"The Myth of the Perfect Methodology: Breaking and Recreating the Content Strategy Process" - Corey Vilhauer at Confab 2012 in Minneapolis, MN. (May 15, 2012)
"The Myth of the Perfect Methodology: Breaking and Recreating the Content Strategy Process" - Corey Vilhauer at Confab 2012 in Minneapolis, MN. (May 15, 2012)
"The Myth of the Perfect Methodology" - Corey Vilhauer at Confab 2012Presentation Transcript
the MYTH of the perfectMETHODOLOGY
hashtag:#methmyth
hiI’m corey @mrvilhauer
Blend Interactive Sioux Falls, SD
METHODOLOGY?“Formal documentation of a set of processes.”
SCIENTIFIC METHOD ASK A QUESTION Research a problem Form a Hypothesis Test the Hypothesis Communicate/Change
METHODOLOGIES ALLOW FOR REPLICATION
hooray web!
The LIst
METHODOLOGY ≠A List of tasks
In the beginning...
define thedamn thing
THESE ARE GUIDESNOT METHODOLOGIES
“Content strategy is suf8iciently diverse that nearly all content workers must specialize to some extent, and our methodologies tend to re8lect on that specialization.” -‐Erin Kissane
It’s morecomplicated than that
We Thinkwe’re this
But really,we’re this
Each projectis different
Eachdeliverableis different
Each clientis different
Each one of usis different
WE’RE ALLSNOWFLAKES
So.Why bother?
CommunicatioN
MAKE IT OFFICIALguidanceConsistencyintegrity
The Methodology for creating a methodology
find a trail guide
Content Strategy Deliverables* What Are You Trying to Achieve? Summary of company goals What Do You Own? Content inventory or audit Content assessment (quality and quantity) Whatʼs Missing? Content gap analysis Comparative content analysis Competitive analysis How Do You Present the Words? User personas User scenarios (think believable stories) Editorial strategy Core messaging strategy Content templates Sample content Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy Metadata strategy Brand strategy Style guideCREATE A MASTER LIST Glossary Where Does It Go? Copy deck Content conversion/migration strategy Content flow schematic Channel strategy
break andrecreate
You are neverfinished
“With iteration, instead of driving an idea blindly into the world, hoping to get lucky, you tip-‐toe, feeling as you go. And you are guided by the feedback you get. ... There are no beginnings or endings -‐ just small steps forward.” -‐Robin Sloan
steal like an artist
“...A result of 4-‐5 years of pilfering the Internet.” -‐Jeffrey MacIntyre, Arc90
“This one’s mine.Let’s take another.” -‐Fugazi (kind of)
give a little dap, yo
With specialthanks to...
MAKE IT personal
“Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn. My God, do you learn.” -‐C.S. Lewis
An Example:Audiences and Outcomes
tl;dr
YOU CAN’T BREAK the RULES IF YOU DON’T MAKE the RULES.
THE SOAPBOX
OUR WORK IS PERSONAL
OUR WORK IS fluid
“Strategy is a frontier sport.” -‐Melissa Rach, CS Forum 2011
OUR WORK isworth sharing
"We have to be okay with sharing what we know. Everyone gets credit for showing their work. There’s no reason to protect how we do things. Every client is different; every project presents new information to learn from." -‐Nicole Jones
So. Go forth and METHODOLOGIZE
( thank you ) For notes and resources, visit:eatingelephant.com/2012/05/confab2012
Vanissa Wanick
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