How to approach content strategy if you're a lifestyle e-commerce website. Why you need content marketing, what you need for a good strategy, who you need to hire and how you can sell it into an organisation.

1. Content Strategy & Lifestyle E-Commerce

2. About Me…
I’m James Carson
I run a Content Strategy consultancy.
I work with publishers, brands and agencies.
I offer services in Content Strategy & Planning /
Editorial Process / SEO, Social Media Integration
@mrjamescarson
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/jacarson85
www.carsoncontent.com

3. Before We Start…
“there’s no such thing as content strategy for mobile.”
Karen McCrane, Content Strategy for Mobile
http://www.abookapart.com/products/content-strategy-for-mobile

4. Conversion rates from tablets are four times
higher than smartphones
http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/11374-conversion-rates-from-tablets-are-four-times-higher-than-smartphones-stats

5. Why Do We Need Content?

6. If content doesn’t
sell, then surely it
just gets in the way
of sales!

7. AWARENESS
FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
SOCIAL MEDIA
MANAGEMENT
BLOG 5x A WEEK
SHOE GUIDE CONSIDERATION
IMPROVED PRODUCT PAGE UX
SALES EMAIL CONVERSION
LOYALTY
REWARDS FOR ENGAGEMENT
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT ADVOCACY

8. Communication Standards
Black and white colour scheme
is the standard

10. How to Differentiate?

11. There’s something about Cara
But not many can afford her

12. What Do We Need for Content
Strategy?

13. Where
Are They?
What Are
They Doing?
How Are They
Getting There?

14. Email Database
Followerwonk
Facebook Insights
Keyword Analysis
Surveys

15. British – from London, Manchester or Leeds
100 followers on Twitter
More active on Facebook than Twitter
Creative type that likes music and design
Mean age: 21

16. Tone of Voice
HOW IT WHAT IT
MAKES ME SAYS ABOUT
FEEL ME
PERSONALITY
CORE VALUES
ESSENCE
FACTS/ICONS PRODUCT
TRUTHS/BELIEFS
FUNCTIONAL
BENEFITS

17. • PRIMARY: The most important thing you want your
user to know or feel after viewing your content.
• SECONDARY: a group of messages that support the
primary message and provide further context

18. STOCK AND FLOW
Flow is the feed. It’s the posts and the tweets. It’s
the stream of daily and sub-daily updates that
remind people that you exist.
Stock is the durable stuff. It’s the content you
produce that’s as interesting in two months (or
two years) as it is today. It’s what people
discover via search. It’s what spreads slowly but
surely, building fans over time.

19. STOCK FLOW
• Guides • News
• How to • Social updates
• Category pages
• Infographics
• Applications
• Product Pages

20. CURATION
• Referencing things that aren’t yours
• Getting your community to contribute
• Harnessing social to create content
• Selecting the best products you have

21. COMMON CONTENT TYPES
• News
• E-Zines
• Collections
• Features / Guides
• Blogs

22. On the digital side, lots of people
were like “Why aren’t you just doing
everything that’s new?” A lot of the
magazine websites do news. And
the fact is, we could do news, but
we’ve chosen not to. I think the
internet is like buying a really, really
fast expensive car. It doesn’t mean
you have to drive it at 130 miles per
hour all the time. I love the fact that
the online magazine is weekly. It’s
curated. It’s really just about thinking
how people want to digest things.

23. E-Zines…
You need a lot of
resource to do well.
Heavily researched
editorial + magazine
style design = cost.

24. Collections

25. Guides

26. Beware of the Blog?
Difficult to do well – do you really need one?
Many seem confused about what they really want to be…

27. Blog Rules #1
Consistency in typography and design

28. Blog Rules #2
Create content people care about

29. Blog Rules #3
Apply SEO logic to headlines and content

30. Blog Rules #4
Integrate the blog properly with the main site

31. •CATEGORIES – topics that can
exist in a hierarchy. Generally
fill menus.
•TAGS – grouping of content
that mentions a particular
entity, most often proper
nouns.

32. Category 1 Category 2 Category 3
Content Content Content
Tag 1 Tag 1 Tag 2
Tag 2
Content
Tag 1
Tag 2

33. 70 / 20 / 10
10% should be high risk ideas that will be tomorrow's 70% or 20%.
20% should innovate off what works.
70% of the content should be low risk, bread and butter marketing.

34. Constant
Assessment

35. Who Do We Need to Recruit?

36. Lifestyle Journalist?

38. Editorial is a given, but can they…
• Tell you how Google works?
• Tell you what kind of content gets shared the most?
• Format in basic HTML?
• Write headlines that are great for users and search engines?
• Tell you the difference between a category and a tag?
• Work in Photoshop?
• Use a Content Management System?
• Not get concerned by negative comments?
• Edit using other applications or edit video?

39. Do They
Digital Media?

40. How Do We Sell in Content?
(What’s the ROI on that?)

41. We rarely behave like this
I want ££
something… Search
Conversion

42. £ £ £
£ £
So stop dreaming about content
as an immediate conversion channel

43. AWARENESS
CONSIDERATION
CONVERSION
LOYALTY
ADVOCACY

44. I need some My Facebook
new shoes friend shared one
of My Wardrobe’s
status updates
AWARENESS

45. I know what
I want now
– brogues!
Check it out
– a shoe
guide!
CONSIDERATION

46. Hmmm… these
are the only
brogues they CONSIDERATION
have – quite
pricy!
I think I’ll come
back later…

47. Great – buy buy
EMAIL: buy!
New Brogues
Just In – from CONVERSION
£100!

48. These Brogues
are great –
here’s me
wearing them
on Instagram
LOYALTY

49. Set A Vision
AWARENESS
25% INCREASE IN SOCIAL MEDIA TRAFFIC
100% INCREASE IN ORGANIC
CONSIDERATION WEBSITE TRAFFIC IN 3
MONTHS
CONVERSION 50% INCREASE IN SHOE SALES
100 UPLOAD OUT PRODUCTS TO
LOYALTY INSTAGRAM
CREATION OF MEASURED ADVOCACY
ADVOCACY
PROGRAM (30 BRAND AMBASSADORS)

50. And Strategy For The Vision
AWARENESS
FACEBOOK AND TWITTER
SOCIAL MEDIA
MANAGEMENT
BLOG 5x A WEEK
SHOE GUIDE CONSIDERATION
IMPROVED PRODUCT PAGE UX
SALES EMAIL CONVERSION
LOYALTY
REWARDS FOR ENGAGEMENT
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT ADVOCACY

51. Thanks!
I’m James Carson
I run a Content Strategy consultancy.
I work with publishers, brands and agencies.
I offer services in Content Strategy & Planning /
Relaunches / Social Media / SEO STRATEGY
@mrjamescarson
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/jacarson85
www.carsoncontent.com