyone searches for
• Any video they make will go viral
• Every member wants to share information about the board’s latest initiative
• Your home page and social media posts should be primarily about your association
The real facts
• Every digital channel needs a strategy and the right identity. The more channels, the more time and complexity.
• Page views are not a goal – the goal is the goal.
• You can’t succeed in your goals unless your users succeed in theirs
• Success builds over time
• Think > plan > do – all three steps are required
Quality Takes Time Good web writing is
• Short
• Active
• Scannable: uses bullets and subheads
• Leads with the most important information
• Readable – aim for 9th grade
– test at read-able.com
• Free of jargon
• Has compelling headlines that will make sense even out of context
“I have made this [le.er] longer than usual because I have not had 7me to make it shorter.” Blaise Pascal, 1657"
Content Lifecycle
Conceive Create Publish Promote Maintain ReHre
Conceive and create
• Conceive • Set goals
– Business: make or save money
– User: increase satisfaction/encourage use or decrease dissatisfaction/reduce customer service needs & costs
• Create
• Optimize – On-site – Search engines
– Other outlets
Publish and promote
• Publish – Review process: quality, facts
– Content Management System (Wordpress)
• Promote – On-site: home page, landing pages, topics
– Off-site: e-newsletters, social media, advertising
Maintain and retire
• Maintain • Measure
– Test and tweak
– Refine
• Retire – Archive/Delete/”Unpublish”
– Renew
Who’s involved?
• Staff – Technology
– Marketing – Communications
– Membership – Programming
• Committees – All of the above
Associations are complicated
Everything is content
• Programs • Products
• Services
• Publications
• Webinars
• Reports
• Events
Similar topics – are they connected? • Programs • Products
• Services
• Publications
• Webinars
• Reports
• Events
Be a “deejay” for your content
• Save time • Save $$
• Help members help themselves
Content strategy for membership
• User goals • Business needs
• Promotion timeline/calendar
• Testing and tweaking
• Content reuse
Content strategy for events
• User goals • Business needs
• Promotion timeline/calendar
• Testing and tweaking
• Content reuse
Content exercise
• Create a page table
h<p://loremoopsum.tumblr.com/post/37034901905/tweeted-‐by-‐my-‐friend-‐and-‐fellow-‐content-‐strategist
Content exercise
• Start filling in a calendar
Hilary Marsh, Content Company Confab, June 5 2013
h<p://www.lightboxcollaboraHve.com/2014-‐editorial-‐calendar
Thank you
[email protected] @hilarymarsh www.hilarymarsh.com