How to do content strategy

HOW TO DO CONTENT STRATEGYIA Summit 2011#CSIAS11http://bit.ly/csias11

Hi! I’m Karen McGranefrom Bond Art + Science @karenmcgrane 2

Could have done with less discussion oncontent strategy. 3

what aboutthe art? 9

when dowe seethe art? 12

WHERE ISTHE ART? 15

DISASTERSTRIKES! 18

YOU WOULDN’T BUILDA GALLERY THIS WAY. 23

WHY WOULD YOU BUILDA WEBSITE THIS WAY? 24

TWO BIG PROBLEMS 25

“Organizations invest tremendous resources ondeveloping the framework for a great userexperience — fabulous design, robust contentmanagement infrastructure.Yet when it comes to the content itself, theresoften a gap.The end result is that the value proposition forcustomers cant be delivered because thecontent is insufficient, inadequate, andinappropriate. — RAHEL BAILIE 26

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 intern is handling the content. Kristina Halvorson, Brain Traffic 27

Melissa Rach, Brain Traffic 29

Here be dragons Melissa Rach, Brain Traffic 29

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 30

CONTENT STRATEGY DESERVESPROCESS TOO. 31

WARNINGS + DISCLAIMERS 32

NO SOUPFOR YOU! 33

JOB TITLE≠PROJECT ACTIVITIES ≠DISCIPLINE 35

THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY 36

Dubberly Design Office, How Do You Design? 37

DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY Dubberly Design Office, How Do You Design? 37

IMAGINEENVISIONDEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY Dubberly Design Office, How Do You Design? 37

IMAGINE DEBRIEFENVISION LAUNCHDEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY Dubberly Design Office, How Do You Design? 37

ENGAGE IMAGINE DEBRIEFDISCOVER ENVISION LAUNCH DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY Dubberly Design Office, How Do You Design? 37

ENGAGE IMAGINE DEBRIEF ENHANCEDISCOVER ENVISION LAUNCH MAINTAIN DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY Dubberly Design Office, How Do You Design? 37

ENGAGE IMAGINE DEBRIEF ENHANCEDISCOVER ENVISION LAUNCH MAINTAIN DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY ANALYZE PLAN Dubberly Design Office, How Do You Design? 37

ENGAGE IMAGINE DEBRIEF ENHANCEDISCOVER ENVISION LAUNCH MAINTAIN DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY ANALYZE EVALUATE PLAN TEST Dubberly Design Office, How Do You Design? 37

ENGAGE IMAGINE DEBRIEF ENHANCEDISCOVER ENVISION LAUNCH MAINTAIN DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY INCEPTION ELABORATION CONSTRUCTION TRANSITION ANALYZE EVALUATE PLAN TEST Dubberly Design Office, How Do You Design? 37

CONTENT?ENGAGE IMAGINE DEBRIEF ENHANCEDISCOVER ENVISION LAUNCH MAINTAIN DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY INCEPTION ELABORATION CONSTRUCTION TRANSITION ANALYZE EVALUATE PLAN TEST Dubberly Design Office, How Do You Design? 37

CONTENT!ENGAGE IMAGINE DEBRIEF ENHANCEDISCOVER ENVISION LAUNCH MAINTAIN DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY INCEPTION ELABORATION CONSTRUCTION TRANSITION ANALYZE EVALUATE PLAN TEST Dubberly Design Office, How Do You Design? 37

STRATEGY 38

• What are my business objectives?• What do my users want to do?• What does my brand stand for? STRATEGY 38

• What are my business objectives? • What do my users want to do? • What does my brand stand for? DE SIG N STRATEGY• How will users interact with it?• How will it be structured?• What will it look like? 38

• What are my business objectives? • What do my users want to do? • What does my brand stand for? DE SIG N STRATEGY• How will users interact with it?• How will it be structured?• What will it look like? TECHNOLOGY • How will we build it? • Who will maintain it? 38

• What are my business objectives? • What do my users want to do? • What does my brand stand for? DE E NT SIG N O NT C 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 • How will we build it? • Who will maintain it? 38

THE CONTENT STRATEGY PROCESS 39

THE CONTENT STRATEGY PROCESS PLAN 39

THE CONTENT STRATEGY PROCESS PLAN ANALYZE 39

THE CONTENT STRATEGY PROCESS PLAN ANALYZE CREATE 39

THE CONTENT STRATEGY PROCESS PLAN ANALYZE CREATE GOVERN 39

DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOYPLAN ANALYZE CREATE GOVERN RESEARCH + TESTING 40

AGENDAMODULE 1: PLANNING 9:30–10:30Exercise 1: User Needs and Business GoalsBreak 10:30–11:00MODULE 2: ANALYSIS 11:00–12:00Exercise 2a: Content InventoryLunch 12:00–1:00MODULE 2: ANALYSIS (continued)Exercise 2b: Content Audit 1:00–3:30MODULE 3: CREATIONExercise 3: Messaging and Content AnnotationsBreak 3:30–4:00MODULE 4: RESEARCH + TESTING 4:00–5:00Exercise 4: User Interviews 41

PLAN:USER NEEDS ANDBUSINESS GOALSModule 1

DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY PLANPROJECT ACTIVITIES CONTENT STRATEGY ACTIVITIES_Business Strategy_Brand Strategy_Personas + Scenarios Content strategy_Competitive Analysis can contribute to all of these activities._Web Analytics_Technical Assessment_Creative/UX Brief 43

BUSINESS STRATEGY _ Content strategy isn’t What business about creating content are we in? “just because you can.” _ It’s about aligning a publishing model with ENGAGEMENT COMPETENCY business goals. _ Understanding how content aligns with business goals is the “strategy” part of Who are our ALIGNMENT How do we content strategy. constituents? create value? Marigo Raftopoulous, Business Strategy Fundamentals 44

BRAND STRATEGY Content strategy ensures POSITIONING that brand strategy carries through to: VISION _Messaging MISSION _Tone of voice _Content creation _Content style guide 45

PERSONAS +SCENARIOS _ Personas document the user’s information needs. _ Content strategy goes “the last mile” to make sure we actually deliver that information. Steve Mulder and Ziv Yaar, The User is Always Right 46

PERSONAS +SCENARIOS _ Personas document the user’s information needs. _ Content strategy goes Learn more about the “the last mile” to make home-buying process, sure we actually deliver including jargon, that information. realtors, mortgages, insurance, and how to evaluate houses. Steve Mulder and Ziv Yaar, The User is Always Right 46

COMPETITIVEANALYSIS Competitive audits tend to answer the following: _What features do our competitors offer? _How are their sites architected and designed? Content strategy can answer: _What messages do they communicate? _How does the content deliver value? 47

WEB ANALYTICS Use analytics data to inform: _Content inventories _Content audits Search engine data is quite useful in developing: _Naming/Labeling systems _SEO-friendly content 48

TECH ASSESSMENT _ CMS evaluations in particular tend to focus on features and technical architecture. _ Content strategy looks at the CMS like a user, evaluating interfaces and task flow. cmsmatrix.org 49

CREATIVE/UX BRIEF The brief summarizes the project inputs and defines the “vision” for the site. Be sure content is reflected: _How content helps meet business goals and user needs _How tone of voice and messaging supports brand strategy _Who will own and maintain content BBH via The Planning Lab 50

EXERCISE 1A:USER NEEDS_ Review the sample user persona and scenario on Page 3 of your handout._ Write down a list of user needs on the worksheet on Page 2._ What does this user need or expect to find when he does his research? 51

EXERCISE 1B:BUSINESS GOALS_ Review the sample case study on Page 5 of your handout._ Write down a list of business goals on the worksheet on Page 4._ What does this company expect to achieve by putting information on the web? 52

ANALYZE:CONTENT INVENTORYAND AUDITModule 2

DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP PLAN ANALYZEPROJECT ACTIVITIES CONTENT STRATEGY ACTIVITIES_Requirements _Content inventory_Page inventory _Content audit_Sitemap _Gap analysis_Data model _Sourcing plan 55

CONTENT COMESFIRST! _ Content inventory informs the page inventory and sitemap _ Content gap analysis and sourcing plan are analogous to the functional requirements 56

GIANTSPREADSHEET FTW! Separate activities, evolving document: _Content inventory: Quantitative list of all the content on the site _Content audit: Subjective assessment of quality _Gap analysis: What’s missing that you need? _Sourcing plan: Who, how and where you’re going to get new content 57

CONTENT INVENTORYWHAT CONTENT DO YOU HAVE?Look at (all) the pages of the siteMake choices about what content to evaluate:_How deep do you need to go?_How do you ensure you see examples of all the different content types?_What are common pathways that users are likely to take?_Can you find content that has been lost or hidden?Assume this will be a living document you use throughout your process

EXERCISE 2A:CONTENT INVENTORY_ Go to http://www.cisco.com/_ Inventory the content related to business collaboration and videoconferencing_ Make choices about what to evaluate and how to document it_ A sample spreadsheet has been provided to get you started 59

EXERCISE 2A:WRAP-UPWhy do a content inventory? When is it useful?_To understand the story the site is trying to tell_To get a sense of the range of pages that need to be designed_To determine the range of content types the site will support_To decide what content to eliminate or migrateWhen is a content inventory unnecessary? Why not do this?_You can learn 80% of what you need to know by sampling representative content_When the site is too large for a full inventory_Consider automated tools to index the site 60

AUTOMATED INVENTORIESUse tools to gather information Benefits of Automated Tools_Power Mapper _When you just need a page count_SiteOrbiter (for Macs) _Helps find “lost” pages_HTTrack (For PCs) _Useful when scanning thousands of similar pages (products, articles)Get help from the CMS team_Output data or metadata from the Limitations of Automated Tools CMS _May only index to a certain depth _Results may not be organized in a meaningful way _You don’t get firsthand insights about the content 61

CONTENT QUALITYHOW GOOD IS THE CONTENT?Ask yourself:_Do you have all the content that needs to be there?_Is the content up-to-date? Are the examples presented fresh?_Is it communicating clearly?_Is the content relevant to its intended audience?_Is the tone and style appropriate for your goals and reader? Is it appropriate for your brand?_Is it meeting your business needs?There is no overall definition of content quality—only quality within yourbusiness and user context. 63

EXERCISE 2B:CONTENT AUDIT_ Working off the inventory you just completed, assess the quality of this content_ Make decisions about how to assess “quality.” What evaluation criteria will you use?_ How will you document your findings? What columns would you add to your spreadsheet?_ How will you persuade your stakeholders that your findings are valid? 64

EXERCISE 2B:WRAP-UPWhy do this?_To determine what content needs to be eliminated or updated_To evaluate if content is meeting business and user needs_To establish an editorial calendar and messaging strategy_To create a sustainable content strategy that can be supported by your staff_To set guidelines for tone and style 65

CREATE:MESSAGING ANDCONTENT ANNOTATIONSModule 3

DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY PLAN ANALYZE CREATEPROJECT ACTIVITIES CONTENT STRATEGY ACTIVITIES_Schematics _Messaging architecture_Wireframes _Content annotations_Task flows _Naming/Labeling_Moodboards _Taxonomy_Design comps _Metadata framework_Prototype _SEO framework_Annotations/Specs _Copy Deck/Workbook 68

SCHEMATICS +WIREFRAMES 728x90 Leaderboard Content strategy partners Home About Us Contact Us Newsletter Change the World WOW Header (includes time and temp and women) ﬁnd something... Search with information men • art • money • fashion • sex • careers • politics • beauty • friends • gossip • age • travel • business • health • love architecture to answer: Conversation | Today 9:39 am Welcome back, Mamacita! Growing Up, I Was Bored Quite Often ... Today, Nobody Is Bored Let’s talk about the way kids grow up Edit your proﬁle Update your picture Read your horoscope _Where will we get all the today versus the way we grew up. with Lesley Stahl, Liz Smith and Mary Wells and 37 readers Check your weather ADVERTISEMENT content to fill each region Question | Today 8:00 am What lasting effect did the murder of Dr. Martin Luther Fiction | Thursday April 3 She Lied About Her Age of the page? King, Jr. have on this country? Posts | Thursday April 3 _Who will provide and Gypsy’s Personal Guide 336x280 Large Rectangle to Doctors, Drivers, Taxis, Shippers and Helicopters in the Med with Lesley Stahl, Liz Smith and Mary Wells and 37 readers Question | Weekday Month ## "South Pacific" returns to Broadway — what musical comedy from your or your maintain that content? parents youth still _How will “related” items resonates with you today? Poll | Friday April 4 Do You Earn More than Your Conversation | Weekday Month ## A Secret to Success: Mate? Make Every Bosss Yes No What Mate? Problem Your Problem Posts | Weekday Month ## Come Walk With Me: be associated? Remembering Dr. _What happens if we have See 107 votes and Vote 37 comments Martin Luther King, Jr. 300x600 Half Page more or less content for a Mother Earth Care- toons What the Hell Happened to Lara wOw on FOX Business Network How to Become A Millionaire ... If You Meg Whitman on Whats Next After given section? Flynn Boyle? Arent Born Rich eBay Talk To Us 69

TASK FLOWSB. Friends - TurnTo Without Facebook 3.4.2.B 3.6.1.B 3.5.1.1.B Sign Up 1.3.x or 1.4.x TurnTo Email If past Member Header Connect with Friends Widget Friends No connections Registration no CAPTCHA Authenticate purchases found Manage Purchases Interaction design or 3.6.2 No connections No purchases 3.6.3.B Member Header No Purchases business analysts typically map out transaction flows On close error FoundC. Ask - Facebook purchases found Content strategy may need Connect with 3.1.1 3.4.2.C IF NEEDED 3.6.1.C Facebook Facebook 3.5.1.1.C IF NEEDED If past Ask Widget TurnTo 3.1.2.D Member Header Connect Connect with Email Registration Registration no Question Not Manage Overlay Service CAPTCHA Friends Sent Overlay Authenticate Purchases to document and track No purchases On close 3.6.3.C Member Header No Purchases different conditionalD. Ask - TurnTo Found messages, for example: purchases found _Create password vs. Forgot Without Facebook 3.1.1 3.4.1.D 3.6.1.D 3.5.1.1.D 3.1.2.D Sign Up If past Ask Widget TurnTo Email Member Header Connect with Question Not Registration Registration with Authenticate Manage Friends Sent Overlay Overlay CAPTCHA Purchases 3.6.3.D password _Add vs Edit Member Header No purchases No Purchases On close FoundE. Answer - Facebook Same functionality, but purchases found Connect with 3.3.2 3.4.2.E IF NEEDED 3.6.1.E 3.5.1.1.E Facebook Facebook IF NEEDED If past Answer TurnTo 3.2.4.D Member Header Connect Connect with Email Registration Registration no Answer Not Sent Manage Overlay Service CAPTCHA Friends Overlay Authenticate Purchases different messaging! 3.6.3.E No purchases Member Header On close No Purchases Found 70

MOODBOARDS +DESIGN COMPS _ Moodboards offer a good opportunity for collaboration around visual identity and tone of voice. _ Content strategy should ensure designers are working with “real content.” _ Another opportunity to work through best/worst case scenarios for content sizing. _ Both content and design contribute to style guide 71

PROTOTYPINGInteraction prototypes_Evaluate the designs with real content, or a representative sample of real content._Evaluate where the designs might break or places where the content dump is not aligned.Prototypes for testing_ Selecting the right subset of content to test is one of the most important (and time consuming) aspects of prototype testing._ Content strategy should work closely with the user researcher to plan the test script so the study is an accurate representation of the experience._ Plan enough time to actually get the content into the prototype. 72

ANNOTATIONS +SPECS You can annotate content with more than just “text“ and “dynamic.” 73

MESSAGING ARCHITECTURE 75

MESSAGING ARCHITECTURE CALL TO ACTION 75

MESSAGING ARCHITECTURE CALL TO ACTION PRIMARY MESSAGE 75

MESSAGING ARCHITECTURE CALL TO ACTION PRIMARY MESSAGE SECONDARY MESSAGES 75

MESSAGING ARCHITECTURE CALL TO ACTION What next? PRIMARY MESSAGE SECONDARY MESSAGES 75

MESSAGING ARCHITECTURE CALL TO ACTION What next? PRIMARY What? MESSAGE Why? SECONDARY MESSAGES 75

MESSAGING ARCHITECTURE CALL TO ACTION What next? PRIMARY What? MESSAGE Why? Who? SECONDARY How? MESSAGES When? How much? 75

EXERCISE 3A:MESSAGING ARCHITECTUREBased on your understanding of business goals and user needs, whatshould Cisco say about its business collaboration products?Using the worksheet on Page 9 of your handout, develop the following:_ Primary message: Should capture the essence of “what” and “why”_ Secondary messages: Provide supporting information and context, answering questions like “who” and “how” and “when” and “how much”_ Call to action: What change should happen in the user’s mind based on seeing this information? (Hint: this probably isn’t “Buy Now!”) 76

EXERCISE 3B:CONTENT ANNOTATIONSLook at the wireframes on Pages 11–13 of your handout.These depict the following templates from Cisco.com:_Solutions Landing Page_Product Landing Page_Product PageProvide direction to a copywriter about how to communicate yourprimary and secondary messages.If you’ve ever written annotations for wireframes, you might think ofthese as annotation for content rather than interaction. 77

NAMING/LABELING Content strategy presents multiple options for site nomenclature: _Navigation system _Buttons + Links _Headings In some cases the labeling discussion will change the overall architecture 79

TAXONOMY +METADATA + SEO _ Strong arguments for considering these deliverables as part of content strategy _ May also be managed by information architecture or SEO experts; definitely need content participation 80

COPY DECK /WORKBOOK _ Content strategists aren’t necessarily copywriters — any more than interaction designers are developers _ Content strategists do provide the tools that copywriters use to create content _ Content annotations can be used to support a copy deck (in Word) or a workbook (in Excel) 81

RESEARCH + TESTING:USER INTERVIEWSModule 4

DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOYPLAN ANALYZE CREATE GOVERN RESEARCH + TESTING 84

USER RESEARCH _ Research and testing take a variety of forms (too many to cover here) _ One of the most basic and useful is a listening or “think aloud” protocol _ It can be used for initial research or for testing throughout the process 85

EXERCISE 4:USER INTERVIEWSWorking in pairs, select one person to be the participant and one to actas moderator.If you’re the participant:_Pretend you’re Anthony, the IT Director persona._You’ll be working off the whitepaper starting on Page 15.If you’re the moderator:_Work from the moderator guide on Page 18._It may help you to quickly read through the whitepaper before you start. 86

DEBRIEF AND FINDINGSIn a more formal test environment, it’s likely that you would record theinterview for later review, and perhaps have a note-taker sit in on thesession.During your debrief, you might notice that participants:_Used headings and subheadings to predict what the document would say_Monitored their own comprehension, noticing where they got confused_Read ahead to try and clear up their confusion_Made analogies to other topics to try and explain unfamiliar material_Create images or mental models of the topic or task 87

GOVERNANCE:A FEW NOTES

DEFINE DESIGN DEVELOP DEPLOY PLAN ANALYZE CREATE GOVERNPROJECT ACTIVITIES CONTENT STRATEGY ACTIVITIES_Front-end development _Governance model_Back-end development _Editorial calendar_QA Testing _Style guide_Beta Testing _Maintenance plan:_Design comps • Analytics/SEO review_Launch • Taxonomy review_Post-launch review • Ongoing testing 89

GOVERNANCEMODEL Plan for “Day 2” with a governance model that outlines: _Is content ownership centralized or decentralized? _Who owns “core” content? _What’s the approval process? How do you deal with bottlenecks or absences? _Who can authorize changes to templates? To workflows? Randy Woods Defining a Model for Content Governance 90

EDITORIALCALENDAR If you’re going think like a publisher, then you need an editorial calendar. Develop a plan for: _Content focus for each day, week, or month _Strategies for social publishing _Advertising targets, if appropriate editflow.org 91

STYLE GUIDE Make it usable One page. Or a simple wiki. Demonstrate your voice Show what you mean. Avoid vague descriptors like “authentic” or “friendly.” Don’t reinvent the wheel Use existing style guides for common grammar issues. Put someone in charge That style guide isnt going to update itself. 92

MAINTENANCEPLAN Old content doesn’t just fade away — it must die. Set a schedule to review: _Analytics data to evaluate engagement (by segment) _SEO data so you don’t spill your Google juice _User-generated tags to add to taxonomy or prune _Need for user testing to confirm findings Plan for a peaceful afterlife. 93

GREAT CONTENT DOESN’TJUST HAPPEN. 94

IT NEEDS ATTENTIONTHROUGHOUT THE PROJECT. 95

Thanks!@karenmcgrane 96

How to do content strategy

by Karen McGrane

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