DEFINING OUR PROFESSION, DEFINING OURSELVES
Content Strategy Summit 2014 #CSSummit August 19, 2014 Margot Bloomstein @mbloomstein

Wiesloch Stadtapotheke Erste Tankstelle, cc
Rudolf Stricker

Wiesloch Stadtapotheke Erste Tankstelle, cc
Rudolf Stricker 1888, Wiesloch, Germany City pharmacy

City pharmacy = filling station
Wiesloch Stadtapotheke Erste Tankstelle, cc Rudolf Stricker @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 4

1909, Altoona, Pennsylvania America’s oldest
gas station JohnnieandAngela.blogspot.com @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 5

1913 Road maps & tire
service JohnnieandAngela.blogspot.com

Road maps & tire service
Full service Attended pumps Self service Air pumps Squeegees

cc flicker.com/photos/baggis Is this a
gas station? @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 8

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 12

“A retail business providing the
public a convenient location to quickly purchase a wide array of food, gasoline, and services” NACS, the National Association of Convenience & Fuel Retailing @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 13

“2400 square feet of packaged
consumer items. Today, there are different types of stores: mini stores under canopies, expanded food service, in-store seating.” @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 14

Industries thrive through differentiation: both
buyers and sellers benefit. What’s right for me? What’s right for right now? @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 15

Prospect: Financial services messaging, workflow,
editorial training @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 16

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 17 Prospect:
Financial services messaging, workflow, editorial training

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 18 Prospect:
Financial services messaging, workflow, editorial training for social media

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 19 Prospect:
Midmarket institutional investment messaging, workflow, editorial training for social media

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 20 Prospect:
Midmarket institutional investment messaging, workflow, editorial training for social media

© Barbara Kruger @mbloomstein |
#CSSummit 21

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 22 I
help brands clarify their communication goals to develop, instill, and maintain appropriate content and editorial voice.

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 23 Content
strategy plans for the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable and brand-appropriate content. This is how I define content strategy.

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 24 Content
strategy plans for the creation, publication, and governance of useful, usable content. Kristina Halvorson, A List Apart 2009

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 25 Content
strategy is to copywriting as information architecture is to design. Rachel Lovinger, Content Strategy: The Philosophy of Data

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 26 I
work on how content is organized and structured. […] I translate designs into what needs to be built in the CMS to make the content for the site work the way it's supposed to. Rachel Lovinger (@rlovinger), Razorfish

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 27 Content
strategy within our practice is less editorial and more strategic. It helps us determine what and how content will help solve business and web goals. Corey Vilhauer (@MrVilhauer), Blend Interactive

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 28 I'm
a content strategist, which is a fancy way of saying ‘a writer who also has design and marketing skills.’ Tiffani Jones-Brown (@ticjones), Pinterest

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 29 I'm
a content strategist. This means I help clients and companies figure out how, when, and why to talk to their audiences. Keri Maijala (@clamhead)

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 30 We
are management consultants for external messaging and editorial workflow challenges. Ahava Liebtag (@ahaval), Aha Media Group

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 31 I
am often a ‘fulcrum’ between disciplines. I spend at least half my time focusing on business and cultural change, before thinking about content. Elizabeth McGuane, @emcguane

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 32 A
content strategist is like a business analyst for your content. We look at how content is currently helping (or hindering) your business and develop a strategy to make it work better. Sally Bagshaw, @snappysentences

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 33 The
analysis and planning to develop a repeatable system that governs the management of content throughout the entire content lifecycle. Rahel Anne Bailie, @rahelab, The Language of Content Strategy

Industries thrive through differentiation: both
practitioners and clients benefit @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 34

Industries thrive through differentiation: both
practitioners and clients benefit but only when we precisely, narrowly define both what we do and need and encourage diverse specificity @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 35

• Drive the development and
organization of content that is useful, compelling and meaningful on our site, all social media platforms, and distributed content • Create user flows, information hierarchies, wireframes, and content strategy • Maintain fluency in industry terminology and develop our “voice” within it • Determine content requirements, inventory existing content, identify gaps, evaluate possible sources for additional material, and manage the process of getting that content into production • Maintain current content audit • Creatively look for opportunities to improve content, consumer experience, and SEO performance • Manage editorial calendar to proactively keep content useful and up to date • Train internal and freelance copywriters; develop any necessary training programs • Develop analytics, conduct consumer and usability testing to help improve the UX • Lead projects with the PR and marcomm team to support campaigns and launches • Work with brand architecture and terminology to guide product organization and internal customer service content and training • Drive the architecture of and improvements to the internal product CMS • Occasionally write or edit content, particularly metadata, titles, alt text and edit general content to optimize for natural search

• Drive the development and
organization of content that is useful, compelling and meaningful on our site, all social media platforms, and distributed content • Create user flows, information hierarchies, wireframes, and content strategy • Maintain fluency in industry terminology and develop our “voice” within it • Determine content requirements, inventory existing content, identify gaps, evaluate possible sources for additional material, and manage the process of getting that content into production • Maintain current content audit • Creatively look for opportunities to improve content, consumer experience, and SEO performance • Manage editorial calendar to proactively keep content useful and up to date • Train internal and freelance copywriters; develop any necessary training programs • Develop analytics, conduct consumer and usability testing to help improve the UX • Lead projects with the PR and marcomm team to support campaigns and launches • Work with brand architecture and terminology to guide product organization and internal customer service content and training • Drive the architecture of and improvements to the internal product CMS • Occasionally write or edit content, particularly metadata, titles, alt text and edit general content to optimize for natural search

Without clear differentiation, hiring (and
selling) is frustrating, training and rework is expensive, and “content strategy” gets a bad name. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 38

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 39 But
will we dilute the meaning?

But will we dilute the
meaning?

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 41 But
will we dilute the meaning? We’ll free the meaning to communicate what we do or need with greater precision.

“ ”I’m a designer

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 43 But
what about the generalists?

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 44 But
what about the generalists? Follow your passion— and work to better define the work.

Content strategists, 1. Be precise:
own your definition. 2. Get specific: narrow what you want. 3. Be honest—and encouraging. “No… and” @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 45

Corporations and marketing departments who
want to hire content strategists @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 46

“Clients”
@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 47

Clients 1. Be precise: own
your definition. 2. Get specific: narrow what you want. 3. Be honest—and encouraging. “No… and” @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 48

This is an opportunity for
growth and specialization within our broad industry

because how we define our
industry is the sum of how we define ourselves.

THANK YOU!Margot Bloomstein @mbloomstein margot@appropriateinc.com
slideshare.net/mbloomstein amzn.to/CSatWork © 2014 Appropriate, Inc. http://appropriateinc.com/ideas/growing-t-shaped-content-strategist/ http://www.slideshare.net/jcolman/content-strategy-for-marketers-smx-advanced-2013 http://www.clevegibbon.com/2011/08/what-do-content-strategists-do/