CONTENT STRATEGY FOR THE WEB
Everything Kristina @Halvorson Coauthor, Content Strategy for the Web CEO, Brain Traffic and Founder, Confab Events

I wrote the first version
of Content Strategy for the Web in 2009.

In it, I defined content
strategy as “the practice of planning for the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content.”

Not just...
• What

But … • What •
Why • How • When • For whom • By whom • With what • Where • How often • What next

In 2012, I coauthored the
2nd edition with Melissa Rach.

This time, defining “content strategy”
was a bit trickier. (Read: there were several caveats.)

At exactly this time, there
was another trend on the rise.

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 “

The marketing
industry happily
complied.

This is big trouble for
companies who still can’t manage the content they had in the first place. Content strategy is more important than ever.

What is
content strategy?

2015

© Brain Traffic 2015 Here’s
how we talk about it at Brain Traffic.

Core strategy: This defines where
you will focus your efforts to improve content substance, structure, workflow, and/or governance. It must provide clear boundaries for what you will do … and what you won’t. © Brain Traffic 2015

Substance: Story, topic, brand elements,
voice and tone Structure: Organization, categorization, component elements CONTENT

Substance… …fulfills business objectives by
meeting audience needs. Structure… …makes content findable and usable for users, and manageable for technology. CONTENT

PEOPLE Workflow: Roles, processes, tools
Governance: Policies, standards, guidelines

Workflow... ...creates efficiencies across content
properties. Governance… ...empowers, facilitates, and aligns. PEOPLE

20 Lots More To Learn
About 10 Definitions of Content Strategy by Monica Bussolati Point of View: Content Strategy by Kevin Nichols What Is Content Strategy? by Aha Media Group

What kinds of content strategy
are there?

Content Strategy for User Experience
Infographic published by IBM Customer-Facing Solutions.

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

Enterprise Content Strategy Adapted from
http://www.gollner.ca/2015/03/defining-intelligent-content.html Workflow and Governance

What does a content strategist
do?

Point of View: Content Strategy
by Kevin Nichols

What is the content strategy
process?

28 What is “a content
strategy”? • A content strategy—any strategy—is the path you’ll take towards meeting your goals and fulfilling your vision. It may be one of a few parallel paths towards the same goals. • A content strategy helps define what you WILL do and what you WON’T do. • All tactical content initiatives must map back to your strategy. • Your content strategy should force you to prioritize and to say “no.”

29 How To Get There
1 : Assessment, Analysis, and Strategy 2 : Architecture and Editorial 3 : Implementation 4 : Maintenance

1 : Assessment, Analysis, and
Strategy 2 : Architecture and Editorial 3 : Implementation 4 : Maintenance

31 Business objectives Current technology
Project objectives Functional requirements User research Cross-platform initiatives Stakeholder interviews Industry trends Usability testing Competitors Design research Content inventory Typical Discovery Checklist

32 Content ROT Stakeholder agenda
Current style guide Content owners Content readability Workflow and timelines Search analytics Metadata integrity Legal requirements Translation requirements Channel requirements Accessibility requirements Content Strategy Checklist

33 After the Assessment: Your
Analysis Report EXAMPLE ONLY

34 EXAMPLE ONLY EXAMPLE ONLY
EXAMPLE ONLY

35 Example: Content Strategy Framework
CORE STRATEGY Evolve our print production model to deliver single-source, omnichannel content. We communicate effortlessly with priority audiences everywhere.

36
Example: CS document intro

37
Example: CS Guiding Principles

1 : Assessment, Analysis, and
Strategy 2 : Architecture and Editorial 3 : Implementation 4 : Maintenance

39 “Define and Design” Project
plan High level architecture Success metrics Content requirements Dependencies Features definition Branding elements Development plan Design mock-ups User testing/QA SEO guidelines Launch plan

40 Messaging Content models Topic
maps Content types Style guide Taxonomy Page tables Editorial calendar Architecture and Editorial

You can find all sorts
of tools and templates here.

1 : Assessment, Analysis, and
Strategy 2 : Architecture and Editorial 3 : Implementation 4 : Maintenance

Example: Content Strategy Roadmap
43

Example: Editorial Workflow
44

Example: Enterprise Workflow
45

Example: Team Structure
46

How do you make the
case for content strategy?

48 Pain Points • “We’re
struggling with too much content across our digital properties, with more being produced every day.” • “We don’t know who owns the content.” • “Our content is inconsistent, off-brand, outdated, even incorrect in places.” • “We’re partway through a website redesign and suddenly have major content problems.” • “We’re duplicating work efforts in digital and print content.” • “People in our company all talk about content and content strategy in totally different ways.” • “There are lots of politics and opinions that make progress very difficult.”

Unanswered Questions

50 Opportunities DIGITAL SERVICES IMPROVEMENT
• Reduced content operations cost • Reduced content approval cycle time • Decreased content redundancy • Increased flexibility of content production and distribution CUSTOMER VALUE IMPROVEMENT • Higher content quality, lower error rates • Increased customer satisfaction • New customer interactions • Increased direct bookings

How can you make content
strategy a part of your world?

52 Smart Next Steps* Read:
Attend: Work with: * I am biased. Content Strategy for the Web The Content Strategy Toolkit Any Confab content strategy conference Brain Traffic

CONTENT STRATEGY FOR THE WEB
You! Kristina @Halvorson Coauthor, Content Strategy for the Web CEO, Brain Traffic Founder, Confab Events

More Ideas: Books and Articles
- How To Create a Clear Project Plan - Auditing Big Sites Doesn’t Have To Be Taxing - Audit Sampling: It’s a Numbers Game - Good Kickoff Meetings, by Kevin Hoffman - Moments of Impact: How To Design Strategic Conversations that Accelerate Change - “Interviewing Humans” - Just Enough Research - Good Strategy, Bad Strategy - What Is Strategy and Does It Matter?