This document outlines the development of a content strategy for eBay's business sellers in Europe, highlighting the need for a structured approach to communication in a complex, international environment. It details the initial challenges faced, key learnings from implementing the strategy, and the framework for creating effective, user-centered content. The strategy aims to improve relationships with sellers, adopt a standardized editorial process, and enhance communication across multiple channels and languages.

1. Content strategy for business sellers
eBay Europe
A use case .::. Content strategy applied conference
Nikki Tiedtke . EU Senior Content Strategist
Lucie Hyde . Head of EU Content

2. Contents
1. The need for a content strategy
2. Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team
3. The context: Online communication for business sellers
4. From chaos to content strategy
5. Where are we now? A content strategy framework
4. Examples of our content strategy
:: Process: workflows & roles
:: Brand opportunity & communication strategy
:: Messaging hierarchy & Information Architecture
:: User research & logfile analysis
:: Content template
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 2

3. The need for a content strategy
A content strategy approach was already established for eBay US for creating
user interfaces and managing Help.
In Europe, we started to establish a content strategy approach in the Marketing
& Communications team for business sellers.
Why there?
It was a new, international team.
It was a new communication approach.
It needed content for many communication channels.
It involved localization and content management.
It was a fast pacing, complex environment.
It needed all tools and methods of content strategy – a perfect pilot for
implementation.
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 3

4. Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team
Content strategist as usability consultant: What do
• Identify internal and external customer needs first, before you
need?
defining processes, strategy and tools
• Address and help resolve conflicting customer interests
• Test & refine before implementing
Stakeholder Content
strategist
Content strategist as change manager and networker:
• “Test and refine” approach allowed for continuous improvement
• Team could see benefits of content strategy step by step
• Help build relationships and communication within teams
• This was key for us: 11 teams in 5 countries and 7 languages.
Content strategist as content lead:
• Identify the “what, how, where, when and who” side of content creation.
• Create editorial guidelines based on customer needs, usability standards and brand
objectives.
• Manage copywriting process and writers.
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 4

5. Contents
1. The need for a content strategy
2. Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team
3. The context: Online communication for business sellers
4. From chaos to content strategy
5. Where are we now? A content strategy framework
4. Examples of our content strategy
:: Process: workflows & roles
:: Brand opportunity & communication strategy
:: Messaging hierarchy & Information Architecture
:: User research & logfile analysis
:: Content template
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 5

6. The context: Online communication for business sellers
Our customers
• About 500.000 eBay business sellers in EU.
• Only a small amount of sellers are business sellers, but they create more than
2/3rd of eBay‟s GMV.
• Very important customer group for our business.
The project: Creating business seller news
• All changes for business sellers are combined into a release and communicated
2-3 times a year as “seller news”.
• Communication for 12 websites, 7 languages, different formats:
• Marketing newsletters: Tailored to segments (up to 10 – 15 different newsletters)
• Onsite banners
• Online news pages (~ 400.000 unique users in UK; ~ 1.15 Mio in DE)
• Help pages
• Printed “seller report” (sent to about 30.000 EU PowerSellers with highest GMV)
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 6

7. The context: Online communication for business sellers
The topics of business seller news
• New selling formats and tools
• New ways of managing inventory
• Policy or legal changes
The business objectives
• Create customer-friendly communication which matches user and business
needs.
• Drive awareness and adoption of changes, build a trusted relationship with
sellers, help them to be successful.
The team
• 11 teams in 5 countries (London, Zürich, Berlin, Dublin and San Jose)
• Core team: 25 members across all locations and languages
• Wider team is even bigger (web development, marketing execution,
customer support, etc)
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 7

8. Contents
1. The need for a content strategy
2. Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team
3. The context: Online communication for business sellers
4. From chaos to content strategy
5. Where are we now? A content strategy framework
4. Examples of our content strategy
:: Process: workflows & roles
:: Brand opportunity & communication strategy
:: Messaging hierarchy & Information Architecture
:: User research & logfile analysis
:: Content template
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 8

9. In the beginning: Huge team, only few processes
No match between Unclear roles &
business objectives responsibilities
& user needs
No editorial
No quality guidelines
management
No editorial
process
No process
documentation
Do I know you?
Teams with weak
No tools & templates
relationships
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 9
Image from: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/12/rubber-ducks.jpg

10. The team: virtual and international
Seller Communication (London, Berlin, San Jose)
Brand Marketing (Zürich) Seller Marketing (Zürich)
Customer Support (Dublin, Berlin) What do
User Research (London)
you
need?
Content Management Legal (London, Berlin)
(London, Berlin, Zürich)
Stakeholder Content
strategist
Localization (San Jose, Berlin) Business Management
(London)
Copywriters (London, Berlin) Web Development (Zürich)
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 10

11. From chaos to content strategy
1. Built strong relationships between teams.
2. Identified stakeholder and customer needs.
3. Defined editorial process, roles & responsibilities and
tools.
4. Defined messaging hierarchy & information
architecture.
5. Tested all the above. Refined. Tested again.
6. Created editorial guidelines based on stakeholder
Tweet! We„re
and customer needs, messaging hierarchy as well as following a content
strategy
brand objectives.
7. Defined quality measurements for content.
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 11
Images from: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/12/rubber-ducks.jpg and http://www.gettyimages.com

12. Timeline
2010
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Built relationships with teams (11 teams, 5 countries)
Defined editorial process Refined editorial Finalised and
& tested approach process & tested again documented process
Documented usability
standards for web content
Created editorial Refined editorial Refined editorial
guidelines guidelines guidelines
Analysed regular market & user research. Integrated findings into editorial guidelines
Created EU editorial style guide based on usability Style guide trainings
standards, user research & editorial guideline. for EU teams
Defined quality standards for content
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 12

13. Contents
1. The need for a content strategy
2. Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team
3. The context: Online communication for business sellers
4. From chaos to content strategy
5. Where are we now? A content strategy framework
4. Examples of our content strategy
:: Process: workflows & roles
:: Brand opportunity & communication strategy
:: Messaging hierarchy & Information Architecture
:: User research & logfile analysis
:: Content template
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 13

14. Where are we now? A content strategy framework
Delivered in 2010: Deliverables build framework
for a repeatable process.
• Process documentation
• Documentation of whole content strategy Can be applied to other
for business seller communication projects and teams.
• EU editorial style guide Govern Discover
• Style guide trainings for key stakeholders
• Quality standards for online content Deploy Define
• Documentation of business objectives &
user needs and how they translate into a
Develop Design
editorial strategy
• Content audits & inventories Enables us to continuously
improve, react fast and
• Content & briefing templates for copywriters structured within virtual,
international teams.
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 14

15. Repeat and refine: Continuous improvement
• Understand business
• Define and manage content objectives and user needs.
lifecycle (update or end-of-life). • Content inventory and audit.
• Analyze user research, logfile
analysis and success metrics.
Govern Discover Identify gaps.
• Understand briefing from
stakeholders. Identify gaps.
• Define quality
assurance standards • Define content
and test online deliverables and
pages.
• Deploy / launch
Deploy Content Strategy Define scope effort.
• Define projectplan.
online pages and • Brief copywriters
communication.
• Create & review copy for all deliverables • Create messaging hierarchy &
and channels. Information Architecture.
• Use quality standards to measure copy
quality.
Develop Design • Create or use user-centered templates
for drafting content.
• Translate & localize copy. • Translate business objectives into key
messages and call to actions.
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 15

16. Contents
1. The need for a content strategy
2. Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team
3. The context: Online communication for business sellers
4. From chaos to content strategy
5. Where are we now? A content strategy framework
4. Examples of our content strategy
:: Process: workflows & roles
:: Brand opportunity & communication strategy
:: Messaging hierarchy & Information Architecture
:: User research & logfile analysis
:: Content template
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 16

17. Process: Workflows 1/2
We first defined the
Highest Level Major Seller Release Responsibility Map TO BE (Proposed)
overall process steps.
And then the process
A within each step.
Proposition
Confirm
Seller
information
about the
proposition to
be included in
the release.
Engagement
B1
G2
Seller
Kick off the J
Live to Site
process. Set the Post Launch
Checkpoint Go/
direction for the Review
No Go
communication.
B2 D2
Marketing
F2
Confirm Information
Seller
E2 Put the
marketing Architecture.
Trans creation of translated
response. Brief Design the RM
the DM content into the
contributing channel
DM structure
teams. structure.
management
C
Write copy for D1 E1 F1
Content
EU specific Information Get the Micro Put the H I
G1
initiatives. Architecture. Sites copy translated Manage Post End of life for
QA Content
Localise copy Design the translated via content into the Launch Fixes obsolete content
for global Micro Site L10n Micro site
initiatives.
Product
F3
Customer
Service
CS Preparation.
Templates,
scripts,
outbound call
schedule
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 17

18. Process: Workflows 2/2
Example: Detailed
process within one
step.
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 18

19. Process: Roles and responsibilities
In addition to the process
documentation we defined the
detailed roles and responsibilities for
each process step.
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case 19

20. Business objectives & editorial strategy
Professional seller proposition:
Be a trusted, reliable business partner for sellers to enable great profits and
sales velocity.
Reasons to believe :
We will present timely, relevant information, that is easy to understand, helpful, and easy to access…
Advanced • Targeted & personalised • Clear and plain language • Easy to use • Correct
notice • Focussed on their key needs •Scannable page structure • Concise communication
• Visual aids and not just • Reduce clutter channel and format
text • Call to action • Optimised for
highlighted search engines
• Easy to find on
eBay
… allowing sellers to take action to change their business and sell more efficiently.
Of course we documented
the editorial strategy to meet
these goals in much more
detail (i.e. style guide).
20

21. Messaging hierarchy*
Call to action What do I
need to do?
Primary What?
message Why?
Secondary Who?
message How?
When?
How much?
* From Karen McGrane, Bond art + science: http://www.slideshare.net/KMcGrane/why-ux-design-needs-content-strategy
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22. Information architecture 1/2
Messaging hierarchy
defined our information
architecture. From index
page…
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23. Information architecture 2/2
… to single subpage.
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24. User research: 2009 to 2010 comparison*
Business sellers
Positive feedback
2010 results
2009 results
Negative feedback
2010 results
2009 results
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* From an online survey to a sample of business sellers. Sent after communication launch.
Question: Which of the following words or phrases do you think describes all the communications you have received from eBay?

25. Logfile analysis
We analyze online pages
regularly to understand
how customers use them.
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26. Content template: One example
Just one of many
templates we created.
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27. From 2009…
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28. To 2010: our business seller news
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29. Thanks for listening. Questions?
Nikki Tiedtke | EU Senior Content Strategist | eBay GmbH
Phone: + 49. 30. 8019. 5361
Mobile: + 49. 151. 52 66 15 92
Skype: nikkitiedtkeebay
E-Mail: nicole.tiedtke@ebay.de
Web: www.ebay.de
Marktplatz 1 | 14532 Europarc Dreilinden | Germany
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