Developing Your
Content Ecosystem
Hilary Marsh, Chief Strategist & President
Content Company, Inc.
http://bit.ly/content-eco
“What’s the government’s
policy on Afghanistan?”
Old thinking
Staff
department
Content
Audience
Staff
department
Content
Audience
Staff
department
Content
Audience
Staff
department
Content
Audience
Content
is
political
Content is the way our
work is manifested
online
16	
  
Content is…
Events
Products
Classes
Programs
Research
Content is…
My Events
My Products
My Classes
My Programs
My Research
19	
  
“Every pixel has an owner.”
– Paul Ford, former web editor 

at Harper’s magazine
21	
  
Content strategy 

is

CHANGE MANAGEMENT	
  
22	
  
User experience 

is

CHANGE MANAGEMENT	
  
23	
  
Digital 

is

CHANGE MANAGEMENT	
  
Working together for
customer satisfaction
25	
  
Organization: Programs, offerings
Audience
Content
Audience Audience Audience
New thinking
Staff Departments
Multiple Audiences
Collaborate
Contextual
Content
Co-designing for context & reuse
Article/Paper, Video, Webinar
Staff
department
Content
Audience
Staff
department
Content
Audience
How to do this
• Complementary skillsets
• Context
• Common use of tags
• Trust
• Collaboration
• Editorial calendar
What is an
ecosystem?
29	
  
Characteristics of an ecosystem
•  Linked together
•  Interdependent success
•  Each organism has its own niche or role to play
•  Separate organisms become a holistic system
•  The absence of one element can affect all parties
30	
  
Advocacy
effort
Course
Product
Magazine
article
E-
newsletter
item
Webinar	
  
Infographic
Event
session
Topic
Website
E-newsletter
Publications
Conferences
Twitter
Facebook	
  
Blogs
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Community
32	
  
Your
org
What about you?
Let’s discuss the elements of your ecosystem
Content ecosystem
People
+
Content
+
Systems
34	
  
When an ecosystem is broken…
• Disconnected content
• Customer confusion and frustration
• Missed opportunities
35	
  
???	
  
37	
  
38	
  
40	
  
41	
  
42	
  
How many things to subscribe to?
How many things to subscribe to?
How many things to subscribe to?
Tell/show your value?
46	
  
Tell/show your value?
Tell/show your value?
Tell/show your value?
Causes
• Disconnected content
• Disconnected systems
• Disconnected people
50	
  
What it looks like when a
content ecosystem is working
51	
  
52	
  
Desktop Experience Mobile Experience
53	
  
Recommendations’ Logic Cross-sell & Promo Logic
MGM Resorts serves up recommendations based on guests’
location, interests
MGM Resorts sends notifications for
nearby restaurants, shopping, show deals,
coupons, etc., via guests’ smartphones,
based on geo-location, loyalty member
status, and preferences.
Example: MGM Resorts
Source:Thismoment/AlCmeter	
  presentaCon,	
  2015	
  
	
  
55	
  
56	
  
57	
  
hFp://www.brookings.edu/research/topics/health	
  
hFp://www.acc.org/clinical-­‐topics/	
  
hFp://www.acc.org/clinical-­‐topics/diabetes-­‐and-­‐cardiometabolic-­‐disease	
  
hFp://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/green-­‐tech/fuel-­‐cells/
perovskites-­‐for-­‐novel-­‐fuel-­‐cells	
  
Cross-merchandising
“By focusing on need states, specifically through cross-
merchandising, retailers have an opportunity to play against their
strengths while giving consumers what they want.”
“Creating Ties That Bind” - Progressive Grocer, October 22, 2014
67	
  
People
• Better internal communications
• Collaboration
• Trust
• Change your reward system to encourage/reinforce
content sharing and co-creation vs. volume
68	
  
Content
• Decided collectively
• Awareness of what else is being created
• Consistently used content types
• Tagged consistently
• Measured
• Metrics feedback loop – communicated to
stakeholders, and used to inform decisions
69	
  
Processes/tools
• Editorial calendar
• Workflow
• CMS that can surface related content
• Managed by people with the right skills, enough
time, and official permission
70	
  
Thank you!
You can download these slides at
http://bit.ly/content-eco
Hilary Marsh
Chief Strategist & President
Content Company, Inc.
http://www.contentcompany.biz
hilary@contentcompany.biz
@hilarymarsh

Developing your content ecosystem

Editor's Notes

  • #55 “Monetizing your Wifi Network” MGM sends notifications for nearby restaurants, shopping, show deals, etc., for hotel guests staying in Bellagio Las Vegas via their smartphones, based on geo-location, loyalty member status, and preferences. and the MGM app. Delighted Customers: MGM Corporation. http://internetofeverything.cisco.com/see/delighted-customers http://internetofeverything.cisco.com/see/delighted-customers