CONTENT STRATEGY
The Care and Feeding of
Your Most Important Brand Asset
Kristina Halvorson | CATFOA | 03.09.09

WHAT I DO
• Run Brain Traffic
• Speak at conferences
• Write a lot

WHAT I DO
• Educate people about the importance of
planning for online content

Advertising is the official
art of capitalist society.
— Raymond Williams

YOUR PATRONS ARE
DYING.

A brand is a promise. By
identifying and authenticating
a product or service it delivers
a pledge of satisfaction and
quality.
— Walter Landor

Brands are now used more than
they are preferred.
Functional benefits and relevance
now outweigh the intangible and
emotional allure of a brand.
— The Brand Bubble
by John Gerzema and Ed Lebar

Online, we don’t just
see or read about your
brand.
We use it.

OFFLINE

ONLINE

USEFUL
USABLE
ENJOYABLE

Content strategy
plans for
useful, usable content.

•TEXT
•GRAPHICS
•VIDEO & ANIMATION
•AUDIO

ENTER THE
CONTENT
STRATEGIST.

PLAN.
CREATE.
PUBLISH.
GOVERN.

STRATEGY
A plan for obtaining a specific goal or result.

NOT …
“Our plan is to create a series of educational articles.”

BUT …
What With what
Why When
How Where
For whom How often
By whom Finished when

WHY?

WEB CONTENT
MUST WORK
FOR YOU.

WEB CONTENT
MUST WORK
FOR ME.

HOW?

SKILLSET.ORG
Business
Analyst
User
Project Production
Experience
Manager Assistant
Architect
Account
Designer
Producer
Manager
New
Information
Web Analyst
Business Developer
Architect
Developer
Content Usability
Programmer
Strategist Specialist
SEO Technical
Specialist Assistant
Server
Web Editor Administrator
Web Writer

SKILLSET.ORG
Business
Analyst
User
Project Production
Experience
Manager Assistant
Architect
Account
Designer
Producer
Manager
New
Information
Web Analyst
Business Developer
Architect
Developer
Usability
Programmer
Specialist
SEO Technical
Specialist Assistant
Server
Web Editor Administrator
Web Writer

SKILLSET.ORG
Business
Analyst
User
Project Production
Experience
Manager Assistant
Architect
Account
Designer
Producer
Manager
New
Information
Web Analyst
Business Developer
Architect
Developer
Programmer
Technical
Assistant
Server
Administrator
Web Writer

MISCONCEPTIONS
• “We can figure it out later.”
• “The copy shouldn’t be that big of a deal.”
• “We already pretty much know what we want to say.”
• “We already have most of the content.”
• “I should be able to take care of this myself.”

THIS IS COPYWRITING.

THIS IS CONTENT.
• Audit
• Analyze
• Strategize
• Categorize
• Structure
• Create
• Review
• Approve
• Publish
• Update
• Archive

YOU
ARE A
PUBLISHER.

THE WORLD OF MARKETING

THIS IS ALL (web) CONTENT.

TREAT YOUR
CONTENT LIKE A
CRITICAL
BUSINESS ASSET.

Thanks.
kristina@braintraffic.com
E
braintraffic.com/blog
W
@halvorson
T

Resources
• CONTENT STRATEGY
• http://alistapart.com/issues/274
• http://tr.im/lovingercs
• http://www.cmsreview.com/Stages/
• WRITING FOR THE WEB
• http://tr.im/redish
• ADVERTISING AND BRAND
• http://thebrandbubble.com
• http://tr.im/whatisadv
• WEB ANALYTICS
• http://webanalyticsdemystified.com/