Content strategy workshop presented at UX London

1. Welcome!
@karenmcgrane
1

2. 2

3. 3

4. 4

5. 5

6. 6

7. what
about
the art?
7

8. 8

9. 9

10. when do
we see
the art?
10

12. 12

13. WHERE IS
THE ART?
13

14. 14

15. 15

16. DISASTER
STRIKES!
16

17. 17

18. 18

19. 19

20. 20

21. YOU WOULDN’T BUILD
A GALLERY THIS WAY.
21

22. WHY WOULD YOU BUILD
A WEBSITE THIS WAY?
22

23. TWO BIG PROBLEMS
23

24. “
Organizations invest tremendous resources on
developing the framework for a great user
experience — fabulous design, robust content
management infrastructure.
Yet when it comes to the content itself, there's
often a gap.
”
The end result is that the value proposition for
customers can't be delivered because the
content is insufficient, inadequate, and
inappropriate.
— RAHEL BAILIE
24

25. We already have
most of the content. Copywriting just isn’t
that big of a deal.
We can figure the
content out later.
We pretty much know
what we want to say.
Our marketing team is
handling the content.
Kristina Halvorson, Brain Traffic 25

27. Here be dragons
Melissa Rach, Brain Traffic 27

28. Codename Logo Features Browse Our Sites About Us Sign Up Login Support
Feature Name
Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit
esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla
facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui
blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed
diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna
aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer
adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh
euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna
aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer
adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh
euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna
aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer
adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh
euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna
aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad.
Find out more about:
Feature Name | Feature Name | Feature Name | Feature Name | Feature Name | Feature Name 28

29. IT’S TIME TO GIVE CONTENT
THE ATTENTION IT DESERVES.
29

30. OUR TIME TOGETHER
What’s Content Strategy?
Why Content Strategy?
How Does One Do Content Strategy?
Exercise 1: Product Strategy
Exercise 2: Content Planning
Exercise 3: Content Audit
Exercise 4: Content Modeling
30

31. WHAT WE TALK ABOUT
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
CONTENT

32. TEXT
32

33. IMAGES
33

34. AUDIO
34

35. VIDEO
35

36. DATA VISUALIZATION
36

37. BLOGS
37

38. COMMENTS
38

39. ERROR MESSAGES
via Margot Bloomstein 39

40. CONTENT IS
DATA + METADATA
Data is the core part of the Metadata is information about the
content content
For example: a photographic image For example:
Title: Laduree Pastries
Description: We wanted to eat them all!
Tags: macaron, macaroon, Laduree, Paris, France,
Champs-Élysées
Created by: Robert Stribley
Taken on: November 21, 2009
Taken with: Nikon D200
Usage Rights: (c) All rights reserved
Source URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stribs/
4375484013/
40

41. CONTENT IS THE REASON
PEOPLE GO TO YOUR SITE.
Photo by zandperl 41

42. “
Content Strategy plans for the creation,
publication, and governance of useful, usable
content.
Content strategy helps you understand not
”
only what content needs to be created and
published, but why.
— KRISTINA HALVORSON
42

43. WHY CONTENT STRATEGY?
WHY NOW?

44. 1. CONTENT (MIS)MANAGEMENT
2. EVERYONE’S A PUBLISHER
3. UX HAS EXPANDED
44

45. http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlaarena/3188139819/ 45

46. DON’T LET THIS BE THE FATE
OF YOUR WEB CONTENT
http://www.getittogetherinc.net/images/storage%20before.JPG 46

47. 1. CONTENT (MIS)MANAGEMENT
2. EVERYONE’S A PUBLISHER
3. UX HAS EXPANDED
47

48. “
All companies, no matter what the size, must
start to think more like publishers than ever
before. Consumer behavior has changed
drastically over the past few years.
Customers are more accepting of content
”
from “non-media” sites and the barriers to
publishing are now non-existent.
— JOE PULIZZI
48

49. Is Nike a sneaker company,
or is it a media company?
If you go on their site,
you may opt for the latter.
Harris Millard, President and COO at MediaLink
49

50. CONSIDER THE MASTHEAD
Writers
Copy editors
Art directors
Production staff
Publishing is complex.
Various editors
Managing editor
Editor in chief
Ad sales
The Publisher
Publishers and Content Strategy from Jeffrey MacIntyre 50

51. We should be on
Twitter.
Our goal is to be seen
as a resource.
Twitter!
We plan to create
a series of
educational articles.
51

52. IT’S NOT JUST THE CONTENT.
IT’S ALSO THE STRATEGY.
52

53. “
One of the greatest challenges I encounter today
is not the willingness of a brand to engage, but its
ability to create. When blueprinting a social media
strategy, enthusiasm and support typically derails
when examining the resources and commitment
required to produce regular content.
—Brian Solis
53

54. JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN
DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD
54

55. 1. CONTENT (MIS)MANAGEMENT
2. EVERYONE’S A PUBLISHER
3. UX HAS EXPANDED
55

56. But I already do this
and I call myself... Information architect
Web editor
Content manager
Information designer
Technical writer
Producer
Copywriter
56

57. THIS ISN’T A JOB TITLE LANDGRAB.
IT’S ABOUT THE WORK THAT
NEEDS TO GET DONE.
57

58. 58

59. 59

60. Design Process
Current Site Audit
Stakeholder & Competitive &
User Interviews Market Research
Vision
Insight
Design
Development
QA
Requirements IA Design Creative
Design
Usability Testing Post Launch
Paper Prototype & Creative Comps Analytics Report
Test, Measure, and Optimize

61. User Experience Design Process: Critical Path
Kickoff
Project Initiation Initial Design Cyc l e Design Iteration / Testing / Itera
Meeting
Project is
Product Marketing
Prod. Marketing does P&L, content evaluation, Product Team meets -
inititated by Product creates materials that describe needs, goals,
Marketing with Prod. Mktg. feeds team Design presents functional
objectives, dependencies, partnerships, user flow, potential user
Program business issues and any other relev a n t any results from Marke t
Management scenarios and high level
content or functionality issues, pulls together Resear c h
screens need e d
cross-functional tea m Approval cycle h e r e
Feasability Studies / Field
Resear c h Expert advice on
Usability
What do Users w a n t previous research a n d feedback cyc l e
How do they want to do it Meeting new research need e d
(Usability Conceptual Phase) (Usability 2nd Phase)
coordinated by
Program
feedback cy
Management
UE Team member
Create D e s i g n
assigned to
Spec/Creative Rapid prototype for
Experience Design
project
Brie f proof of concept
attends meeting UE Team
Material is from and early testing w /
brainstorm with
Initial concept MRP/PRD and Early functionality usability
brainstorms wit h Takes input from Usability - led by
brainstorming notes designs and
all members as project team
Product Marketing to and other definitions of Could be paper
UE Team member assigned related to UI member
collect and gather requirements, distills pages needed for prototype, functional
to project design
requirements and info, looks at developed static HTML, Flash
what's the best
understand competitive functionality interaction,
Receives Requirements scenario fo r
competitive landscape landscape, rev i e w s Mockups/
Document use r s
scope in context of Wireframes as
Needs:
network and sit e image maps
List of team
precedenc e
members,
contact info, initial
schedule,
approval process
Initial exposure to
(people)
scope of design and
functionality
HTML
Assess techn i c a l
limitations and
alternatives
Engineering
Engineering might
begin coding
work from initial
functionality
spe c s
Credits: Erin Malone: Designed for AltaVista November 10, 2000
61

62. PHASE 1 PHASE 2
Design Analysis Design Solutions
TSDesign User Experience Audit SM
Product Strategy and Product Design Strategy Blueprint* Technology Audit
description:
• an expert design analysis from the user’s perspective
description:
• define ‘what the product should be’ and ‘how it
1 understand 2 investigate 3 define users 4 qualify features
should work’
benefits: corporate mission persona user profiles user, feature, objective matrix
• benchmarks the effectiveness of your site based upon stated benefits: core competencies
• the achievement of clearly articulated, agreed- user profiles
business objectives for the site and your users corporate goals
• analyzes the design of the site to find out if the benefits of use
upon and aligned mission, core competencies,
culture and values User Personae &
corporate goals, and objectives for the site
are actually being delivered
Profiling Module speculate &
+ interviews
SM
skills and methodologies
• the articulation and understanding of your users,
• recommends methods for substantially improving your users
experiences and meeting future business objectives
their needs and and your business objectives for
knowledge capital and experience (UP&P) innovate
people, processes & technology
establishing and extending relationships
with each one stakeholders and initiatives
Intentional User Experience table •
TSDesign Analysis FrameworkSM
• the definition of the organizational resources enterprise-wide challenges competitive and comparative analysis experience brief:
1 Delivery of User Benefits The intended value the organization
required to build and maintain the site Internet objectives strategy story
and positioning
delivers to users and customers through its site.
• the creation of a detailed blueprint for design or customers and users
redesign:
The sequence of questions, prompts, and results - site organization (footprint) competitive landscape
2 Transaction Flow that make up a task. - useful and usable features and functions
for the users * workbooks not shown
The degree to which a site affords the user to easily - descriptions of intended functionality scope or
3 Navigation & Hierarchy navigate the environment and efficiently locate rele-
- messaging strategy rescope
relationship
5 7
vant content.
The representation and support of the identity,
• the receipt of a phased implementation plan with
associated costs innovate 6 refine describe
4 Visual Language brand and information architecture through
visual elements and overall style.
new ideas new footprint and reclustered content Product Strategy Blueprint/Functional Description
existing
Audit comments: and new
• Users arriving at the front page of the
site may not understand what information
is there for them.
technology
• The names of the sections do not give
users a path to follow to find the informa-
tion they need.
• No specific path has been established for
each user type. Users must use their best
judgement to find the information they’re
looking for and often may not be successful.
Identity and Visual Language Audit Visual Identity Systems visual language research
description: description:
• By collecting and reviewing print, other tangible artifacts and • establish, with the client, a shared
Web sites your company creates and disseminates, and understanding and common language for
corporate standards (if they exist) we can then distill the basis visual design and how it effectively
for the visual language to be developed that is consistent with communicates the brand
the company's identity and product brands. This work is • define a visual language for the site
continued in the Visual Systems Design phase. - logo, logotype systems
- typography
- grid system
- color palette
- imagery style and usage
benefits:
• provides the visual language components
with which to build the interface
62

63. 63

64. An Example LEGEND MILESTONE
DELIVERABLE IDEA REVIEW CHECKPOINT
Product / Software / Web Design Process Guide KEY MEETING INFORM
PHASES concept discover definition refinement developmen
conceptual
MILESTONES start concept
approval
proposal approval and scheduling design
review
PRD
approval
UI design
approval
committed
schedule
Communicate business needs Communicate business needs Brand Positioning Review Promotional & Marketing Needs Business developm
& brand identity & brand identity
{
Mockups to marke
Note: In some companies these roles are
business
owners
encompassed by one person
Collect team input Product Roadmap Promotion plan
Describe problem or needs, Develop strategic rationale, business case,
proposed solution, and benefits. financial analysis, policy considerations,
implementation plans. Research: Solicit input from Business owners/ Point release plan
product Gather information for and
brands - contact other associated stakeholders
(legal, customer support, international)
manager create the Concept Document Gather supporting market research, etc.
Write Draft PRD and Review
Gather information for and create the Deliverables:
ROLES
Proposal Document
Project kickoff Product
Requirements
Document
Review user feedback on previous product Refine design concepts
(PRD) Wireframes and navigation maps
UI's and analyze competitive products. (authored by a
{
ui/id/ia Develop navigation model and Product Manager) Product prototype, e.g. paper, HTML, director, or flash
refine scenarios
design Provide input for level of effort
UI Design Approval
or two people. i.e. ui may do user research or visual designers may do ia, etc.
and
Idea Deliverable: Deliverable: Deliverable:
Define personas, usage scenarios, user Proposal Templates
Concept goals, and perform task analysis I T E R AT I O N S I T E R AT I O
Document Document Concept Design Review
&
Develop usage scenarios this step Navigation
and/or design concepts Concept
and / or may be (authored by
Note: In some companies these roles are blended into one
optional Design UI / ID / IA Design)
Provide input for level of effort Visual design explorations Refined Visual design explorations Art direction
Materials
Leads brainstorming Concept
(authored by
visual Prototype
blended design
design team)
Provide input for level of effort UCD research cont'd. (i.e. paper prototyping, Competitive usability testing Prototype usability test Prototype testing
participatory design, field studies, surveys,
etc.
Define personas, usage scenarios, user
user goals, and perform task analysis.
research
production Provide input for level of effort
credits Design based on earlier maps created by various UI design teams at America Online Incorporated. Revised and edited by Erin Malone, September 2003 for the AIfIA.
64

65. HOW DO THEY DO IT?

66. “
Content strategy is a repeatable system that
defines the entire editorial content development
process for a website development project.
”
— RICHARD SHEFFIELD
66

67. topics are we going to cover?
What formats are we going to use? (Blogs, video, charts…)
does anyone care?
Why does this provide business value?
are we doing to deliver the message?
How should we say it? (Tone of voice…)
will we get the content?
Where can we syndicate the content? (Feeds, social media…)
will this be published?
When will it need to be updated?
is responsible for this content?
Who will maintain it over time?
67

68. • What are my business objectives?
• What do my users want to do?
• What does my brand stand for?
De te gy
sig tra
nS S
tra
teg te nt
y C on
Product Strategy
• How will users interact with it? • What do we want to say?
• How will it be structured? • Where will we get the content?
• What will it look like? • Who will maintain it?
Technology
Strategy
• How will we build it?
• Who will maintain it?
68

69. CONTENT STRATEGY
Product
Planning Analysis Creation Governance
Strategy
Exercise 1 Exercise 2 Exercise 3 Exercise 4
69

70. 70

71. “
beat a path to your door.
you’re still going to have to develop a
content strategy, if you want anybody to
actually buy it. ”
Build a better mousetrap, and the world will
— RALPH WALDO EMERSON
71

72. HANDOUTS
http://bit.ly/CSUXLondon
72

73. EXERCISE 1: PRODUCT STRATEGY
You have developed the proverbial “better mousetrap.” You’re clearly a
successful innovator. Now, it’s time to put your innovation skills to work
developing a content strategy to support your new product.
On the next page, answer the following questions about your new
mousetrap and its benefits:
Who do you want to buy your mousetrap?
Moms? Schools? Restaurants? Animal-rights activists? Rube Goldberg?
What values does your brand stand for?
Health? Cleanliness? Speed? Hatred of vermin?
How do you plan to make money?
Repeat sales? Subscriptions? Advertising?
73

74. EXERCISE 1 DISCUSSION
74

75. CONTENT STRATEGY
Product
Planning Analysis Creation Governance
Strategy
CONTENT PLANNING
• What messages should be communicated?
• What content features will support those messages?
• What tone of voice should the site speak in?
• How will we plan to source or develop content?
• Do we have the resources to maintain the content?
75

76. CONTENT STRATEGY
Product
Planning Sourcing Creation Governance
Strategy
Exercise 2:
Content Planning
76

77. EXERCISE 2: CONTENT PLANNING
You plan to create a website to promote your new mousetrap. What
content do you need to develop in order to show the benefits, get
people to engage with your brand, and persuade them to buy?
On the next page, answer the following questions about the content
you want to appear on your website:
What are the main categories or topics you plan to cover on the site?
Products? Shop? See it in action? Customer service?
What do you want to say about your product?
It’s Fast? Clean? Cheap? Environmentally-friendly? Easy-to-use?
What additional content features do you need to develop? Why?
CEO blog? Video? Podcasts? Social networking? Infographics?
77

78. EXERCISE 2 DISCUSSION
78

79. WHERE IS YOUR CONTENT?
79

80. CONTENT STRATEGY
Product
Planning Analysis Creation Governance
Strategy
CONTENT ANALYSIS
• What content currently exists on the site? In print?
• What content can you reuse?
• What content should be thrown out?
• What content is missing?
• Will new content be created or sourced from a third party?
• How will you migrate existing content to the new site?
80

81. CONTENT ANALYSIS
Objectively: Get the Facts Subjectively: Assess the Quality
_What content do you have? _Is it communicating clearly?
_How is it organized? _Is it appropriate for your
_What different types are there? audience?
_Roughly, how much content is _Is it appropriate for your brand?
there? _Is it meeting your business needs?
Brain Traffic 81

82. CONTENT STRATEGY
Product
Planning Sourcing Creation Governance
Strategy
Exercise 3:
Content Audit
82

83. EXERCISE 3: CONTENT AUDIT
The success of your design beats out all others, and Acme Mousetrap
Co. — your nearest competitor — goes out of business. You purchase
the assets of the failed company, which includes the right to repurpose
anything from their website.
Refer to the content inventory on the next page, and determine:
Which content supports your business goals? Your users’ goals? Both?
Which content would you keep? Which content would you delete?
Do you have enough information to determine which content to keep or
delete? If not, how would get the information you need?
How long do you think it would take to get that information and make
those decisions?
83

84. EXERCISE 3 DISCUSSION
84

85. CONTENT AUDIT EXAMPLE
http://bit.ly/CSUXLondon
85

86. CONTENT STRATEGY
Product
Planning Sourcing Creation Governance
Strategy
CONTENT CREATION
• Who is going to write or produce all this content?
• What guidelines do we need to provide content creators?
• Who is responsible for reviewing, editing, and approving?
• What legal or regulatory approvals do we need?
• What quality control measures do we need?
86

87. CONTENT STRATEGY
Product
Planning Sourcing Creation Governance
Strategy
Exercise 4:
Content Model
87

88. EXERCISE 4: CONTENT MODEL
You know that it’s not enough just to put up a website for your
mousetrap. You want to place your product on other retailer websites,
like Amazon.com.
Review the attached examples of product pages from several online
retailers to determine:
What are all the different content elements that make up a listing?
You may want to go through each page and circle every element associated
with the product. Use the table on the next page to document them.
What new content will you need to create for these retailer websites?
What content elements are the same across all the sites? Are there any
custom elements you need to create for just one or two sites?
What content about your product will be created by someone else?
What gets created by retailers? What do users create themselves?
88

89. EXERCISE 4 DISCUSSION
89

90. CONTENT STRATEGY
Product
Planning Sourcing Creation Governance
Strategy
CONTENT GOVERNANCE
•What happens to our content once it goes up on the site?
•How often do we need to update the content?
•How will we know if the content is doing its job?
•What metrics can we use to track content performance?
•Should ownership be centralized or decentralized?
90

91. PARTING THOUGHTS

92. PEOPLE DON’T GO TO WEBSITES
TO LOOK AT YOUR TEMPLATES.
THEY GO FOR THE CONTENT.

93. IT’S NOT ABOUT ADDING A NEW
SHINY OBJECT.
IT’S ABOUT DECIDING WHAT
YOU WANT TO SAY, AND WHY.

94. CONTENT STRATEGY IS TOO
COMPLEX TO BE SOMEBODY’S
“SOMETIMES JOB”

95. YOU, OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE,
MIGHT ALREADY BE DOING
CONTENT STRATEGY

96. HELP IS OUT THERE.
Meetups content-strategy.meetup.com
Google Group groups.google.com/group/contentstrategy/
Google Knol knol.google.com/k/jeffrey-macintyre/content-strategy/
Linked In www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1879338
Conference www.webcontent2010.com
96

97. THANKS! Karen McGrane
karen@bondartscience.com
@karenmcgrane
+1 (917) 887-8149