Online experiences can be fast, efficient, easy, orderly—and sometimes, that's a recipe for disaster. We click confirm too soon, confuse important details, or miss a key feature in a product description. Efficient isn't always effective. Not all experiences need to be fast to be functional. In fact, some of the most memorable and profitable engagements are slow and messy... and that’s just right. Entropy drives discovery, but it requires careful planning in the form of content strategy. Content strategy can identify and support these outliers of user experience. Let’s look at REI, Target, Patagonia, Disney, and others for content strategy that you can apply to aid learning, retention, and user satisfaction. Help your audience soak up the journey or just engage with more certainty; content strategy can help you control the pace. Presented at Confab UK 2013, London; #ConfabUK March 25, 2013.

1. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013© 2012
Margot Bloomstein
@mbloomstein #ConfabUK
Confab London 2013
WHOA NELLIE:
CONTENT STRATEGY FOR
SLOW EXPERIENCES

2. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
©ScottA.MillerforChevrolet

3. These people are waiting
in a line.

4. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
©ScottA.MillerforChevrolet

5. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013

6. These people are delighting
in a line:
they’re engaged,
anticipating,
discovering,
creating memories.
They’re in the moment.
@mbloomstein | #ConfabUK

7. These people are delighting
in a line:
they’re engaged,
anticipating,
discovering,
creating memories
thanks to content.
@mbloomstein | #ConfabUK

8. Content changes an experience
and the user’s perception of it.
@mbloomstein | #ConfabUK

9. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
You wait longer, but you’re engaged
before you get there. You’re invested in
the experience.
Keri Maijala (@clamhead)

10. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
When people have a frustrating
experience, they rate the checkout as
slow.
When we ask people what’s ‘slow,’ it’s
the frustrating experiences. What’s
fast? They say delightful experiences.
Jared Spool (@jmspool)

11. That was horrible
and it took forever.

12. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
Is the nature of the transaction so
small and insignificant that it
shouldn’t require a second thought?
Don’t get in the way. Or will the
consumer get to the final transaction
after plenty of preliminary research?
Again, don’t make them rethink it.
Jared Spool (@jmspool)

13. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013

14. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
Efficient isn’t always effective—
or good.

15. Users say frustrating activities
take forever.
But are time-consuming
activities also inherently
frustrating?
@mbloomstein | #ConfabUK

16. © Charlotte & Kristian Septimius Krogh

17. Users can appreciate slow
experiences:
they’re engaged,
anticipating,
creating memories.
They discover, learn, and pay
attention to act deliberately.
@mbloomstein | #ConfabUK

18. How?
Editorial style and structures,
content types, and
design that creates space.
@mbloomstein | #ConfabUK

19. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
Users can appreciate slow
experiences.
they’re engaged,
anticipating,
creating memories.

20. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
Users can appreciate slow
experiences.
they’re engaged,
anticipating,
creating memories.

21. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013

23. “Choosing a lens can be a daunting task
for all of the reasons mentioned above,
so I pulled together some info from my
own experiences, as well as those of
other Crutchfield shutterbugs.”

24. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013

25. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013

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© 2013

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© 2013
What does content do?

28. Content can slow down users,
focus their attention, and
help them act deliberately.
@mbloomstein | #ConfabUK

29. Attention must be paid
©Viking

30. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
Longform copy

31. Editorial style

32. Editorial style
“Springtime shaded belays at the creek,
predawn starts in the Canadian Rockies
and hut tours in the High Sierra:
Anywhere brisk, the Down Sweater
delivers featherweight, superbly
compressible warmth.The polyester
ripstop shell on this down jacket does
more than look sharp; it’s tear-resistant,
windproof, and made from 100%
polyester.”

33. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013

34. Validation

35. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
Our content strategy is pretty simple:
we stay as close to our core market as
possible.
Patagonia’s always had a literary,
storytelling component to the brand.
It’s in line with what we say: buy less
stuff and make sure what you buy lasts.
Bill Boland, Patagonia

36. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
On a short-term basis, it doesn’t help
us move product. It doesn’t meet your
weekly sales goal. It’s not about short-
term ROI. It’s something we enjoy and
the people we build clothes for enjoy.
Bill Boland, Patagonia

37. What’s the benefit?
(Three big things)
Slow experiences drive
exploration and discovery,
deliberate choices, and
attention.
@mbloomstein | #ConfabUK

38. Exploration and discovery

39. Exploration and discovery

40. Exploration and discovery

41. Exploration and discovery

42. Deliberate choices

43. Deliberate choices

44. Focused attention

45. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013

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© 2013
Focused attention

47. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
©ScottA.MillerforChevrolet
BE HERE NOW

48. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
Thank you
Margot Bloomstein
@mbloomstein
margot@appropriateinc.com
slideshare.net/mbloomstein
amzn.to/CSatWork
All images property of their respective owners or © Margot Bloomstein as noted.

49. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
Thank you, Giselle Abramovich,
Joe Baz, Bill Boland, Laura
Creekmore, Matt Grocki, Sarah
Krznarich, Kristina Halvorson,
Michael Lohmiller, Jared Spool,
and Anne Weiskopf.

50. @mbloomstein | #ConfabUK
© 2013
Thank you
Margot Bloomstein
@mbloomstein
margot@appropriateinc.com
slideshare.net/mbloomstein
amzn.to/CSatWork
All images property of their respective owners or © Margot Bloomstein as noted.