What’s in a name—and does it constrain or empower us? As “content strategy” evolves as an industry, so too do the areas of expertise individual practitioners offer and our clients expect. Is that a problem, or an opportunity? Can we grapple with our terminology to broaden the profession without losing its relevance? And do we run the risk of diluting the meaning? We’ll discuss the responsibility and opportunity in how we define our industry and the areas of specialty it can comprise.
Presented at Environments for Humans Content Strategy Summit, #CSSummit, August 19, 2014.
Defining Our Profession Defining Ourselves at ConfabMargot Bloomstein
What’s in a name—and does it constrain or empower us? As “content strategy” evolves as an industry, so too do the areas of expertise that we individually offer and that our clients expect. Is this a problem, or an opportunity? Do you really have to do it all? Can we grapple with our terminology to broaden the profession without losing its relevance? And do we run the risk of diluting the meaning? Looking at examples in a variety of industries, we’ll discuss the responsibility and opportunity in how we define our industry and the areas of specialty it can comprise.
Delivered at Confab Central, #ConfabMN, May 22, 2015.
Know thyself: Your school's message-driven content strategyMargot Bloomstein
Before you can determine content types and prioritize channels, consider the roots of communication--and education. Start at home. Start in Delphi, in ancient Greece. You'll find instructions key to learning, communication, and brand-driven content strategy: know thyself. What does that mean in higher ed? Consider your communication goals and hierarchy of brand attributes. We'll discuss how they drive style and tone, content types, and the look and feel of your content—and how a message architecture helps ensure your audit is more meaningful and content is more consistent.
Presented at Confab Higher Ed, #ConfabEDU, November 12, 2013, in Atlanta.
Brand-driven Content Strategy: Developing a Message Architecture workshop at ...Margot Bloomstein
Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centered design, and this workshop will help you get up to speed on the philosophy, questions, tools, and exercises to implement it. We’ll conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you maintain content for the Web, mobile apps, social media, or offline experiences.
Eager for more efficient engagements? You’ll also discover how a brand-attributes card sort can help you identify potential pitfalls and points of disagreement while you improve organizational alignment. Then use this foundation to conduct a qualitative and quantitative content audit.
We’ll discuss the content opportunities a gap analysis can reveal when we use the message architecture as a metric of quality. Trying to manage scope creep? What about seagulling stakeholders? And what content matters most, anyhow?
These questions and other challenges drive content strategy, and the business issues beyond it. What if you need to empower a team, wrangle a client, and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for your primary navigation? No matter your title, it’s time to embrace content strategy, starting with the message architecture.
Join this workshop to build out your content strategy toolkit:
Learn how—and why—to establish a hierarchy of communication goals in a message architecture with a hands-on exercise
Discuss the right questions to ask—and how to ask them—to minimize distracting, off-brand features, like the blog no one has time to update
Gain additional tools to keep your projects on track, on time, and on budget
Establishing a Brand-driven Message Architecture WebVisions NYCMargot Bloomstein
Trying to manage scope creep? What about seagulling stakeholders? And what content matters most, anyhow?
These questions and other challenges drive content strategy. If you’re a designer planning for content or a developer tailoring the CMS to specific content types, they’re your challenges, too. If you need to empower a team, wrangle a client, and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for your primary navigation, forget your title. It’s time to embrace content strategy, starting with the message architecture.
Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centered design, and this workshop will help you get up to speed on the philosophy, questions, tools, and exercises to implement it. We’ll conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you design for the web, mobile apps, social media, or offline experiences. Then use this foundation to learn about a qualitative and quantitative content audit, content types, and editorial style guidelines. We’ll discuss the content opportunities a gap analysis reveals when we use the message architecture as a metric of quality. You’ll leave with the savvy and experience to bring brand-driven content strategy techniques and thinking into your own work.
What you can expect:
Learn how—and why—to establish a hierarchy of communication goals in a message architecture with a hands-on exercise
Discuss the right questions to ask—and how to ask them—to minimize distracting, off-brand features, like the blog no one has time to update
Use a content audit to evaluate content against the message architecture
Gain additional tools to keep your projects on track, on time, and on budget
Presented as a workshop at WebVisions NYC, April 7, 2016, at WebVisions in New York.
Content Strategy for Slow Experiences at LevelUpConMargot Bloomstein
Content strategy can help our users focus, act with conviction, and learn. For some brands, users, and contexts, slow content strategy is key.
Presented at Level Up Conference in Saratoga, NY, #levelupcon on October 9, 2014.
Jumpstarting content strategy with a message architecture at Converge2015Margot Bloomstein
Trying to manage scope, stakeholders, and shifting priorities? Need to determine a consistent voice among multiple authors? Content strategy can help. Amid constrained resources, competing priorities, and a contributory culture, content strategy can help us focus and do less—but do what really matters. Margot will discuss how to empower communicators and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for use in print, traditional web communication, and social media.
Presented at Converge 2015, #Converge2015, October 22, 2015 in New Orleans.
Brand-driven Content Strategy: Developing a Message Architecture at Confab In...Margot Bloomstein
Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centered design, and this workshop will help you get up to speed on the philosophy, questions, tools, and exercises to implement it. We’ll conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you maintain content for the Web, mobile apps, social media, or offline experiences.
Eager for more efficient engagements? You’ll also discover how a brand-attributes card sort can help you identify potential pitfalls and points of disagreement while you improve organizational alignment. Then use this foundation to conduct a qualitative and quantitative content audit. We’ll discuss the content opportunities a gap analysis can reveal when we use the message architecture as a metric of quality. Trying to manage scope creep? What about seagulling stakeholders? And what content matters most, anyhow? These questions and other challenges drive content strategy, and the business issues beyond it. What if you need to empower a team, wrangle a client, and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for your primary navigation? No matter your title, it’s time to embrace content strategy, starting with the message architecture.
Presented as a three-hour workshop at Confab Intensive, #ConfabINT, in Portland OR on August 31, 2015.
Facing feature creep or disagreements among stakeholders? Get a grip on content, the people who make it, and the brand they want to establish. Enter brand-driven content strategy: learn how to develop a message architecture, discover how a brand attributes cardsort can help, and improve organizational alignment around your content. Then we'll conduct a quantitative and qualitative content audit to reveal new content types and see... is your content even any good?
Delivered at User Experience Lisbon, #uxlx, June 5, 2014, in Lisbon Portugal.
Defining Our Profession Defining Ourselves at ConfabMargot Bloomstein
What’s in a name—and does it constrain or empower us? As “content strategy” evolves as an industry, so too do the areas of expertise that we individually offer and that our clients expect. Is this a problem, or an opportunity? Do you really have to do it all? Can we grapple with our terminology to broaden the profession without losing its relevance? And do we run the risk of diluting the meaning? Looking at examples in a variety of industries, we’ll discuss the responsibility and opportunity in how we define our industry and the areas of specialty it can comprise.
Delivered at Confab Central, #ConfabMN, May 22, 2015.
Know thyself: Your school's message-driven content strategyMargot Bloomstein
Before you can determine content types and prioritize channels, consider the roots of communication--and education. Start at home. Start in Delphi, in ancient Greece. You'll find instructions key to learning, communication, and brand-driven content strategy: know thyself. What does that mean in higher ed? Consider your communication goals and hierarchy of brand attributes. We'll discuss how they drive style and tone, content types, and the look and feel of your content—and how a message architecture helps ensure your audit is more meaningful and content is more consistent.
Presented at Confab Higher Ed, #ConfabEDU, November 12, 2013, in Atlanta.
Brand-driven Content Strategy: Developing a Message Architecture workshop at ...Margot Bloomstein
Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centered design, and this workshop will help you get up to speed on the philosophy, questions, tools, and exercises to implement it. We’ll conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you maintain content for the Web, mobile apps, social media, or offline experiences.
Eager for more efficient engagements? You’ll also discover how a brand-attributes card sort can help you identify potential pitfalls and points of disagreement while you improve organizational alignment. Then use this foundation to conduct a qualitative and quantitative content audit.
We’ll discuss the content opportunities a gap analysis can reveal when we use the message architecture as a metric of quality. Trying to manage scope creep? What about seagulling stakeholders? And what content matters most, anyhow?
These questions and other challenges drive content strategy, and the business issues beyond it. What if you need to empower a team, wrangle a client, and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for your primary navigation? No matter your title, it’s time to embrace content strategy, starting with the message architecture.
Join this workshop to build out your content strategy toolkit:
Learn how—and why—to establish a hierarchy of communication goals in a message architecture with a hands-on exercise
Discuss the right questions to ask—and how to ask them—to minimize distracting, off-brand features, like the blog no one has time to update
Gain additional tools to keep your projects on track, on time, and on budget
Establishing a Brand-driven Message Architecture WebVisions NYCMargot Bloomstein
Trying to manage scope creep? What about seagulling stakeholders? And what content matters most, anyhow?
These questions and other challenges drive content strategy. If you’re a designer planning for content or a developer tailoring the CMS to specific content types, they’re your challenges, too. If you need to empower a team, wrangle a client, and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for your primary navigation, forget your title. It’s time to embrace content strategy, starting with the message architecture.
Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centered design, and this workshop will help you get up to speed on the philosophy, questions, tools, and exercises to implement it. We’ll conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you design for the web, mobile apps, social media, or offline experiences. Then use this foundation to learn about a qualitative and quantitative content audit, content types, and editorial style guidelines. We’ll discuss the content opportunities a gap analysis reveals when we use the message architecture as a metric of quality. You’ll leave with the savvy and experience to bring brand-driven content strategy techniques and thinking into your own work.
What you can expect:
Learn how—and why—to establish a hierarchy of communication goals in a message architecture with a hands-on exercise
Discuss the right questions to ask—and how to ask them—to minimize distracting, off-brand features, like the blog no one has time to update
Use a content audit to evaluate content against the message architecture
Gain additional tools to keep your projects on track, on time, and on budget
Presented as a workshop at WebVisions NYC, April 7, 2016, at WebVisions in New York.
Content Strategy for Slow Experiences at LevelUpConMargot Bloomstein
Content strategy can help our users focus, act with conviction, and learn. For some brands, users, and contexts, slow content strategy is key.
Presented at Level Up Conference in Saratoga, NY, #levelupcon on October 9, 2014.
Jumpstarting content strategy with a message architecture at Converge2015Margot Bloomstein
Trying to manage scope, stakeholders, and shifting priorities? Need to determine a consistent voice among multiple authors? Content strategy can help. Amid constrained resources, competing priorities, and a contributory culture, content strategy can help us focus and do less—but do what really matters. Margot will discuss how to empower communicators and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for use in print, traditional web communication, and social media.
Presented at Converge 2015, #Converge2015, October 22, 2015 in New Orleans.
Brand-driven Content Strategy: Developing a Message Architecture at Confab In...Margot Bloomstein
Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centered design, and this workshop will help you get up to speed on the philosophy, questions, tools, and exercises to implement it. We’ll conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you maintain content for the Web, mobile apps, social media, or offline experiences.
Eager for more efficient engagements? You’ll also discover how a brand-attributes card sort can help you identify potential pitfalls and points of disagreement while you improve organizational alignment. Then use this foundation to conduct a qualitative and quantitative content audit. We’ll discuss the content opportunities a gap analysis can reveal when we use the message architecture as a metric of quality. Trying to manage scope creep? What about seagulling stakeholders? And what content matters most, anyhow? These questions and other challenges drive content strategy, and the business issues beyond it. What if you need to empower a team, wrangle a client, and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for your primary navigation? No matter your title, it’s time to embrace content strategy, starting with the message architecture.
Presented as a three-hour workshop at Confab Intensive, #ConfabINT, in Portland OR on August 31, 2015.
Facing feature creep or disagreements among stakeholders? Get a grip on content, the people who make it, and the brand they want to establish. Enter brand-driven content strategy: learn how to develop a message architecture, discover how a brand attributes cardsort can help, and improve organizational alignment around your content. Then we'll conduct a quantitative and qualitative content audit to reveal new content types and see... is your content even any good?
Delivered at User Experience Lisbon, #uxlx, June 5, 2014, in Lisbon Portugal.
Establishing a Brand-Driven Message Architecture Workshop at HOWMargot Bloomstein
Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centered design, and this workshop will help you get up to speed on the philosophy, questions, tools, and exercises to implement it. We’ll conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you design for the web, mobile apps, social media, or offline experiences.
Eager for more efficient engagements? You’ll also discover how a brand attributes cardsort can help you identify potential pitfalls and points of disagreement while you improve organizational alignment. Then use this foundation to conduct a qualitative and quantitative content audit. We’ll discuss the content opportunities a gap analysis reveals when we use the message architecture as a metric of quality.
Trying to manage scope creep? What about seagulling stakeholders? And what content matters most, anyhow? These questions and other challenges drive content strategy; they’re basic issues to any designer planning for content. But what if you’re not a content strategist? What if you need to empower a team, wrangle a client, and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for your primary navigation? No matter your title, it’s time to embrace content strategy, starting with the message architecture.
You’ll leave with the savvy and experience to bring brand-driven content strategy techniques and thinking into your own work.
Presented as two sold-out workshops at HOW Design Live, #HOWLive, May 12, 2014 in Boston.
Driving Your Product's Content Strategy with a Message Architecture at UX Lon...Margot Bloomstein
Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centred design to use prioritised communication goals to focus new features, content types, and the workflow to create and maintain them. In this workshop, you’ll get up to speed on the philosophy, questions, tools, and exercises to implement brand-driven content strategy. We’ll use BrandSort™ to conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritise communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you maintain content for the web, mobile apps, social media, offline experiences, or any imagined output of your CMS. Eager for more efficient engagements? You’ll discover how a brand attributes card sort can help you identify potential pitfalls and points of disagreement while you improve organisational alignment. Then we’ll discuss the content opportunities a gap analysis can reveal when we use the message architecture as a metric of quality in a content audit.
Join this workshop to build out your content strategy toolkit:
Learn how—and why—to establish a hierarchy of communication goals in a message architecture with the hands-on BrandSort exercise.
Discuss the right questions to ask—and how to ask them—to minimise distracting, off-brand features, like the blog no one has time to update.
Gain additional tools to keep your projects on track, on time, and on budget
Presented at UX London in London, #UXLondon, on May 24, 2017.
Content strategy for deliberate discovery at CongresCMMargot Bloomstein
Online experiences can be fast, easy, and orderly—and sometimes, that’s all wrong for both users and brands. Not all websites need to be efficient to be effective. Some of the most memorable and profitable web experiences help users slow down, engage in discovery, and learn by doing.
Brands like IKEA use “slow content strategy” to encourage discovery and create a new level of brand engagement. Other companies such as outdoor specialist Patagonia and investment bank Fidelity use content types and editorial styles to help customers focus. Content strategist and author Margot Bloomstein explains how such a slow content strategy can pack a target audience for the brand and thus propel customer engagement to new heights.
Presented at Congres Content Marketing & Webredactie, #congresCM on November 20, 2014 in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Brand-Driven Content Strategy: Creating a Message Architecture Workshop at Co...Margot Bloomstein
Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centered design, and this workshop will help you get up to speed on why and how to implement it. We’ll conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you maintain content for the Web, mobile apps, social media, or offline experiences.
From there, you’ll learn how to use a message architecture as the metric against which to measure content in a qualitative content audit. Then carry it into governance: We’ll explore the impact of a message architecture on editorial style guidelines and an editorial calendar—and see how that foundation can improve efficiency and client satisfaction throughout your projects. Discover how a brand-attributes card sort can help you identify potential pitfalls and points of disagreement while you improve organizational alignment through entire engagements.
Trying to manage scope creep? What about seagulling stakeholders? And what content matters most, anyhow? These questions and other challenges drive content strategy, and the business issues beyond it. What if you need to empower a team, wrangle a client, and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for your primary navigation? No matter your title, it’s time to embrace content strategy, starting with the message architecture.
Learn how to establish a hierarchy of communication goals with a hands-on exercise and the right questions to ask along the way to minimize distracting, off-brand features, like the blog no one has time to update.
Discover how to bring brand-driven thinking through subsequent activities, like the content audit and content model.
Explore the impact of the message architecture on “rubber meets the road” details in style, tone, and diction.
Gain additional tools to keep your projects on track, on time, and on budget.
Presented as a workshop at Confab Central, #ConfabCentral, in Minneapolis, June 7, 2017.
Content strategy for Slow Experiences at SearchLoveMargot Bloomstein
Online experiences can be fast, efficient, easy, orderly—and sometimes, that’s all wrong! Users click confirm too soon, miss important details, or don’t find content that aids conversion. In short, efficient isn’t always effective. Not all experiences need to be fast to be functional. In fact, some of the most memorable and profitable web engagements employ “slow content strategy,” content speed bumps, and surprising content types that aid interaction. We’ll examine examples of content strategy in action that demonstrates how to identify and control the pace of user experience, adding value for both our users and the businesses that engage them.
Presented at SearchLove, April 8, 2014. #searchlove in Boston.
Content Strategy for Slow Experiences at Phoenix CSMargot Bloomstein
Online experiences can be fast, efficient, easy, orderly—and sometimes, that’s all wrong! Users click confirm too soon, miss important details, or don’t find content that aids conversion. In short, efficient isn’t always effective. Not all experiences need to be fast to be functional. In fact, some of the most memorable and profitable web engagements employ “slow content strategy,” content speed bumps, and surprising content types that aid interaction. We’ll examine examples of content strategy in action that demonstrates how to identify and control the pace of user experience, adding value for both our users and the businesses that engage them.
Presented at Phoenix Content Strategy, April 29, 2014. #slowcs at #PHXCS
Content Strategy for Slow Experiences at Web Design DayMargot Bloomstein
Online experiences can be fast, efficient, easy, orderly—and sometimes, that's a recipe for disaster. Users 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.
By designing for pace, we can intentionally help users focus on details and gain confidence in their choices. We can also encourage their sense of discovery and help them build stronger memories. Not all experiences need to be slower, but content strategy can help identify and support these outliers of user experience. We’ll look at REI, Target, Patagonia, Disney, and others for lessons you can apply to aid learning, retention, and user satisfaction. Help your audience soak up the journey or just engage with more certainty, all with more deliberate content strategy.
Presented at Web Design Day in Pittsburgh, #WDD2015, June 12, 2015.
Facing feature creep and disagreements among stakeholders? Are you trying to incorporate a blog, Twitter feed, or curated content because the CMO likes it… or because it fits your communication goals? You need to get a grip on content, the people who make it—and the brand they want to establish. Enter brand-driven content strategy: complement your user-centered design techniques in the workshop that will empower you with the questions, tools, and exercises to implement it. Learn how to develop a message architecture, discover how a brand attributes cardsort can identify pitfalls and points of disagreement, and improve organizational alignment around the brand and content. Then we’ll use the message architecture to conduct a qualitative and quantitative content audit to reveal new content types. Leave with confidence, savvy, and experience to bring brand-driven content strategy techniques and thinking back to your own organization.
Presented at the IA Summit 2013, #IAS13, April 4, 2013 in Baltimore.
Managing content can become overwhelming with the growing number of delivery platforms. Content strategist Margot Bloomstein, principal of Appropriate, Inc., breaks down the steps to implement a strategy that saves time, money, and frustration.
Making Meaning in Content and Design (Bloomstein at HOW)Margot Bloomstein
How do you rally stakeholders around a unified user experience that’s consistent across design and content? That’s the challenge of a modern designer. Fortunately, content strategy is a powerful ally in that challenge. Amid constrained budgets, tight timelines, and unlimited interaction expectations, can you really add another tool to your toolkit? Can you afford to focus on content too? Yes—and you can’t afford to “let the client worry about it” any longer. We’ll discuss the value content strategy can add to your work and how it can help you streamline your process to save time and keep stakeholders happy. Then, we’ll discuss how to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture with a hands-on exercise—ideal whether you’re designing for the web, a mobile app, social media, or an offline experience. Finally, you’ll learn how to create consistency between copy, channels, and the typography and imagery you develop for those channels. There’s meaning in consistency, and you’ll explore how to master it in content and design.
Presented at HOW Interactive Design Conference, #HIDC, November 6, 2013, in Chicago.
Driving a Multichannel Experience From a Single MessageMargot Bloomstein
E pluribus unum? Better yet, out of one, create many—many channels within a multifaceted but unified experience. That’s the challenge of experience design among constrained budgets, tight timelines, and unlimited interaction expectations. Content strategy’s communication foundation, the message architecture, can help you answer that challenge. First, we’ll discuss how to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture with a hands-on exercise—ideal whether you’re designing for the web, a mobile app, social media, or an offline experience. Then learn how to create consistency between long-form web copy, action-oriented forms, and pointed Tweets. Discover how to prioritize features and content types across platforms by looking at examples that do this well, and those that don’t. Finally, respond to responsive design with a strategy to adapt content across platforms but still stay true to the brand.
Presented at IA Summit, #IAS12 and #singlemsg, March 23, 2012.
Visual assets support searcher intent by grabbing readers’ attention, providing additional context and clarifying concepts for visual learners. Here are 14 types of visual content to include in your digital marketing strategy.
Formulating the best presentation for your next sales meeting can seem like rocket science. Where do you start? Should you use graphs and pie charts? How do you conclude your presentation?
The presentation scientists at PGi have the answers. Check out the five elements you need to create a winning presentation design that will have your prospect saying "yes" to you and your products.
Defining Our Profession, Defining Ourselves at CSForum14Margot Bloomstein
Content strategy is continuing to evolve as a discipline. Our evolution makes sense: we work with evolving technologies to enable communication in platforms and channels that didn't even exist when we first started using the term. But as our discipline evolves, so too do the strengths individual practitioners offer and our clients expect, all under the label "content strategy." Is that a problem, or an opportunity? Can we grapple with our terminology to broaden the profession without losing its relevance? We do so much research, monitor, and understand our users. Now, let's draw on similar data about ourselves. Together, let's explore how we grow and promote our capabilities and the many ways we can help our colleagues, collaborators, and clients.
Presented at Content Strategy Forum, #csforum14, in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 2, 2014.
Black & Veatch Content Marketing - The Journey of a Global EnterpriseTim Thorpe
Tim Thorpe highlights the key elements that are needed in a content marketing strategy for a global corporation.
Tim Thorpe is the Director of Digital Content at Black & Veatch. He leads the strategy and operation of the global digital platforms. His team manages the platforms that include internal/external websites, social media, search engine marketing, sales force automation (CRM), marketing automation, market research surveys and mobile marketing apps. He has spent over 20 years helping enterprise corporations leverage technology to meet business needs. Tim speaks and blogs about his experiences using technology to solve business problems. Learn more about Tim’s experience at http://timthorpe.org
Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building Critical Human Infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government Services. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries through consulting, engineering, construction, operations and program management. Revenues in 2013 were US$3.6 billion. Learn more about Black & Veatch at http://bv.com
Establishing a Brand-Driven Message Architecture Workshop at HOWMargot Bloomstein
Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centered design, and this workshop will help you get up to speed on the philosophy, questions, tools, and exercises to implement it. We’ll conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you design for the web, mobile apps, social media, or offline experiences.
Eager for more efficient engagements? You’ll also discover how a brand attributes cardsort can help you identify potential pitfalls and points of disagreement while you improve organizational alignment. Then use this foundation to conduct a qualitative and quantitative content audit. We’ll discuss the content opportunities a gap analysis reveals when we use the message architecture as a metric of quality.
Trying to manage scope creep? What about seagulling stakeholders? And what content matters most, anyhow? These questions and other challenges drive content strategy; they’re basic issues to any designer planning for content. But what if you’re not a content strategist? What if you need to empower a team, wrangle a client, and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for your primary navigation? No matter your title, it’s time to embrace content strategy, starting with the message architecture.
You’ll leave with the savvy and experience to bring brand-driven content strategy techniques and thinking into your own work.
Presented as two sold-out workshops at HOW Design Live, #HOWLive, May 12, 2014 in Boston.
Driving Your Product's Content Strategy with a Message Architecture at UX Lon...Margot Bloomstein
Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centred design to use prioritised communication goals to focus new features, content types, and the workflow to create and maintain them. In this workshop, you’ll get up to speed on the philosophy, questions, tools, and exercises to implement brand-driven content strategy. We’ll use BrandSort™ to conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritise communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you maintain content for the web, mobile apps, social media, offline experiences, or any imagined output of your CMS. Eager for more efficient engagements? You’ll discover how a brand attributes card sort can help you identify potential pitfalls and points of disagreement while you improve organisational alignment. Then we’ll discuss the content opportunities a gap analysis can reveal when we use the message architecture as a metric of quality in a content audit.
Join this workshop to build out your content strategy toolkit:
Learn how—and why—to establish a hierarchy of communication goals in a message architecture with the hands-on BrandSort exercise.
Discuss the right questions to ask—and how to ask them—to minimise distracting, off-brand features, like the blog no one has time to update.
Gain additional tools to keep your projects on track, on time, and on budget
Presented at UX London in London, #UXLondon, on May 24, 2017.
Content strategy for deliberate discovery at CongresCMMargot Bloomstein
Online experiences can be fast, easy, and orderly—and sometimes, that’s all wrong for both users and brands. Not all websites need to be efficient to be effective. Some of the most memorable and profitable web experiences help users slow down, engage in discovery, and learn by doing.
Brands like IKEA use “slow content strategy” to encourage discovery and create a new level of brand engagement. Other companies such as outdoor specialist Patagonia and investment bank Fidelity use content types and editorial styles to help customers focus. Content strategist and author Margot Bloomstein explains how such a slow content strategy can pack a target audience for the brand and thus propel customer engagement to new heights.
Presented at Congres Content Marketing & Webredactie, #congresCM on November 20, 2014 in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Brand-Driven Content Strategy: Creating a Message Architecture Workshop at Co...Margot Bloomstein
Brand-driven content strategy complements user-centered design, and this workshop will help you get up to speed on why and how to implement it. We’ll conduct a hands-on exercise to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture—ideal whether you maintain content for the Web, mobile apps, social media, or offline experiences.
From there, you’ll learn how to use a message architecture as the metric against which to measure content in a qualitative content audit. Then carry it into governance: We’ll explore the impact of a message architecture on editorial style guidelines and an editorial calendar—and see how that foundation can improve efficiency and client satisfaction throughout your projects. Discover how a brand-attributes card sort can help you identify potential pitfalls and points of disagreement while you improve organizational alignment through entire engagements.
Trying to manage scope creep? What about seagulling stakeholders? And what content matters most, anyhow? These questions and other challenges drive content strategy, and the business issues beyond it. What if you need to empower a team, wrangle a client, and rally everyone around a common vocabulary for your primary navigation? No matter your title, it’s time to embrace content strategy, starting with the message architecture.
Learn how to establish a hierarchy of communication goals with a hands-on exercise and the right questions to ask along the way to minimize distracting, off-brand features, like the blog no one has time to update.
Discover how to bring brand-driven thinking through subsequent activities, like the content audit and content model.
Explore the impact of the message architecture on “rubber meets the road” details in style, tone, and diction.
Gain additional tools to keep your projects on track, on time, and on budget.
Presented as a workshop at Confab Central, #ConfabCentral, in Minneapolis, June 7, 2017.
Content strategy for Slow Experiences at SearchLoveMargot Bloomstein
Online experiences can be fast, efficient, easy, orderly—and sometimes, that’s all wrong! Users click confirm too soon, miss important details, or don’t find content that aids conversion. In short, efficient isn’t always effective. Not all experiences need to be fast to be functional. In fact, some of the most memorable and profitable web engagements employ “slow content strategy,” content speed bumps, and surprising content types that aid interaction. We’ll examine examples of content strategy in action that demonstrates how to identify and control the pace of user experience, adding value for both our users and the businesses that engage them.
Presented at SearchLove, April 8, 2014. #searchlove in Boston.
Content Strategy for Slow Experiences at Phoenix CSMargot Bloomstein
Online experiences can be fast, efficient, easy, orderly—and sometimes, that’s all wrong! Users click confirm too soon, miss important details, or don’t find content that aids conversion. In short, efficient isn’t always effective. Not all experiences need to be fast to be functional. In fact, some of the most memorable and profitable web engagements employ “slow content strategy,” content speed bumps, and surprising content types that aid interaction. We’ll examine examples of content strategy in action that demonstrates how to identify and control the pace of user experience, adding value for both our users and the businesses that engage them.
Presented at Phoenix Content Strategy, April 29, 2014. #slowcs at #PHXCS
Content Strategy for Slow Experiences at Web Design DayMargot Bloomstein
Online experiences can be fast, efficient, easy, orderly—and sometimes, that's a recipe for disaster. Users 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.
By designing for pace, we can intentionally help users focus on details and gain confidence in their choices. We can also encourage their sense of discovery and help them build stronger memories. Not all experiences need to be slower, but content strategy can help identify and support these outliers of user experience. We’ll look at REI, Target, Patagonia, Disney, and others for lessons you can apply to aid learning, retention, and user satisfaction. Help your audience soak up the journey or just engage with more certainty, all with more deliberate content strategy.
Presented at Web Design Day in Pittsburgh, #WDD2015, June 12, 2015.
Facing feature creep and disagreements among stakeholders? Are you trying to incorporate a blog, Twitter feed, or curated content because the CMO likes it… or because it fits your communication goals? You need to get a grip on content, the people who make it—and the brand they want to establish. Enter brand-driven content strategy: complement your user-centered design techniques in the workshop that will empower you with the questions, tools, and exercises to implement it. Learn how to develop a message architecture, discover how a brand attributes cardsort can identify pitfalls and points of disagreement, and improve organizational alignment around the brand and content. Then we’ll use the message architecture to conduct a qualitative and quantitative content audit to reveal new content types. Leave with confidence, savvy, and experience to bring brand-driven content strategy techniques and thinking back to your own organization.
Presented at the IA Summit 2013, #IAS13, April 4, 2013 in Baltimore.
Managing content can become overwhelming with the growing number of delivery platforms. Content strategist Margot Bloomstein, principal of Appropriate, Inc., breaks down the steps to implement a strategy that saves time, money, and frustration.
Making Meaning in Content and Design (Bloomstein at HOW)Margot Bloomstein
How do you rally stakeholders around a unified user experience that’s consistent across design and content? That’s the challenge of a modern designer. Fortunately, content strategy is a powerful ally in that challenge. Amid constrained budgets, tight timelines, and unlimited interaction expectations, can you really add another tool to your toolkit? Can you afford to focus on content too? Yes—and you can’t afford to “let the client worry about it” any longer. We’ll discuss the value content strategy can add to your work and how it can help you streamline your process to save time and keep stakeholders happy. Then, we’ll discuss how to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture with a hands-on exercise—ideal whether you’re designing for the web, a mobile app, social media, or an offline experience. Finally, you’ll learn how to create consistency between copy, channels, and the typography and imagery you develop for those channels. There’s meaning in consistency, and you’ll explore how to master it in content and design.
Presented at HOW Interactive Design Conference, #HIDC, November 6, 2013, in Chicago.
Driving a Multichannel Experience From a Single MessageMargot Bloomstein
E pluribus unum? Better yet, out of one, create many—many channels within a multifaceted but unified experience. That’s the challenge of experience design among constrained budgets, tight timelines, and unlimited interaction expectations. Content strategy’s communication foundation, the message architecture, can help you answer that challenge. First, we’ll discuss how to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture with a hands-on exercise—ideal whether you’re designing for the web, a mobile app, social media, or an offline experience. Then learn how to create consistency between long-form web copy, action-oriented forms, and pointed Tweets. Discover how to prioritize features and content types across platforms by looking at examples that do this well, and those that don’t. Finally, respond to responsive design with a strategy to adapt content across platforms but still stay true to the brand.
Presented at IA Summit, #IAS12 and #singlemsg, March 23, 2012.
Visual assets support searcher intent by grabbing readers’ attention, providing additional context and clarifying concepts for visual learners. Here are 14 types of visual content to include in your digital marketing strategy.
Formulating the best presentation for your next sales meeting can seem like rocket science. Where do you start? Should you use graphs and pie charts? How do you conclude your presentation?
The presentation scientists at PGi have the answers. Check out the five elements you need to create a winning presentation design that will have your prospect saying "yes" to you and your products.
Defining Our Profession, Defining Ourselves at CSForum14Margot Bloomstein
Content strategy is continuing to evolve as a discipline. Our evolution makes sense: we work with evolving technologies to enable communication in platforms and channels that didn't even exist when we first started using the term. But as our discipline evolves, so too do the strengths individual practitioners offer and our clients expect, all under the label "content strategy." Is that a problem, or an opportunity? Can we grapple with our terminology to broaden the profession without losing its relevance? We do so much research, monitor, and understand our users. Now, let's draw on similar data about ourselves. Together, let's explore how we grow and promote our capabilities and the many ways we can help our colleagues, collaborators, and clients.
Presented at Content Strategy Forum, #csforum14, in Frankfurt, Germany, on July 2, 2014.
Black & Veatch Content Marketing - The Journey of a Global EnterpriseTim Thorpe
Tim Thorpe highlights the key elements that are needed in a content marketing strategy for a global corporation.
Tim Thorpe is the Director of Digital Content at Black & Veatch. He leads the strategy and operation of the global digital platforms. His team manages the platforms that include internal/external websites, social media, search engine marketing, sales force automation (CRM), marketing automation, market research surveys and mobile marketing apps. He has spent over 20 years helping enterprise corporations leverage technology to meet business needs. Tim speaks and blogs about his experiences using technology to solve business problems. Learn more about Tim’s experience at http://timthorpe.org
Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building Critical Human Infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government Services. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries through consulting, engineering, construction, operations and program management. Revenues in 2013 were US$3.6 billion. Learn more about Black & Veatch at http://bv.com
Tim Thorpe, Director of Digital Content, Global Marketing & Communications, Black & Veatch, at the Business Marketing Association regional even in Kansas City on 10/28/14.
Discover the latest tools, technologies and trends shaping content strategy for forward-thinking marketers in 2023 and beyond! You'll find out which tools & technologies are right for your company...right now. You'll find out which influencers and thought leaders you need to connect with to expand your own influence. You'll see exactly what types of content you should be producing right now...and why.
Content Governance: Planning for success throughout the content life cycleChris Mickens
Content governance allows organizations to determine priorities, assign responsibility, and establish detailed guidelines for creating and managing consistent, high quality web content. Sure, it’s not the sexiest thing in the world, but a well thought out content governance plan provides a solid foundation for achieving short and long-term content goals while maintaining a smooth editorial workflow.
This presentation will examine how a content governance plan provides guidance at every stage of the content life cycle including:
Planning
Development
Revision
Distribution
Management and Archiving
We’ll wrap up with a look at some useful Drupal modules and WordPress plugins that help streamline the content management workflow.
It's been six years since I wrote Content Strategy for the Web. Now, in 2015, the content strategy landscape is a much bigger, more complex place. How are companies keeping up with the crazy changes in content trends, technologies, and audience expectations? Here's what I'm seeing and how my own process has evolved.
Solo Content Strategy: Lesson for Lone Ranger & Tiny TeamsMalaika Carpenter
Learn how your solo or tiny content team can create a structured approach to producing high-quality content at the speed and volume you need to be successful. Malaika Carpenter presented this talk as a speaker at 2017 Confab Higher Ed. #ConfabEDU
An introduction to multi channel content strategyReading Room
Originally presented by Simon Nash for UKTI Export Week webinars. An hour long run through of the key principles of content strategy and content marketing.
Content Strategy: What's In It For You? at Refresh BostonMargot Bloomstein
When you're shaping a user experience, what tune do you sing — typography? Interaction affordances? Taxonomy? Keyword enrichment? Whether you're a designer, social media consultant, IA, SEO specialist, or PM, content strategy can help you more clearly understand your client's needs, articulate your approach, and align your tactical decisions with an overall brand-driven, user-centered message architecture. Here's how to make the case.
Presented by Margot Bloomstein (@mbloomstein) at Refresh Boston, December 8, 2009.
Discover the latest tools, technologies and trends shaping content strategy for forward-thinking marketers in 2023 and beyond! You'll find out which tools & technologies are right for your company...right now. You'll find out which influencers and thought leaders you need to connect with to expand your own influence. You'll see exactly what types of content you should be producing right now...and why.
Part One: Content Strategy
Learn the difference between a strategy and a plan, what your strategy can do for your users and business objectives, and how to create a comprehensive content strategy for small to medium-sized businesses.
Content Strategy - UX class - Talent Bandung 2017 by @daengdoangDaeng Muhammad Feisal
Content Strategy
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Disampaikan pada materi kelas UX/UI batch 1
event Talent Bandung 2017
Sabtu, 4 November 2017
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by Daeng Muhammad Feisal (@daengdoang)
UXiD chapter Bandung
Content Operations: Practical Guidance and Real World Examples to Scale Your ...Curata
A comprehensive guide to scaling content operations. Learn how to:
-Organize and align your teams around content marketing, including developing content marketing quotas based on results.
-Plan and execute long term, unified content campaigns to optimize content ROI.
-Develop a measurement process to directly credit content for lead generation, sales opportunities and revenue.
Pawan Deshpande, CEO of Curata, originally gave this presentation at Content Marketing World 2014.
Presentation from the 2014 Product, Customer and User Experience Summit in Chicago on June 16, 2014. The presentation discusses the context for UX as strategy, provides an example of applying a UX approach to informing your business and experience strategy, measuring the impact of UX and what's needed to sustain and build upon the value of UX within an organization.
Creating A Digital Content Factory: Getting Started with Intelligent ContentScott Abel
Content marketing production processes are broken. Most organizations can’t crank out the wide variety of content needed because their processes are outdated, inefficient, and riddled with waste. Oh, and then there are tools. Content marketers don’t have the right ones for the jobs at hand.
In this presentation, content strategy guru Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler, will demystify the benefits of intelligent content for content marketers and outline the changes needed in order for marketers to take advantage of the approach.
Attendee takeaways:
How adopting intelligent content can turn a content marketing department into a content marketing factory
How some brands are leveraging intelligent content to produce more content with less effort
Lessons learned from the pros working in the trenches
What you’ll need to get started
#CMWorld
Similar to Defining Our Profession, Defining Ourselves at CSSummit14 (20)
Keynote: Transforming Your Brand Into a Trusted Source at OmnichannelXMargot Bloomstein
Mass media and our most cynical memes say we live in a post-fact era. Who can we trust—and how do our users invest their trust? Without addressing those challenges, marketing falls flat. Expert opinions are a thing of the past; we favor user reviews from “people like us” whether we’re planning a meal or prioritizing a newsfeed. But as our filter bubbles burst, consumers and citizens alike turn inward for the truth. By designing for empowerment, the smartest organizations meet them there.
Empower your audience to earn their trust. Presenting a new strategy for content and design that addresses empowerment, Margot will share examples from retail, publishing, government, and other industries to detail what you can do to meet unprecedented problems in information consumption. Learn how voice, volume, and vulnerability can inform your design and content strategy to earn the trust of your users, build their confidence, and strengthen your brand. Embracing a new strategy, your work can drive something even more important: hope.
Delivered as a keynote to OmnichannelX 2020, #OmniXConf, in Amsterdam and virtually by Margot Bloomstein, @mbloomstein. (c) 2020 Margot Bloomstein.
Fostering Trust in Your Brand and Beyond at Rosenfeld Enterprise ExperienceMargot Bloomstein
Thursday March 12 • 11am-12pm ET • convert to your time zone here
Join the call via this Zoom videoconference link: https://zoom.us/j/120101278 or dial one of the following numbers and log in with meeting ID 120 101 278: +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) / +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) / find your local number
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Topic
We must empower our audiences to earn their trust—not the other way around—and our tactical choices in content and design can fuel empowerment. Margot Bloomstein will walk you through examples from retail, publishing, government, and other industries to detail what you can do to meet unprecedented problems in information consumption. Learn how voice, volume, and vulnerability can inform your design and content strategy to earn the trust of your users. Let’s address the tough questions: How do brands develop rapport when audiences let emotion cloud logic? Is there a place for vulnerability in corporate strategy? And what’s the role of command and control consistency in the creative work of a corporate enterprise? Learn how these questions can drive design choices in organizations of any size and industry—and discover how your choices can empower users and rebuild our very sense of trust across society itself.
Presented in a Rosenfeld Media Enterprise Experience webinar March 12, 2020 by Margot Bloomstein.
Designing for Trust in an Uncertain World at An Event Apart San FranciscoMargot Bloomstein
Mass media and our most cynical memes say we live in a post-fact era. So who can we trust—and how do our users invest their trust? Expert opinions are a thing of the past; we favor user reviews from “people like us” whether we're planning a meal or prioritizing a newsfeed. But as our filter bubbles burst, consumers and citizens alike turn inward for the truth. By designing for empowerment, the smartest organizations meet them there.
We must empower our audiences to earn their trust—not the other way around—and our tactical choices in content and design can fuel empowerment. Margot will walk you through examples from retail, publishing, government, and other industries to detail what you can do to meet unprecedented problems in information consumption. Learn how voice, volume, and vulnerability can inform your design and content strategy to earn the trust of your users. We'll ask the tough questions: How do brands develop rapport when audiences let emotion cloud logic? Can you design around cultural predisposition to improve public safety? And how do voice and vulnerability go beyond buzzwords and into broader corporate strategy? Learn how these questions can drive design choices in organizations of any size and industry—and discover how your choices can empower users and rebuild our very sense of trust itself.
Presented at An Event Apart San Francisco, #aeasf, on December 9, 2019 by Margot Bloomstein
Designing for Trust in an Uncertain World An Event Apart DCMargot Bloomstein
To regain their trust, we must empower our users. Expert opinions are a thing of the past; we favor user reviews from “people like us” whether we're planning a meal or prioritizing a newsfeed. But as our filter bubbles burst, consumers and citizens alike turn inward for the truth. By designing for empowerment, the smartest organizations meet them there.
In an age of cynicism, we can design for trust: our tactical choices in content and design can fuel empowerment. Examples from the FBI, Mailchimp, NIH, GOV.UK, and America's Test Kitchen demonstrate what you can do to meet unprecedented problems in information consumption. Focusing on voice, volume, and vulnerability can inform your design and content strategy to earn the trust of your users and rebuild our very sense of trust itself.
Presented by Margot Bloomstein, @mbloomstein, at An Event Apart Washington DC, #aeadc, on July 29, 2019.
Mass media and our most cynical memes say that we live in a post-fact era. So who can we trust and how do our users use their trust? Expert opinions are a thing of the past, and we prefer user reviews written by "people like us", whether we select a restaurant or scan a newsfeed. But when the filter bubbles burst, consumers and citizens alike turn back inside to find the truth. Through designs that "empower", the smartest organizations meet them right there. We need to empower and empower our audience to gain their trust, not the other way around, and only through tactical decisions about content and design, empowerment can be initiated.
Margot Bloomstein presents examples from a variety of industries and shows in detail how to deal with unexpected problems in the consumption of information. Learn how language, volume, and vulnerabilities can influence your design and content strategy to win the trust of your users. It asks the difficult questions, such as "How can brands build a harmonious bond when the logic of their audience is overshadowed by their emotions? Can one "design around" cultural dispositions to improve public safety? And how do your voice and vulnerability stand out against mere buzz words and penetrate into a broader business strategy?
Presented at design monat Graz, #designmonatgraz2019, in Graz Austria in conjunction with FH | Joanneum by Margot Bloomstein, @mbloomstein. (c) 2019 Margot Bloomstein.
Rebuilding Trust: Validate users by starting where they are at Confab 2019Margot Bloomstein
Before we engage users with products, interfaces, and content, we need their trust. Trust is waning today; users disregard traditional sources of expertise and bring skepticism to even innocuous interface copy. Can you blame them? Popular media, politicians, and big-name brands are gaslighting, talking down, and talking too much about themselves.
Let’s do better: Exploring examples from insurance, consumer goods, and online education, you’ll see how the right content validates audience beliefs and life experience to move them forward. Margot will go deeper into themes she first brought to Confab last year to unpack tactics of style and tone that use vulnerability to foster trust, educate audiences—and ultimately reinvigorate brands.
Discover the key changes in diction (beyond just mirroring your audience’s vocabulary) you can make to invite users in to your brand, as champions rather than consumers.
Learn how content that asks questions, exposes process, and loses the polish can build goodwill and engender greater faith from your audience.
Gain practical examples of how—and why—to talk about mistakes, challenges, and screwups with your audience while ensuring Legal remains your biggest fan.
Presented at Confab 2019, #confab2019, by Margot Bloomstein on April 25, 2019, in lovely Minneapolis.
Design for Trust: Find Strength in Vulnerability, Voice, and Volume at CMC2019Margot Bloomstein
How do you earn the trust of your customers, readers, and fans when facts are out—and what “feels right” wins? Mass media and our most cynical memes say we live in a post-fact era. That idea undermines any marketing that promotes ideas, products, services, or politician… and it tracks with trends in social media: our customers turned away from experts and big brands to let “people like us” influence choices instead. But we’re popping those filter bubbles. Now consumers turn inward for the truth—and by embracing vulnerability and designing for empowerment, the smartest organizations meet them there.
Drawing on lessons from America’s Test Kitchen, Crutchfield, GOV.UK, and Volkswagen, discover tactics of content strategy and design to foster trust, build rapport, and increase loyalty by learning to “prototype in public" and lean into vulnerability, using voice to strengthen your base, and determine the right volume for your users' goals.
Designing for Trust in an Era of Self-Validating Facts: Keynote UX in the Cit...Margot Bloomstein
Consumers and citizens alike turn inward for the truth. By designing for empowerment, the smartest organisations meet them there.
We’ll explore why trust in the old guard has fallen apart - and then examine how today’s smartest companies and institutions rebuild trust by bolstering their customers’ knowledge. We’ll dig into examples from the public and private sector to ask: how do brands develop rapport when audiences let emotion cloud logic? What happens when cultural predisposition affects public safety? And how do voice and vulnerability go beyond buzzwords and into broader corporate strategy?
You’ll see how to use tactics of design and content to empower users. The same tactics can work across industries, scale and audience. You’ll uncover a play-by-play approach to educating and empowering consumers and citizens alike - and learn how to operationalise vulnerability through design that rebuilds hope itself.
Keynote presented at UX in the City Manchester, #UXCityMCR, on March 14, 2019, in Manchester UK.
Designing for Trust in an Uncertain World at An Event Apart SeattleMargot Bloomstein
We must empower our audiences to earn their trust—not the other way around—and our tactical choices in content and design can fuel empowerment. Margot will walk you through examples from retail, publishing, government, and other industries to detail what you can do to meet unprecedented problems in information consumption. Learn how voice, volume, and vulnerability can inform your design and content strategy to earn the trust of your users. We'll ask the tough questions: How do brands develop rapport when audiences let emotion cloud logic? Can you design around cultural predisposition to improve public safety? And how do voice and vulnerability go beyond buzzwords and into broader corporate strategy? Learn how these questions can drive design choices in organizations of any size and industry—and discover how your choices can empower users and rebuild our very sense of trust itself.
Presented by Margot Bloomstein, @mbloomstein, at An Event Apart Seattle, #aeasea on March 4, 2019.
Designing trust in an era of self-validating facts at Fluxible 2018Margot Bloomstein
Mass media and our most cynical memes say we live in a post-fact era. If that’s the case, who can we trust — and how do we invest our trust? We used to seek experts as arbiters of reality, but then looked to “people like us” whether we were picking a restaurant, planning a vacation, or clicking on a trending news item. But as our filter bubbles burst, consumers and citizens alike began to turn inward for the truth — and by designing for empowerment, the smartest organizations meet them there.
In this exploration of some of today’s most engaging brands, content strategist Margot Bloomstein draws on two decades of personal experience building trust into companies, their websites, and their broader messaging. Author of Content Strategy at Work and the forthcoming Trustworthy, she explores why trust in the old guard has fallen apart — and then presents how today’s smartest companies and institutions rebuild trust by building and bolstering the knowledge of their customers. We’ll dig into examples from America’s Test Kitchen, Volkswagen, Crutchfield, GOV.UK, and other organizations of the public and private sector to ask: How do brands develop rapport when audiences let emotion cloud logic? What happens when cultural predisposition affects public safety? And how do voice and vulnerability go beyond buzzwords and into broader corporate strategy?
You’ll see how design and content come together to empower users — and how the same tactics can work across industries, scale, and audience. You’ll uncover a play-by-play approach to educating and empowering consumers and citizens alike — and learn how thoughtful design and content can rebuild our sense of trust itself.
Presented by Margot Bloomstein at Fluxible 2018, #fluxible2018, on September 23, 2018, in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario Canada.
How to Embrace Pace with Content Strategy for Slow ExperiencesMargot Bloomstein
Fast and efficient may rule the web, but efficient experiences aren’t always effective, for many reasons. Instead, try slowing down your customers to improve learning and advance their journey. Fast-to-publish and quick-to-sell can lead to low lifetime value, shopping cart abandonment, returned merchandise—and understandably unhappy reviews. Attend this session, and learn how to craft appropriately-paced customer experiences that allow the time and space for discovery, customer confidence, and insights that last long after the conversion. The secrets live in how you craft copy and prioritize content types to move customers forward wisely, to enjoy the journey mile after mile.
Presented at Content Marketing Conference 2018, #CMC18, in Boston, May 3, 2018
Content Strategy for Slow Experiences at Generate NYC 2018Margot Bloomstein
Online experiences can be fast, efficient, easy, orderly—and sometimes, that's all wrong! Users click to confirm too soon, confuse important details, or miss key features in product descriptions. 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.
By designing for pace, we can intentionally help users focus on details and gain confidence in their choices. We can also encourage their sense of discovery and help them build stronger memories. Not all experiences need to be slower, but content strategy can help identify and support these outliers of user experience. Look to REI, Target, Fidelity, Patagonia, Disney, and others for lessons you can apply to aid learning, retention, and user satisfaction. Help your audience soak up the journey or just engage with more certainty, all by design.
Presented by Margot Bloomstein at Generate 2018, #generateconf, on April 27, 2018, in New York City.
Empowerment in an era of self-validating facts at World IA Day BostonMargot Bloomstein
As we wrangle with the focus of World IA Day, "IA for good," we should start by asking: what does it mean to be good in the context of IA, user experience, content strategy, and design? In this post-fact era, does the truth matter--and does good matter?
It does--not in how we shift our loyalties, but in how our users shift their instincts. Inconsistency affects us and destroys trust--in brands, governments, wisdom, and ourselves. The most good IA can do is to empower the impact of our users. Design is a force multiplier and we can fuel that good.
Keynote at World IA Day Boston, #WIADBOS, #WIAD18, February 24, 2018, in Cambridge MA.
Communicating in an Era of Self-Validating Facts at SXSWMargot Bloomstein
The 2016 US presidential election revealed a post-fact culture. Previously, catching someone in a lie could sully their name, derail a campaign, or decimate a brand—ask Gary Hart, Richard Nixon, and former governor and Appalachian Trail enthusiast Mark Sanford. Today, lies matter less… not to brands, but to their audiences. Emotion replaces logic. So how do you develop rapport when your audience tests proof points against their own convictions? Can mass media validate fact if “truthiness” trumps truth? Can you harness opposing perspectives without ceding to false equivalency? Most importantly, we’ll discuss how to empower audiences to embrace the courage of their convictions on your behalf.
Presented at SXSW in Austin, #sxsw and #factstalk, on March 14, 2017.
Behind Your Back: How Other Industries Talk About Higher Ed at ConfabEDU 2016Margot Bloomstein
Long before you target prospective students, they’re forming opinions, narrowing options, and determining costs… without talking to you. They’re hearing other voices—and what those voices say may surprise you. Today, organizations like Peterson’s, Sallie Mae, and College Confidential help students vet schools and determine budgets, conversations previous generations had with guidance counselors and college recruiters.
Discover how publishers and financial institutions are earning trust through new choices in content types, calls to action, and partner investments. As higher education draws scrutiny for cost and relevance, it’s time to learn from adjacent industries and reframe the conversation from your own institution.
Learn how students gain confidence in their choices as they navigate the application and aid processes.
Discover what prospects look for when determining what resources deserve their time, attention, and trust.
Uncover how partners can strengthen your brand in the topics students value—especially when they don’t want to hear about those topics from you.
Presented at Confab Higher Ed 2016, #ConfabEDU, in Philadelphia November 15, 2016.
Content Strategy for an Era of Self-Validating Facts at CSsummitMargot Bloomstein
The 2016 US presidential election reveals a post-fact culture. Previously, catching someone in a lie could sully their name, derail a campaign, or decimate a brand--ask Gary Hart, Richard Nixon, and former governor and Appalachian Trail enthusiast Mark Sanford.
Today, lies matter less. Not to brands, but to their audiences. Emotion replaces logic. So how do you choose content types to develop rapport when your audience tests proof points against their convictions? Can mass media validate fact if "truthiness" trumps truth? Can you harness opposing perspectives without ceding to false equivalency? Most importantly, we'll discuss how to empower audiences to embrace the courage of their convictions on your behalf.
Presented at the online Content Strategy Summit 2016, #CSsummit, August 25, 2016.
Expanding our expectations of "everyone" at Content Strategy Summit 2015Margot Bloomstein
Content strategy both champions and makes possible the idea that "everyone is a publisher." New platforms and approaches to collaboration let us reframe the conversation beyond traditional book publishing. But with challenges to net neutrality and inconsistent network connectivity in the developing world, do we need to limit our definition of "everyone" to just the white and wealthy world and the more cutting-edge businesses it spawns?
Maybe that's the case today, but today is the mirror of realism. The future is the undefined outcome of optimism—and we have many reasons to be optimistic.
Looking at emerging examples from modern business culture, Silicon Valley investment strategies, and communication trends beyond the United States, Margot Bloomstein will map out challenges and opportunities for publishing in the coming decades.
The author of Content Strategy at Work: Real-World Stories to Strengthen Every Interactive Project, Bloomstein will explore how content strategy will work in the future to aid the changing face of publishing. Who will practice it? Will power align with technology, quality, perspective, or a combination of all three? And how will we define "publishing," anyhow?
Presented at Content Strategy Summit, #CSSummit, online, on September 22, 2015
Online experiences can be fast, efficient and easy—but sometimes, that’s all wrong! Users click Buy too soon, miss important details or don’t find content that aids conversion. Efficient isn’t always effective and fast isn’t always functional. In fact, some of the most memorable web engagements employ “slow content strategy” with design considerations and content types that aid stickiness and retention. Margot Bloomstein will lead you through examples from a range of industries to see how you can manage—and slow—the pace at which users move through your website designs to create experiences that aid learning, fuel anticipation and create memories.
Arm yourself with personas, research, and KPIs. Look out at data you’re chasing. Then look in. What do you see? We spawn sites, create content, and chase new platforms without always knowing why. To keep up with competitors? To keep up with users? We know them better than we know ourselves, then burn resources racing toward questionable destinations and burn out in the process. That’s where content strategy can help. We’ll discuss forging a path from where you are and who you are. Learn how to allot constrained resources and engage your audience. Eager to reach them? To know them, first know yourself.
Presented as keynote at Now What 2015, #NowWhat15, April 30, 2015, in Sioux Falls SD.
UX Futures: Publishing and Expanding Our Expectations of EveryoneMargot Bloomstein
Content strategy champions and makes possible the idea that “everyone is a publisher.” But with challenges to net neutrality and inconsistent network connectivity in the developing world, do we need to limit our definition of “everyone” to just the white and wealthy world and the more cutting edge businesses it spawns?
Maybe that’s the case today, but today is the mirror of realism. The future is the undefined outcome of optimism—and we have many reasons to be optimistic.
Looking at emerging examples from modern business culture, Silicon Valley investment strategies, and communication trends beyond the United States, Margot Bloomstein will map out challenges and opportunities for publishing in the coming decades. The author of Content Strategy at Work: Real-world Stories to Strengthen Every Interactive Project, Bloomstein will explore how content strategy will work in the future to aid the changing face of publishing. Who will practice it? Will power align with technology, quality, perspective, or a combination of all three? And how will we define “publishing,” anyhow?
Presented November 5, 2014 as part of the UX Futures Summit.
Digital marketing is the art and science of promoting products or services using digital channels to reach and engage with potential customers. It encompasses a wide range of online tactics and strategies aimed at increasing brand visibility, driving website traffic, generating leads, and ultimately, converting those leads into customers.
https://nidmindia.com/
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
It's another new era of digital and marketers are faced with making big bets on their digital strategy. If you are looking at modernizing your tech stack to support your digital evolution, there are a few can't miss (often overlooked) areas that should be part of every conversation. We'll cover setting your vision, avoiding siloes, adding a democratized approach to data strategy, localization, creating critical governance requirements and more. Attendees will walk away with actions they can take into initiatives they are running today and consider for the future.
Top 3 Ways to Align Sales and Marketing Teams for Rapid GrowthDemandbase
In this session, Demandbase’s Stephanie Quinn, Sr. Director of Integrated and Digital Marketing, Devin Rosenberg, Director of Sales, and Kevin Rooney, Senior Director of Sales Development will share how sales and marketing shapes their day-to-day and what key areas are needed for true alignment.
The Secret to Engaging Modern Consumers: Journey Mapping and Personalization
In today's digital landscape, understanding the customer's journey and delivering personalized experiences are paramount. This masterclass delves into the art of consumer journey mapping, a powerful technique that visualizes the entire customer experience across touchpoints. Attendees will learn how to create detailed journey maps, identify pain points, and uncover opportunities for optimization. The presentation also explores personalization strategies that leverage data and technology to tailor content, products, and experiences to individual customers. From real-time personalization to predictive analytics, attendees will gain insights into cutting-edge approaches that drive engagement and loyalty.
Key Takeaways:
Current consumer landscape; Steps to mapping an effective consumer journey; Understanding the value of personalization; Integrating mapping and personalization for success; Brands that are getting It right!; Best Practices; Future Trends
Everyone knows the power of stories, but when asked to come up with them, we struggle. Either we second guess ourselves as to the story's relevance, or we just come up blank and can't think of any. Unlocking Everyday Narratives: The Power of Storytelling in Marketing will teach you how to recognize stories in the moment and to recall forgotten moments that your audience needs to hear.
Key Takeaways:
Understand Why Personal Stories Connect Better
How To Remember Forgotten Stories
How To Use Customer Experiences As Stories For Your Brand
Come learn how YOU can Animate and Illuminate the World with Generative AI's Explosive Power. Come sit in the driver's seat and learn to harness this great technology.
Videos are more engaging, more memorable, and more popular than any other type of content out there. That’s why it’s estimated that 82% of consumer traffic will come from videos by 2025.
And with videos evolving from landscape to portrait and experts promoting shorter clips, one thing remains constant – our brains LOVE videos.
So is there science behind what makes people absolutely irresistible on camera?
The answer: definitely yes.
In this jam-packed session with Stephanie Garcia, you’ll get your hands on a steal-worthy guide that uncovers the art and science to being irresistible on camera. From body language to words that convert, she’ll show you how to captivate on command so that viewers are excited and ready to take action.
First Things First: Building and Effective Marketing Strategy
Too many companies (and marketers) jump straight into activation planning without formalizing a marketing strategy. It may seem tedious, but analyzing the mindset of your targeted audiences and identifying the messaging points most likely to resonate with them is time well spent. That process is also a great opportunity for marketers to collaborate with sales leaders and account managers on a galvanized go-to-market approach. I’ll walk you through the methods and tools we use with our clients to ensure campaign success.
Key Takeaways:
-Recognize the critical role of strategy in marketing
-Learn our approach for building an actionable, effective marketing strategy
-Receive templates and guides for developing a marketing strategy
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
In this presentation, Danny Leibrandt explains the impact of AI on SEO and what Google has been doing about it. Learn how to take your SEO game to the next level and win over Google with his new strategy anyone can use. Get actionable steps to rank your name, your business, and your clients on Google - the right way.
Key Takeaways:
1. Real content is king
2. Find ways to show EEAT
3. Repurpose across all platforms
Core Web Vitals SEO Workshop - improve your performance [pdf]Peter Mead
Core Web Vitals to improve your website performance for better SEO results with CWV.
CWV Topics include:
- Understanding the latest Core Web Vitals including the significance of LCP, INP and CLS + their impact on SEO
- Optimisation techniques from our experts on how to improve your CWV on platforms like WordPress and WP Engine
- The impact of user experience and SEO
The session includes a brief history of the evolution of search before diving into the roles technology, content, and links play in developing a powerful SEO strategy in a world of Generative AI and social search. Discover how to optimize for TikTok searches, Google's Gemini, and Search Generative Experience while developing a powerful arsenal of tools and templates to help maximize the effectiveness of your SEO initiatives.
Key Takeaways:
Understand how search engines work
Be able to find out where your users search
Know what is required for each discipline of SEO
Feel confident creating an SEO Plan
Confidently measure SEO performance
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
13. “A retail business providing the public
a convenient location to quickly purchase
a wide array of food, gasoline, and
services”
NACS, the National Association of Convenience & Fuel Retailing
@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 13
14. “2400 square feet
of packaged consumer items.
Today, there are different types of stores:
mini stores under canopies, expanded
food service, in-store seating.”
@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 14
15. Industries thrive through differentiation:
both buyers and sellers benefit.
What’s right for me?
What’s right for right now?
@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 15
22. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 22
I help brands clarify their communication
goals to develop, instill, and maintain
appropriate content and editorial voice.
23. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 23
Content strategy plans for the creation,
delivery, and governance of useful,
usable and brand-appropriate content.
This is how I define content strategy.
24. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 24
Content strategy plans for the creation,
publication, and governance of useful,
usable content.
Kristina Halvorson, A List Apart 2009
25. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 25
Content strategy is to copywriting as
information architecture is to design.
Rachel Lovinger,
Content Strategy: The Philosophy of Data
26. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 26
I work on how content is organized and
structured. […] I translate designs into
what needs to be built in the CMS to
make the content for the site work the
way it's supposed to.
Rachel Lovinger (@rlovinger), Razorfish
27. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 27
Content strategy within our practice is
less editorial and more strategic. It helps
us determine what and how content will
help solve business and web goals.
Corey Vilhauer (@MrVilhauer),
Blend Interactive
28. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 28
I'm a content strategist, which is a fancy
way of saying ‘a writer who also has
design and marketing skills.’
Tiffani Jones-Brown (@ticjones), Pinterest
29. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 29
I'm a content strategist. This means I help
clients and companies figure out how,
when, and why to talk to their audiences.
Keri Maijala (@clamhead)
30. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 30
We are management consultants for
external messaging and editorial
workflow challenges.
Ahava Liebtag (@ahaval), Aha Media Group
31. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 31
I am often a ‘fulcrum’ between disciplines.
I spend at least half my time focusing on
business and cultural change, before
thinking about content.
Elizabeth McGuane, @emcguane
32. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 32
A content strategist is like a business
analyst for your content. We look at how
content is currently helping (or hindering)
your business and develop a strategy to
make it work better.
Sally Bagshaw, @snappysentences
33. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 33
The analysis and planning to develop a
repeatable system that governs the
management of content throughout the
entire content lifecycle.
Rahel Anne Bailie, @rahelab,
The Language of Content Strategy
34. Industries thrive through differentiation:
both practitioners and clients benefit
@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 34
35. Industries thrive through differentiation:
both practitioners and clients benefit
but only when we precisely, narrowly
define both what we do and need
and encourage diverse specificity
@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 35
36. • Drive the development and organization of content that is useful, compelling and
meaningful on our site, all social media platforms, and distributed content
• Create user flows, information hierarchies, wireframes, and content strategy
• Maintain fluency in industry terminology and develop our “voice” within it
• Determine content requirements, inventory existing content, identify gaps,
evaluate possible sources for additional material, and manage the process of
getting that content into production
• Maintain current content audit
• Creatively look for opportunities to improve content, consumer experience, and
SEO performance
• Manage editorial calendar to proactively keep content useful and up to date
• Train internal and freelance copywriters; develop any necessary training programs
• Develop analytics, conduct consumer and usability testing to help improve the UX
• Lead projects with the PR and marcomm team to support campaigns and launches
• Work with brand architecture and terminology to guide product organization and
internal customer service content and training
• Drive the architecture of and improvements to the internal product CMS
• Occasionally write or edit content, particularly metadata, titles, alt text and edit
general content to optimize for natural search
37. • Drive the development and organization of content that is useful, compelling and
meaningful on our site, all social media platforms, and distributed content
• Create user flows, information hierarchies, wireframes, and content strategy
• Maintain fluency in industry terminology and develop our “voice” within it
• Determine content requirements, inventory existing content, identify gaps,
evaluate possible sources for additional material, and manage the process of
getting that content into production
• Maintain current content audit
• Creatively look for opportunities to improve content, consumer experience, and
SEO performance
• Manage editorial calendar to proactively keep content useful and up to date
• Train internal and freelance copywriters; develop any necessary training programs
• Develop analytics, conduct consumer and usability testing to help improve the UX
• Lead projects with the PR and marcomm team to support campaigns and launches
• Work with brand architecture and terminology to guide product organization and
internal customer service content and training
• Drive the architecture of and improvements to the internal product CMS
• Occasionally write or edit content, particularly metadata, titles, alt text and edit
general content to optimize for natural search
38. Without clear differentiation,
hiring (and selling) is frustrating,
training and rework is expensive, and
“content strategy” gets a bad name.
@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 38
44. @mbloomstein | #CSSummit 44
But what about the generalists?
Follow your passion—
and work to better define the work.
45. Content strategists,
1. Be precise: own your definition.
2. Get specific: narrow what you want.
3. Be honest—and encouraging.
“No… and”
@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 45
48. Clients
1. Be precise: own your definition.
2. Get specific: narrow what you want.
3. Be honest—and encouraging.
“No… and”
@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 48
49. This is an opportunity for growth and
specialization within our broad industry
50. because how we define our industry is
the sum of how we define ourselves.