Every Problem is Not a Nail: Choosing the Right Media for Your Content

1. EVERY PROBLEM
IS NOT A NAIL
Choosing the Right Media for Your Content
KEN CIRCEO — Sr. Content Publisher, Microsoft

2. Ken Circeo is a Sr. Content
Publisher at Microsoft, specializing
in new media for communications
software.
As an 11-year Microsoft veteran, Ken has helped to
usher in the era of new media for the software
giant, first evangelizing the merits of audio and
video content, and then creating processes that
have come to be adopted throughout the company. Prior to joining Microsoft,
Ken was a technical writer at WordPerfect, Novell, and NetDocuments. He has
also written more than 200 articles for various publications, including
InfoWorld, PC Mech, and News 3X/400.

3. MEDIA TYPES – THEN
 Physical book
 Easy to produce
 Understandable process
 Highest COG in the box

4. MEDIA TYPES – NOW
 Physical book
 Video file
 Podcast
 Audio file
 Slide show
 Text file
 Help article
 KB article
 Blog article

5. WHY VIDEO?
 Technology has caught up with the demand
 Demand for video continues to grow in the social community
 Can often say more in less time
 Appeals to multiple learning types
 Visual – seeing
 Aural – hearing
 Kinesthetic – doing
 Discoverability
 Moves CustSat scores
 The viral factor

6. PROS AND CONS
 PROS
 Cost has plummeted, esp. in the new video stratum
 Video as a medium is not just accepted, it’s EXPECTED
 Technology is following the demand for more and better video content
 Messages get delivered more effectively
 CONS
 Demand for speed means quality suffers, bar gets lowered
 Difficult to detect trusted information; message can get diluted

7. 3 KEY QUESTIONS
 What problem am I trying to solve?
 Who is my audience?
 What is my budget?

8. WHAT PROBLEM AM I TRYING TO SOLVE?
 People don’t know about my product.
How can evangelize
it?
 This issue generates too many support calls. do I reduce
How
them?
 Customers are asking about the new version. do I show
How
them?
 This important feature isn’t easily discoverable. can I expose it?
How
How…?
 This feature is easier to show than to explain.
CAN YOU
 It’s costing too much to put live trainers on site.
How…? STATE IT IN
 Customers are missing our Help content. How…? A ―HOW‖
 How…? QUESTION?
Our content is not meeting accessibility requirements.
 3rd party videos are muddying our message.
How…?

9. WHO IS MY AUDIENCE?
 Consumers  Home-based
 Internal employees and  Office-based
partners
 Younger demographic
 Business decision makers
 Older demographic
 Engineers
 Academic
 Sales and marketing
 International
 Creative thinkers
 Domestic DOES THIS
 Program managers
 Legacy users VIDEO FIT
 Product visionaries THEIR
 New users
 Writers and editors WORKFLOW?

10. WHAT IS MY BUDGET?
 Video might be more affordable than ever, but it’s still not as cheap
as:
 Tweet
 Blog post
 Facebook post
 LinkedIn post
 Help article ARE YOU
 KB article FORCING
 Slide show THE VIDEO
 Budget directors love low numbers, but only if they WHERE IT
solve problems DOESN’T
BELONG?

11. RULES OF THUMB
 VIDEO IS (typically) IDEAL FOR  BUT NOT (typically) IDEAL FOR
 Quick tips, pointers  Reference/definitions
 UI tours  Coding demos
 Business scenarios  Lengthy procedures
 Architectural content  Immediate content
 Conceptual processes  Content that has to be printed
 Upgrade paths  Engineering audiences
 BDMs  Older demographics
 Visual learners
 Aural learners
 Younger demographics

12. EXAMPLES
 Lync 2010 Mobile Clients (1:35) – live action
http://youtu.be/FY0acvmsVAY
 Make a Call using Lync 2010 (6:31) – screen animation
http://youtu.be/GKv8gGb30oI
 Join a Lync Meeting with iPad (0:33) – screen animation
http://youtu.be/G_d302HfhSw

13. VIDEO STATS (AUG 2012)

14. DISCUSSIO
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