girl develop it: intro to content strategy - may 2017

Introductions

David Dylan Thomas

Senior Experience Designer,

Think Company

@movie_pundit

Who am I?

• Filmmaker at heart

• 2000 – 2004: Online Education

• 2005 – 2012: A content strategist by any other name

• 2013 – Present: A business card!

Ask Early. Ask Often.

What We’ll Learn Overall

• What Content Strategy Is

• Why It’s Important

• The kinds of problems a content strategist solves

• How a content strategist solves those problems

• How you might become a content strategist

What We’ll Learn Tonight




Why should you learn about content strategy?

Because LinkedIn

Right now Facebook has over 50 content strategists

And they’re hiring more

Freelance > Full Time

Because Meetup

Demand Is High,Supply Is Low

Content strategy is gaining ground on traditional marketing and SEO

Traditional marketing says, “You know what’s awesome? Our shoes!”

Content strategy says, “You know what’s awesome? Running!”

Good content strategy = Good SEO

Also, it’s fun!

Most content strategists don’t know they’re content strategists

(Many are ex-journalists)

A content strategist’s job is to help a company think like a newspaper.

A content strategist’s job is to help you make decisions about content.

Exercise: What is content?

• Split up into groups

• Come up with a working definition

• Include 3 examples of what IS content and why

• Include 3 examples of what is NOT content and why

• 10 minutes

Discussion

What Is Content Strategy?

significant objects dot

com

Instead of a product description…

…they told a story

Original Price: $0.33

Final Price: $71.00


Final Price: $101.00


Final Price: $193.50

Content Strategy is the planned use of content to achieve a goal.

• With Significant Objects, the goal was to increase the value of ordinary items.

• The strategy was to replace bland descriptions with colorful stories (by good writers).

• The creators used content (stories) to achieve a goal (added value).

Casey Kasem

Turned Financial Reports into Entertainment

“In this hour at #32 in the countdown, a song that’s been a hit 4 different times in 19 years! And we’re just one tune away from the singer with the $10,000 gold

hubcaps on his car! Now, on with the countdown!”

What Is Content Strategy?

• Example: Weird Al

– Business Goal: Weird Al wanted his new album to be successful

– Challenge: He’s been out of the public eye for decades

– Content: Music

– Content Strategy: #8days8videos

Result: #1 on iTunes

Nonprofit Goals

This Is Content

This Is Content Strategy

Exercise: Examples of Content Strategy

• In your group, based on the definition, come up with three examples of content strategy.

• Two should show content strategy done well.

• One should show content strategy done poorly.

• 5 minutes

Discussion

All content strategies require two things:

•Goal

•Audience

The more you know about both, the better the strategy will be

Most content strategies try to answer three questions:

• What are the client’s goals?

• What are the user’s goals?

• How can content help the two intersect?

What is the most important skill a content strategist should have?

The ability to listen.

The Content Strategy Process

1. Investigate

• Learn about the organization

• Learn about the audience

• Learn about the content


2. Come up with ideas

• Collaborate/Workshop

• Think for yourself


3. Create a Plan

• What are we going to do?

• How are we going to do it? (Content Model)

• Who is going to do what? (Governance)

• Assign Goals to Content


4. Execute the Plan

5. Measure the Results

6. Learn from the Results

7. Wash, Rinse, Repeat

Build, Measure, Learn

The Two Most Common Content Strategy Problems

• Help, I’ve got too much content!

• Help, Amazon is killing me!

Case Study #1

Legal Software Producer

The Challenge

• Lots of content

• No strategy

Contextual Inquiry

LAWYERS HAVE NO TIME!What we learned:

Why are you showing them all of this?

Content Workshop

The Solution

• Deliver the right content at the right time

• Simplify and make content more findable

Old vs New

• More sales from fewer visitors

• 200% increase in orders for this product

• 100% increase in related product

• 160% increase in sales across the entire site

Case Study #2

A luxury resort

Why aren’t these sites performing

the way that they should?

Survey• Potential Customers• Existing Customers

Cluster analysis• Personas

In-Depth Interviews• Representative sample

Case Studies: AMResorts

Research

• Wrong people, wrong imagery• No easy way to choose• How do I book?


Insights

Online Bookings

+22% in First 6 Months


Case Study #3

A savings firm

before

Writing for the Web

Ascensus

What would this interaction feel like in the real world?

If I walked into a store and five people approached me,

how would I feel?

Writing for the Web

The “Real World Equivalent” Problem

Writing for the Web

Ascensus

● How many steps does it take to get to the sale?

● Is the sale simply a phone number or chat or does it require an entire flow?

● What’s the least I can explain to get you to call?

Writing for the Web

The “Step Number” Problem

before

Writing for the Web

Ascensus

after

Writing for the Web

Ascensus

Writing for the Web

Ascensus

Exercise #1

Sell me this elephant in

one tweet (max 140

characters)

2 minutes

Case Study #4

A big sports retailer

“We have a great experience in-store but that’s not translating to

online.”

The oldest content strategy in the world

• Use content to make it clear you know a lot about something.

• When people need that something, they’ll think of you.

You’re there to help your customer achieve a goal. Selling them shoes is just

one part of that.

“Content change is process change. Process change is culture change.”

- Erin Abler,Former Lead Content Designer,City of Philadelphia

Exercise: Build Your Own Content Strategy

• On your own, write down one thing you’re good at.

• Write down three ways you might use content to let the world know you’re good at it.

• 5 minutes

Discussion

Questions?

Thank you!

David Dylan Thomas

@movie_pundit

[email protected]

What We Learned Last Time




What We’ll Learn Tonight

• How a content strategist solves those problems

• How you might become a content strategist

Building a Content Strategy for Your Client

• Learn about the client and their goals

• Learn about the audience and their goals

• Explore how content can align those goals

Interview Techniques

• Content Deep Dive– What content is your client creating?

– How are they creating it?

– Why are they creating it?

– What is their capacity to produce more?

– What is their content culture?• Distributed vs. hierarchical

• Open vs. closed (regulated)

• Stakeholder Interviews

Exercise: Establishing Business Goals

• One person will represent GDI.• One person will interview.• One will take notes• Answer:

– Is GDI creating content? What kind? How?– Why does GDI Create Content?

• GDI creates content in order to __________.• If GDI Content doesn’t __________ , it isn’t worth creating• GDI members arrive feeling ________ but they should leave

feeling __________ .

– Describe the culture of GDI.

• 10 minutes

Discussion

Audience Interview Techniques

• What are you looking for?– Consumption habits

• Devices

• Media (video, blogs)

• How are they finding content?– Social component

– Search component

• Triggers for content

• Triggers for sharing

– What do they value?

– What do they want?

Exercise: Learn About the Audience

• One person will represent audience.• One person will interview.• One will take notes• Answer:

– Why do they come to GDI? – What do they hope to get out of it? What problem are they trying to

solve? – What role did content play in them finding out about it (look for

triggers)?– What types of content do they consume/share?

• How? • On what devices? • When?

– What, if anything, prompts them to share content?

• 10 minutes

Discussion

Content Strategy Format

• Describe the current state

• Describe your idea

• Describe your tactics

• Describe what the client needs to do to get there

• Bonus: Describe how the client will know if the strategy is working

Exercise: Build a Strategy

• Given what you now know about the client, their content, and their audience, come up with a plan that uses content to align business and user goals.

• Come up with one user story that describes an example of this plan in action.

• How will GDI know that this plan is working?

• 20 min

Presentation of Strategies

How to Get a Job

Questions?

Survey!

http://bit.ly/GDIContentStrategySurvey

Thank you!

David Dylan Thomas

@movie_pundit

[email protected]