Build Your

Content Strategy

Roadmap
h"p://echa.europa.eu/addressing-­‐chemicals-­‐of-­‐concern/substances-­‐of-­‐poten8al-­‐concern/svhc-­‐roadmap-­‐to-­‐2020-­‐implementa8on	
  
h"p://echa.europa.eu/addressing-­‐chemicals-­‐of-­‐concern/substances-­‐of-­‐poten8al-­‐concern/svhc-­‐roadmap-­‐to-­‐2020-­‐implementa8on	
  
Content Strategy Roadmap
1.  Discovery
2.  Content audit and assessment
3.  Comparative content analysis *
4.  Empathy-based audience personas *
5.  Content creation and publishing guidelines
6.  Roles, lifecycles, workflow, governance
7.  Taxonomy
8.  Content transformation and migration
9.  Content marketing and promotions
10.  Handoff, next steps
* Sometimes considered optional
Introduction 

to 

Content
Strategy
Content strategy challenges
•  Findability
•  Voice
•  Ownership
•  Policies
•  Practices
Worst practices
•  Language/jargon
•  Prioritized promotion
•  Content hoarding
•  Bad editorial processes
•  New content missing
•  Different content on different channels
©	
  Don	
  Graham,	
  1998,	
  Flickr	
  
•  Who, what, when, where, why, and how of
publishing content online

•  A strategic statement tying content to
business goals 

•  The people, processes, and power to
execute that statement
Policies and guidelines
+
Audience understanding
+
Business knowledge
=
11	
  
What	
  is	
  “content”?	
  
Content is…
Event
Product
Class
Program
Research
Format is less significant
Web pages
Blog posts
Infographics
Images
PDFs
Video
Audio
Content is…
Event
Product
Class
Program
Research
Content strategy is…
Event Strategy
Product Strategy
Class Strategy
Program Strategy
Research Strategy
Content
is
political
Content is…
Event
Product
Class
Program
Research
Content is…
My Event
My Product
My Class
My Program
My Research
20	
  
“Every pixel has an owner.”
– Paul Ford, former web editor 

at Harper’s magazine
“It is difficult to get a man
to understand something, 

when his salary depends upon 

his not understanding it.”
– Upton Sinclair, 1935
23	
  
h"p://www.amazon.com/Have-­‐Always-­‐Done-­‐That-­‐Way/dp/184728857X/	
  
Department
Message
Audience
Department
Message
Audience
Department
Message
Audience
Department
Message
Audience
Old thinking
Organization: Programs, offerings
Audience
Messages
Audience Audience Audience
New thinking
26	
  
27	
  
Content strategy 

is

CHANGE MANAGEMENT	
  
28	
  
User experience 

is

CHANGE MANAGEMENT	
  
29	
  
Digital 

is

CHANGE MANAGEMENT	
  
•  290-­‐page	
  PDF	
  
•  Updated	
  every	
  year	
  
•  Where	
  is	
  the	
  member	
  handbook?	
  
How do I do
content
strategy?
Where do I
start?
Discovery
h"p://www.amnh.org/exhibi8ons/permanent-­‐exhibi8ons/discovery-­‐room	
  
h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/emmm_weee/15048086753	
  
h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/emmm_weee/15048086753	
  
h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/emmm_weee/15048086753	
  
•  	
   h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/studiocurve/13080208/	
  
•  h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/moohcowh/2596366618	
  
h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/bunny/1985272127	
  
Where you’re going
•  Goals	
  &	
  measures	
  of	
  success	
  
1 4	
  2	
   5	
  3	
  
How you’ll get there
•  Which	
  channels	
  will	
  help	
  you	
  achieve	
  success?	
  
1	
   4	
  2	
   5	
  3	
  
How long and how much
•  Deadline,	
  budget,	
  resources	
  	
  
(staff,	
  skills,	
  priori8es)	
  
1	
   4	
  2	
   5	
  3
Who’s going with you
•  Who is your audience?
•  What do they want?
1	
   4	
  2	
   5	
  3	
  
What you’ll take
•  What content do you have?
•  What needs to be created?
1	
   4	
  2	
   53	
  
•  https://www.flickr.com/photos/cognizant-worldwide/15808428981
•  https://www.flickr.com/photos/pennstatelive/5415994846
h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/xoques/3758640007	
  
Strategy Statement
The	
  <Organiza8on>’s	
  social	
  intranet	
  will:	
  
	
  
  Collect	
  and	
  surface/curate	
  cri8cal,	
  relevant	
  editorial	
  content	
  created	
  by	
  
appropriate	
  <organiza8on>	
  corporate	
  departments,	
  divisions	
  and	
  
employees.	
  
	
  
  Enable	
  and	
  mo8vate	
  employees	
  to	
  connect,	
  interact	
  and	
  collaborate	
  via	
  
social	
  features.	
  
	
  
  Foster	
  a	
  culture	
  of	
  innova8on.	
  
We	
  will	
  develop	
  and	
  maintain	
  content	
  that	
  helps	
  people	
  prac8ce	
  
and	
  enjoy	
  the	
  arts.	
  
NAMI.org	
  will	
  advance	
  the	
  NAMI	
  movement	
  by	
  recrui8ng	
  and	
  
mo8va8ng	
  supporters	
  and	
  ambassadors	
  to:	
  
–  educate	
  themselves	
  and	
  others	
  about	
  mental	
  illness	
  and	
  
recovery	
  
–  find	
  and	
  access	
  support	
  
–  contribute	
  by	
  dona8ng,	
  walking,	
  engaging,	
  joining	
  
–  take	
  ac8on	
  by	
  advoca8ng,	
  par8cipa8ng,	
  volunteering,	
  and	
  
sharing	
  their	
  stories	
  
Create a strategy
statement
< O r g a n i z a t i o n > o f f e r s _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , _ _ _ _ _ _ _
c o n t e n t t h a t h e l p s t h e m _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
a n d _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ b y m a k i n g _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
f e e l _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , a n d _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ,
a n d c o n v i n c i n g t h e m t o _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
a n d _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
adjec8ve	
   adjec8ve	
  
accomplish	
  goal	
  
accomplish	
  goal	
   audience	
  
adjec8ve	
   adjec8ve	
  adjec8ve	
  
take	
  desired	
  ac8on	
  
Example	
  
VillageReach	
  offers	
  educa-onal	
  but	
  warm,	
  human	
  content	
  that	
  helps	
  them	
  increase	
  
dona-ons	
  and	
  raise	
  awareness	
  by	
  making	
  ins-tu-onal	
  donors	
  feel	
  commi6ed,	
  
capable,	
  and	
  needed,	
  and	
  convincing	
  them	
  to	
  give	
  annually	
  and	
  show	
  public	
  support.	
  
take	
  desired	
  ac8on	
  
Exercise #1:

Create a strategy
statement
Create a strategy
statement
< O r g a n i z a t i o n > o f f e r s _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , _ _ _ _ _ _ _
c o n t e n t t h a t h e l p s t h e m _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
a n d _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ b y m a k i n g _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
f e e l _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , a n d _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ,
a n d c o n v i n c i n g t h e m t o _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
a n d _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
adjec8ve	
   adjec8ve	
  
accomplish	
  goal	
  
accomplish	
  goal	
   audience	
  
adjec8ve	
   adjec8ve	
  adjec8ve	
  
take	
  desired	
  ac8on	
  
Example	
  
VillageReach	
  offers	
  educa-onal	
  but	
  warm,	
  human	
  content	
  that	
  helps	
  them	
  increase	
  
dona-ons	
  and	
  raise	
  awareness	
  by	
  making	
  ins-tu-onal	
  donors	
  feel	
  commi6ed,	
  
capable,	
  and	
  needed,	
  and	
  convincing	
  them	
  to	
  give	
  annually	
  and	
  show	
  public	
  support.	
  
take	
  desired	
  ac8on	
  
h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/xoques/3758640007	
  
Content Audits
and
Assessments
Step 1:
Content inventory
Things to track
N a m e o f c o n t e n t p i e c e
U R L
C o n t e n t t y p e
P e r s o n r e s p o n s i b l e
N o t e s
Also track
A v e r a g e m o n t h l y v i s i t s
L a s t r e v i e w d a t e
C M S c o n t e n t t y p e
Tr a n s l a t i o n s
Step 2: Audit
R e w r i t e , m e r g e , d e l e t e ?
E x p a n d , t r i m ?
G a p s
P a t t e r n s
Outcomes
•  C o n t e n t m a t r i x
•  F i n d i n g s a n d r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s
r e p o r t
Do	
  not	
  skip!	
  
Comparative 

Content 

Analysis
Who?
•  C o m p e t i t o r s
•  P e e r s
•  S i m i l a r o f f e r i n g s
•  O t h e r i n d u s t r i e s
•  S o c i a l n e t w o r k s
What to look at
•  S e a r c h r e s u l t s
•  U s a b i l i t y
•  Vo c a b u l a r y
•  C o n t e n t
•  P r e s e n t a t i o n
•  A u d i e n c e - c e n t r i c i t y
•  Vo i c e a n d t o n e
•  Q u a l i t y
Outcomes
Comparative audit findings
report
  Formal report
  Presentation
  Scorecard spreadsheet
  SWOT analysis
Break!
Empathy-Based Audience
Personas
h"p://www.tagheuer.com/int-­‐en/company/ceo-­‐speech	
  
•  Shared focus on the audience



Shared understanding of the
audience
h"p://www.tagheuer.com/int-­‐en/company/ceo-­‐speech	
  
•  Shared focus on the audience

•  Shared understanding of the
audience
73	
  
h"p://www.slideshare.net/est3ban/empathybased-­‐personas-­‐gaining-­‐a-­‐deeper-­‐understanding-­‐of-­‐your-­‐audience-­‐presen	
  
74	
  
Anthony
Susan
Allen
Maggie
Content Creation
and Publishing
Guidelines
Effective content
•  Sounds like the organization
•  Has a goal
•  Uses the active voice
•  Helps the reader do a task
•  Is specific
•  Is focused on the reader, NOT on your
organization
Scannable content
•  Uses subheads and bullets
•  Is not in PDF format
•  Uses fewer words but includes the terms
readers are looking for
h"p://www.useit.com/eyetracking/	
  
Content is Conversation
•  What do I hope to achieve from this content?
•  Who am I talking to?
•  What brings those people to my site 

or app? What are their top tasks? Top
questions? Conversations they want to start?
•  Make sure your goals are specific,
measurable, and focused on what you 

want site visitors to do.
True goal
•  NO - We want to tell people how great our
services are.
•  YES - We want people to choose our services.
True goal
•  NO - We want to get lots of views of our page
•  YES - We want people to do something: Sign up
for the event, download the white paper,
subscribe to the publication
Message architecture
•  Articulate your brand identity and
personality
•  Create a common understanding of who
your organization is
•  Informs decisions about what content to
publish, what formats, what channels
Roles, Workflow,
Lifecycle, Governance
Roles on a digital team
•  Content strategist
•  Project manager
•  Visual designer
•  User experience architect
•  Social media manager
•  Director
87	
  h"p://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/four_models_for_organizing_digital_work_part_two	
  
88	
  h"p://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/four_models_for_organizing_digital_work_part_two	
  
http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/four_models_for_organizing_digital_work_part_two
Where most orgs start
89	
  
What often seems 

most logical
90	
  
What some orgs are trying
91	
  
Where most orgs land
92	
  
Exercise #2:

Create your
governance model
1.  Review the handout showing the four models of
digital governance.
2.  On your own, think about where your organization is
today.
3.  Then, circle the model you think would work most
effectively in the organization.
4.  With the other people at your table, brainstorm what
it would take to use the optimal model. Be prepared
to share this list with the larger group.
Break!
Taxonomy
•  What Is It?
–  A set of terms (controlled vocabulary) and content
attributes (metadata) that can be applied to content
items
–  The underlying data structure of the website
•  Why Use It?
–  Helps describe and categorize content items
–  Creates relationships among content items
–  Helps make content items findable through
navigation
and search
Controlled	
  Vocabulary	
  	
  
≈	
  
Library	
  of	
  Congress—www.loc.gov	
  
≈	
  
Search—www.acc.org	
  
Outcomes
•  Agree	
  upon	
  controlled	
  vocabulary	
  
•  Validate	
  with	
  users	
  
•  Determine	
  who	
  will	
  tag	
  content	
  
Taxonomy Exercise
Content
Transformation
and Migration
Content Inventory
Content Audit & Assessment
Audit	
  spreadsheet:	
  h"p://goo.gl/G1DNx6	
  
Image:	
  wikipedia	
  
Transforming 

Your 

Content
“In a sense, content models are perhaps the truest
form of bottom-up information architecture: by
determining what types of chunks are important and
how to link them, we make the answers embedded
in our content ‘rise to the surface.’”

—Louis Rosenfeld & Peter Morville
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web
•  Structure—how content items will assemble
–  e.g., news, author, location, price
•  Type—how is it being used?
–  e.g., press release for press room, author database
for journal articles
•  Attributes—published & metadata
–  e.g., title, abstract, taxonomy tag
http://alistapart.com/article/content-modelling-a-master-skill
Content
Marketing and
Promotions
Courtesy	
  of	
  Melissa	
  Zinder,	
  NBOA	
  
www.bobangus.com 	
  	
  
h"p://www.kaushik.net/avinash/smart-­‐analy8cs-­‐dashboard-­‐modules-­‐insighqul-­‐dimensions-­‐best-­‐metrics/	
  
h"p://www.kaushik.net/avinash/digital-­‐dashboards-­‐strategic-­‐tac8cal-­‐best-­‐prac8ces-­‐8ps-­‐examples/	
  
	
  
116	
  h"p://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/four_models_for_organizing_digital_work_part_two	
  
Handoff
and
Next
Steps
#winning
Strategic nagging
Patient but persistent repetition of
a message
Have a plan
Don’t wait 

for permission
Thank you!
Carrie Hane Dennison
carriehd@gmail.com @carriehd
Dina Lewis, CAE
dina@distilledlogic.net @dinalew
Hilary Marsh
hilary@contentcompany.biz@hilarymarsh
Resources
•  http://www.customerfocuscalculator.com
•  http://blog.siteimprove.com/web-governance-blog/the-
hierarchy-of-content-needs-a-new-model-for-creating-
and-assessing-content
•  Letting Go of the Words, Ginny Redish
•  Don’t Make Me Think, Steve Krug
•  Web Analytics: An Hour A Day, Avinash Kaushik
Handouts we used
•  http://www.hilarymarsh.com/roadmap

Building Your Own Content Strategy Roadmap