Content Strategy 2015:
Marketing, Mobile, and the Enterprise
Kristina @Halvorson
braintraffic.com
confabevents.com

What is
“content strategy”?

2009

Content strategy is the
practice of planning for
the creation, delivery,
and governance of
useful, usable content.

2012

Content strategy guides
planning for the
creation, delivery, and
governance of
content…
…plus a whoooole lot of
caveats.

the quad
© 2015 Brain Traffic

2013-2014

Who Brain Traffic worked with

Jazz hands no more.

What is “strategy”?

An integrated cascade of choices
What is our
winning
aspiration?
Where will we
play?
How will we
win?
What capabilities
must be in
place?
What
management
systems are
required?
The right playing field:
Where we will compete: our geographies,
product categories, consumer segments,
channels, vertical stages of production
The purpose of
the enterprise:
our guiding
aspirations
The unique right to win:
Our value proposition
Our competitive
advantage
The support systems:
Systems,
structures, and
measures required to
support choices
The set of capabilities
required to win:
Our reinforcing activities
Our specific configuration
Source: Roger Martin, hbr.org

Diagnosis
Guiding Policy
Set of Coherent Actions
The Kernel of Strategy
• Creating a ‘map of the territory’ and figuring out “What’s going on here?”
• Insightful diagnosis can transform one’s view of the situation
• An overall approach for overcoming obstacles and/or harvesting
opportunities highlighted by the diagnosis
• Channels actions in certain directions (and not others) without saying what
exactly shall be done
• Does not need to spell out all actions, yet there must be enough clarity
about action to make concepts concrete and actionable
• Actions should coordinate and build upon each other (fit/consistency) so as
to generate punch
1
2
3
Source: Good Strategy, Bad Strategy
by Richard Rumelt

The Big Opportunity
A window into a winning future that is realistic,
emotionally compelling, and memorable
Change Vision
What you need to look like to be able to capitalize on
the Big Opportunity
Strategic Initiatives
Activities that, if designed and executed fast enough and
well enough, will make your vision a reality
Source: Accelerate by John P. Kotter, hbr.org

The right content, to the right person,
in the right place, at the right time.

Content Strategy
for Marketing

Content marketing is the approach of
creating and distributing valuable and
consistent content to a targeted
audience, with the objective of driving
some profitable action…
– “The Evolution of Content Marketing
Will Include Intelligent Content”
Joe Pulizzi, 1/12/2015
“

Building loyalty and trust with an
audience over a long period opens up
amazing opportunities to sell more, save
costs, or create customers for a lifetime.
– “The Evolution of Content Marketing
Will Include Intelligent Content”
Joe Pulizzi, 1/12/2015
“

• 1 billion impressions
• 100 million annual website visits
• 98% product penetration in US
households
• Yields 4x better ROI than
traditional advertising
HOLY CRAP IT WORKS!!!!
2015 Content Marketer of the Year

• 86% of B2C marketers use content marketing
• 91% of B2B marketers use content marketing
• 95% of B2B enterprise marketers use content
marketing
• 78% of CMOs think custom content is the future
of marketing
http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/24_stats_about_the_importance_of_content_marketing_46163.aspx

Sexy might sell,
but it rarely satisfies.

• Talk to your audiences to find out what really
matters.
• If your Big Idea doesn’t work, kill it quickly.
• Don’t kid yourself about capacity.
• Stop using “engagement” as a metric.
2015

Content Strategy
for Mobile

The right content, to the right person,
in the right place, at the right time.

It is your mission to get your content out, on
whichever platform, in whichever format your
audience wants to consume it.
Your users get to decide how, when, and where
they want to read your content. It is your challenge
and your responsibility to deliver a good experience
to them.
Content Strategy for Mobile by Karen McGrane
“

http://blog.braintraffic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/structured-content.png

http://www.hci-itil.com/ITIL_v3/images/
service_improvement_ch7_fig_7_1.jpg

http://what-when-how.com/
wp-content/uploads/
2012/06/tmpe113102.png

We’ve been so excited to go
from nothing to something really
cool. I guess it doesn’t work that
way, huh.
– Actual Client
“

You can’t accelerate with a
broken engine.

• Pick a pilot content modeling project and
see it through (including post-launch review).
• Do an honest assessment of where you are
with your content lifecycle management.
• Don’t worry about fancy CMS features until
your necessary tools are optimized.
• Don’t spend money on stuff you can’t use yet.
2015

Content Strategy
for the Enterprise

We have too much content.
We don’t have enough content.
Our content is inconsistent.
We create content in silos.
We have no success metrics.
We have no customer research.
My boss doesn’t get it.
My team doesn’t get it.
We have 12 sucky CMSes.
Our content isn’t structured.
Responsive design broke it.
What if I get hit by a bus.

Audit the content!
Fix the IA!
Get an editorial guide!
Here’s a content map!

Your tools are wrong.
You don’t have the
right skill sets.
No one’s accountable.
Leadership isn’t
leading.

Diagnosis
Guiding Policy
Set of Coherent Actions
The Kernel of Strategy
• Creating a “map of the territory” and figuring out “What’s going on here?”
• Insightful diagnosis can transform one’s view of the situation
• An overall approach for overcoming obstacles and/or harvesting
opportunities highlighted by the diagnosis
• Channels actions in certain directions (and not others) without saying what
exactly shall be done
• Does not need to spell out all actions, yet there must be enough clarity
about action to make concepts concrete and actionable
• Actions should coordinate and build upon each other (fit/consistency) so as
to generate punch
1
2
3
Source: Good Strategy, Bad Strategy
by Richard Rumelt

Goal: Integrate publishing processes
Strategy #1: Store all content in a central Drupal
CMS
Strategy #2: Empower a CS team to facilitate
collaborative content workflows
Strategy #3: Establish a content governance
council for ongoing oversight
Vision: Right content blah blah blah

Strategy forces us to
prioritize

http://marketingland.com/wp-content/ml-loads/2013/04/image.jpeg
Reality

CONTENT
STRATEGIST
CONTENT
STRATEGIST
CONTENT
STRATEGIST
CONTENT
STRATEGIST
Content strategists
facilitate
conversations and
collaboration across
teams responsible
for major content
initiatives.
The Guiding Coalition
establishes strategy,
pillars, and the
roadmap of priorities.

Governance requires
leadership.

• Take stock of your current strategies for
content creation, management, and
measurement.
• Question the metrics you’re using for
success.
• Listen to the people on the front lines.
• Empower someone to lead the charge.
• Don’t do it all.
2015

Content Strategy
for You

People think focus means saying yes to
the thing you've got to focus on. But
that's not what it means at all. It means
saying no to the hundred other good
ideas that there are. You have to pick
carefully.
– Steve Jobs
“

the quad
© 2015 Brain Traffic
How do we know
this is the right
content?
How will this
content appear
across channels?
Do we have the
skills, budget, tools,
and time?
Who’s in charge of
ongoing content
quality?

Good content strategy …
• Defines outcomes and
measurements
• Helps prioritize investments
• Shapes infrastructure
• Keeps you from losing your mind

FOMO

We live in a moment of history
where change is so speeded up
that we begin to see the
present only when it is already
disappearing.
– R.D. Laing
“

Thank you.
Kristina @Halvorson
http://braintraffic.com

ConfabEvents.com