Content strategy is too often tactical or applied best practice. A strategy should provide a solution to a problem by identifying obstacles and opportunities, outlining a guiding vision, and planning how an organisation will achieve that vision. A content strategy, simply does the same thing but uses content and content practices to achieve the goal.
In this session, Kathy breaks out the essential parts of good strategy and provides hands-on, practical advice for making sure your content strategy is strategic. Attendee’s will learn:
The three essential parts of good strategy
How to use a Strategic Content Strategy Canvas to stay focused
How to put good content strategy into practice in your organisation
Let’s put some strategy in our content strategies! | Kathy Wagner
1. Let’s put some strategy
in our content strategies!
Kathy Wagner
Content Strategy Inc.
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
2. #StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
What we’re talking about
1. Different ways to approach CS
2. A tool to focus on strategy
3. Small steps
4. Review
5. Questions
10. Different kinds of CS
Product/UX CS
Website CS
Enterprise CS
Marketing CS
Content engineering
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
11. How do most
content strategists
spend their days?
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc Photo by Artem Kovalev on Unsplash
12. • Audits
• Recommendations
• Personas
• Future vision
• Research
• Writing
• Journey maps
• Content models
• Training
• Team building
• Information architecture
• Messaging
15. Best practices
#StrategyFirstCS | @Kathy_CS_Inc
Methods or techniques
generally accepted as
superior because they
produce consistently
superior results.
16. Tactics
Means by which a
strategy is carried out.
Activities that deal with
the demands of the
moment, or move
towards milestones.
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
18. Strategy
“A coherent set of
analysis, concepts,
policies, and arguments
that respond to a high-
stakes challenge.”
~ Richard Rumelt
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
20. Photo by Tj Kolesnik on Un
Know your
high-stakes challenge
Aligns with a recognized
strategic goal.
Can be significantly impacted
through content.
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
21. Good high-stakes challenge Not good high-stakes challenge
Reduce customer support calls Revise content for plain language
Streamline operational efficiency Review content approval process
Align digital properties to one brand Revise page titles for consistency
Reuse content efficiently across regions Develop a taxonomy
Increase employee use of intranet Move HR policies from pdf to html
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
22. When we know
how our activities
fit within a strategy
We know our
contributions are
valued#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc Photo by Artem Kovalev on Unsplash
23. How much strategy is
in your content
strategy work?
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
24. A strategy
has three
parts:
1. Findings & foundation
2. Guiding focus
3. Coherent action plan
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
26. Download this here: www.contentstrategyinc.com/wp-content/uploads/Strategic-Content-Strategy-Canvas.pdf
27. Understand the current situation,
future objectives, and any
obstacles or opportunities
involved.
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc Photo by Gabriel Jimenez on Unspl
Findings and
foundation
28. Investigate business needs
and environment
• What challenge did you identify, or are
you responding to?
• How will the current business
environment help or hinder your
progress?
• What resources do you have to work
with, in terms of skill-sets, time, and
budget?
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
29. Investigate audience needs
and situation
• Who is your audience?
• What are your audience’s goals,
perceptions, and needs?
• What obstacles and opportunities are
there in meeting audience needs?
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
30. Review your current
content situation
• What content do you have or need to
work with, to effectively respond to the
challenge?
• What content teams and processes are
impacted?
• How much work is required to move the
content (and content teams, processes,
technology, etc) from current state to
future vision?
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
31. Guiding focus
Provides:
• a vision for the future.
• high-level guidelines for
getting there.
• a rationale for why this vision
is the strategic solution.
Photo by Chris Barbalis on Unspla#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
32. Show the content strategy
vision
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
• A sneak peek into the future
state of content.
• Not a blue-sky vision. An
achievable, strategic vision.
33. Define the guiding
principles
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
• Are rules that help people stay
focused.
• Provides enough of a high-level
“how” to get senior-level support.
• Becomes a decision-making
framework moving forward.
34. Provide the rationale
• Why this vision, and these
guiding principles, rather than
another?
• What does the research
show?
• Reiterate risks of status quo.
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
36. Action plan
A detailed outline of what’s
involved and how the work will
get done.
This is where you list the tactics,
or activities, needed to achieve
the vision.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
37. Action plan
• What needs to happen, by who, and when?
• How will it get done (in terms of resourcing,
budgets, etc)?
• What are the dependencies and implications
(for example, technology and training)?
• Creating a detailed roadmap works well for
this.
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
39. The canvas does not
convey strategy details
Simply a tool to help make
sure your content strategy is
strategic.
You can use it as…
Download this here: www.contentstrategyinc.com/wp-content/uploads/Strategic-Content-Strategy-Canvas.pdf
44. How to open the door
for strategic work?
• Start small
• Support other teams
• Build trust
• Measure progress
• Share successes
Photo by Joaquin Paz y Miño on Unsplash#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
45. Good high-stakes challenge Good small high-stakes challenge
Reduce customer support calls …from people who visit support site
Streamline operational efficiency …of approval process within a team
Align digital properties to new brand … starting with one priority area
Reuse content efficiently across regions …starting with one use case
Increase employee use of intranet …starting with high-priority section
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
46. Aligns with a recognized
strategic goal.
Can be significantly impacted
through content.
Photo by Tj Kolesnik on Un#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
Even a small
high-stakes challenge
53. To make sure you cover all
areas that contribute to
good content strategy
Use the
canvas
framework
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
54. Use the
canvas
framework
• To facilitate discussion
• To guide your approach
• To show snapshot
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc
55. How do you
spend your days?
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc Photo by Artem Kovalev on Unsplash
56. • Audits
• Recommendations
• Personas
• Future vision
• Research
• Writing
• Journey maps
• Content models
• Training
• Team building
• Information architecture
• Messaging
57. But you’ll know
what you’re
contributing to.
And can prioritize
your efforts.
#StrategyFirstCS | @Team_CS_Inc Photo by Artem Kovalev on Unsplash
59. Visit ContentStrategyInc.com
for related articles:
• Content leaders: Managers, practioners, and
strategists
• Put more strategy into your content strategy
• How to complete the content strategy canvas
• Three ways to use the content strategy canvas
And to download the canvas:
• Strategic Content Strategy Canvas (pdf)
60. Questions?
And thank you
Kathy Wagner
Content Strategy Inc
kathy@contentstrategyinc.com
@Team_CS_Inc
Monthly newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bTo4PH
