Help! Letters to the content problem page Or 7 digital content crises and how to fix them Are you stuck in a content hell hole? Feeling directionless, undermined and alone? Never fear – we’re here to help! In this problem-page-inspired presentation, Sticky Content’s Amy Nicholson turns digital content agony aunt to show you how to avoid some common content pitfalls. From idea generation to content planning tips, this presentation will give you practical suggestions for things you can start doing now to make your colleagues calmer, your content better and your customers fall in love.

1. Or 7 digital content crises
and how to fix them
Help! Letters to the content
problem page
Amy Nicholson
amy@stickycontent.co.uk
@stickyamy #MWL14

2. © Sticky Content Limited

3. © Sticky Content Limited

4. © Sticky Content Limited

5. © Sticky Content Limited
aren’t actually floating in space

6. © Sticky Content Limited
have quite a lot of work to do

7. Who are we?

8. What do we do?

9. Who are we working with?

10. Dear Agony Aunt…
7 letters to the content problem page

11. © 2014 Sticky Content Ltd.

12. © 2014 Sticky Content Ltd.

13. © 2014 Sticky Content Ltd.

14. © 2014 Sticky Content Ltd.

15. © 2014 Sticky Content Ltd.

16. ©2011 Brain
Traffic

17. Credit: Public Domain http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montparnasse_derailment#mediaviewer/File:Train_wreck_at_Montparnasse_1895.jpg

18. 1. “It takes so long to get
anything signed off, we’re
out of date by the time we
publish”
©PA.

19. Credit: Jeffrey Beall, Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/denverjeffrey/5316259154

20. © 2014 Sticky Content Ltd.

22. 6 steps to manage your content
stakeholders…
1. Limit them in number
2. Limit them in time and rounds of amends
3. Limit them to certain types of content only
4. Challenge their value to the project
5. Limit the scope of their feedback
6. Permit them to give no feedback at all (use your
persuasive writing skills to increase your chances)

25. 2. “Whenever I have a
great idea for content, it
always gets hijacked”
©PA.

26. “At the very least, have a
statement of intent for every
content item you produce...”
© 2014 Sticky Content Ltd.

27. What goes in a briefing form?
destination of content eg
position in IA, channel
source material or stakeholders
to provide input
audience (eg customer
segments or user personas)
deadline
parameters and constraints eg
wordcounts, keywords
format eg case study, Q&A,
video tutorial
additional guidance to consult
eg social media policy, style
guide, format guidelines,
compliance guidance
list of named approvers
CTA: what you want the
audience to think, feel or do as
a result of this content
metrics: what will success look
like and how will you measure it
(eg downloads, sales enquiries,
seo traffic, etc)?

28. When to use your brief…
When you’re planning
content
•To help you crystallise
your goals and intentions.
•To how a piece of content
fits within your whole
activity.
When you’re writing
•To keep you focused on
the desired outcomes and
the task at hand.
When you’re
commissioning content
•To give writers a clear,
agreed understanding of
what their content needs to
achieve and the form it
should take.

29. When to use your brief…
When you’re checking
content
•Check you've got all the
content elements you need
in place.
When you’re submitting
content
•Get approvers to check
copy against the briefing
form – seeing the thinking
will help them appreciate
the execution.
• If you're managing a lot
of stakeholders, do they
all need to sign off on
the final content? Can
some approve the brief
instead?

31. • Email subject line

32. • Homepage teaser
• Tweet
• Related products
link

33. • Landing page
snippet / A-Z entry

34. • Mobile site

35. • Tablet site

36. 3. “No-one ever listens
to me”
©PA.

39. Smartphones are the starting point
Source: Google/IPSOS study August 2012

40. Share your best practice
• Define what best-practice looks like for
you, your team, your department
• Prove it – show it works
• Share it – get it down in guidelines and
distribute them to everyone who’s using
them
• Spot-check to make sure things are up to
your standards, and fix them if they’re not

41. | Course Title

42. An extract from the foreword to
Content Strategy for the Web
(2nd
Edition) by Kristina
Halvorson & Melissa Rach by
Sarah Cancilla, Facebook’s first
content strategist.

43. Sarah Cancilla’s top tips
Extract from the foreword of Content Strategy for the Web (2nd
Edition)

44. 3 signs you’ve picked a good spot
1.You’re sure it’s the copy that’s working
2.There’s just enough risk
3.You have a clear point of conversion

45. 4. “We’ve got so much
stuff, I don’t even know
where half of it is”
©PA.

48. ©PA.

49. Page name URL Score To workload
Homepage www.stickyamy.co.uk/home2 From July, will need to update top
LH module to reflect campaign
Product landing
page
www.stickyamy.co.uk/products1 This is fine – review again
1.10.14
FAQs www.stickyamy.co.uk/faqs3 Doesn’t reflect experience,
rework in line with customer
service
Contact us www.stickyamy.co.uk/contact4 Over-complicated, unclear –
make single number only
Product A www.stickyamy.co.uk/products/product-a2 New features launched on
August 1 – trail from July 1
Product B www.stickyamy.co.uk/products/product-b2 To be discontinued on
September 1 – suggest product A
then redirect
Product C www.stickyamy.co.uk/products/product-c4 This launches July 7 – must be
approved by June 30

50. 5. “We don’t know where
we’re going”
©PA.

53. Content marketing maturity model

55. Find ways to measure your
content
©PA.

56. 6. “No-one takes any notice
of our deadlines”
©PA.

57. ©PA.

58. A managing editor doesn’t necessarily
have to be a full-time employee, but
someone on your staff needs to be
responsible for coordinating, scheduling,
and tracking the progress on your
content production.
Without someone fulfilling this role,
you’ll miss deadlines;
you’ll have inconsistent results and a
stress level that isn’t good for anyone.
Have a ‘managing editor’ on your staff
Michelle Linn, b2b
marketing consultant

59. Credit: xkcd.com

60. •

62. Plan like a publisher
Maintain an editorial calendar confirming agreed frequency,
timelines, volumes, content owners, formats, channels etc
Create content departments and give them owners
Cultivate subject matter experts and other content sources
Brainstorm ideas regularly
Develop guidelines: style guide, tone of voice, format guidelines
Put in place an editorial board to review content effectiveness

63. 7. “I have no idea what I’m
doing here”
?
©PA.

65. Credit: wikipedia

66. Date| Course Title|

67. Date| Course Title|

68. Thanks!
amy@stickycontent.co.uk
@stickyamy #MWL14
©PA.

69. Any questions?
www.stickycontent.com
emailus@stickycontent.com
+44 (0)207 963 7070
@stickycontent