The document outlines the key aspects of web content strategy, including defining content strategy and common workflows. It discusses typical problems with web content like it being a low priority and lacking a consistent voice. The summary then provides an overview of the typical phases in a content strategy workflow - analyzing existing content, planning new content needs, gathering/writing content, and maintaining it over time. It also briefly mentions some organizations that are doing content strategy well, like REI.

1. Herding Cats: Web Content Strategies Gill Murrey Office of Web Communications Vanderbilt University

2. Outline Defining “content strategy” and “content” Typical workflow, with examples of deliverables Who’s doing it right - site tour Resources to learn more

3. What is Web Content Strategy? Content strategy encompasses the discovery, ideation, implementation and maintenance of all types of digital content—links, tags, metadata, video, etc. - from the Scatter/Gather blog

4. What is Content? Text and data Graphics Video and Animation Audio Documents Forms, Alt tags, Metadata, and more

5. The Content Problem Usually low priority - done last minute Sites identified by pages , not by content Rarely a dedicated person to handle content The launch-and-it’s-finished mind-set

6. More Content Problems Both company generated and user generated Communication styles vary from person to person The challenge: How can these different styles become one consistent voice that promotes your company’s message?

7. Problem Solved: Web Content Strategy Collects all the content on a website and organizes it into a user-friendly presence with a common voice that reinforces the identity.

8. A Short History 2002: “Content strategy” is used in a book titled Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy 2005: Amy Gahran started series called What is Content Strategy and Why Should You Care? 2007: Boxes and Arrows article by Rachel Lovinger, Content Strategy: The Philosophy of Data 2010: Content Strategy for the Web , by Kristina Halvorson 2010: content strategy workshop track at SXSW

9. What does a Web Content Strategist Do? Prescribes content across the site, piece by piece Designs (and provides examples) for specific content types: articles, captions, pull quotes, lists, and more Gives a collective voice and a single, coherent message to your content

10. A Job Description Skills: Experience developing online editorial styleguides, content localization processes, and SEO guidelines. Solid understanding of online usability concepts and standards. Superlative written and verbal communication skills. Ability to plan, manage, and execute on simultaneous project deliverables under tight deadlines in a team environment. Excellent eye for detail, consistency, and accuracy

11. Job Description, cont. Tasks: Conduct a current-state assessment including content inventory, analysis of content usage, and content gaps. Assist in research activities including partner interviews, usability studies, and competitive analyses. Develop content requirements and document the desired future state and target experience for partner content online. Produce a final content strategy document, containing recommendations for a partner content strategy and operational model.

12. Content Strategy Workflow

13. Content Strategy Workflow What Do We Have? Content inventory, qualitative review, gap analysis Plan Usability testing, site map, wireframes, page tables Examples of each style type (article, caption,etc.) Build Gathering, writing, editing, organizing content Maintain Editorial calendar, styleguide, process to remove content, process to archive content

14. What do we have?

15. Content Inventory Quantitative - lists all existing content - articles, images, video, audio Done on Excel spreadsheet Include a column for “content types” - articles, press releases, FAQs, staff bios, product information, etc.

16. Credit: Jeff Veen, Adaptive Path http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/essays/archives/000040.php Credit: Sarah Rice, IA Institute

17. Qualitative Content Review Evaluate every piece of content, asking: Who is the audience and what are their goals? Does the existing content meet these goals? What action will the audience take with the content (read, submit, join, comment, listen, watch, etc.) Will content be current and accurate at launch? Is the content on message for the company’s brand?

18. Gap Analysis The gap between where you are now and where you want to be Identify where you’re missing content Discover from focus groups, surveys, and other usability studies Check your analytics – what are people searching for that you don’t have? Create a priority list for creating new content

19. Plan

20. Big Questions First What does your site want to be? What content do you need? Prioritize key messages How will the content be structured? How will the content “walk the walk” of your brand?

21. Usability Testing Who are your users? Focus groups Surveys One-on-one interviews Task analysis Analytics

22. Brainstorm Establish key themes and topics Map user goals and business requirements to themes Define the company’s voice and tone: for example, casual or formal; conservative or freewheeling Identify and interview content providers

23. Integrating Social Media Look at your content inventory and your qualitative content analysis. How are you currently using text, audio, images, video? Which pages would benefit from two-way interaction? Where are conversations taking place? Talk with receptionists, sales staff, presenters. How can you further these conversations with social media?

24. Can social media be integrated? If yes, give details. Credit: Digital Web Magazine Download a blank content audit: http://www.digital-web.com/extras/ social_media_strategy/contentaudit.pdf

25. Defining the Content Groups User Generated Content Message Board postings Facebook and Twitter Company Generated Content Web pages Blog postings Facebook and Twitter

26. Site Map Site Map Credit: http://www.gdoss.com/web_info/information_architecture_deliverables.php

27. Wireframes For page structure and content requirements Specifies placement of content types on a Web page Makes calls to action (read, join, download, etc.) clear Can be low fidelity or high fidelity For high fidelity, don’t use lorem ipsum placeholder text - use actual text

28. Credit: http://www.usability.gov/methods/design_site/define.html#CreatingaWireFrame

29. High-fidelity wireframe From Jesse Bennett- Chamberlain of 31Three.

30. Page Tables Details how content will be created for web pages Lists who is responsible for each area of content Done in Microsoft Word On a small site, done for every page; on a large site, done as templates for pages with the exact same purpose and use Buy Content Strategy for the Web to see an example

31. Page Tables Include: Source of content - is it ready without any changes? Needs to be edited? Written? When to use the content (launch, phase 2) Page title Assets Main content focus Secondary content focus Any technical considerations Any maintenance gotchas (product updates every spring)

32. Content Types Article Sidebar Caption Pullquote List FAQ Product Info Sheet

33. Give Your Writers Styleguides for Content Types List the number of characters for each content type Include writing samples for each type, demonstrating voice and tone Create templates to help writers prepare content for each content type

34. Voice and Tone Gives the writing on your Web site personality Comes from your brand Light or serious, freewheeling or controlled, plainspoken or elaborate, personal or impersonal Not just for body text – also for titles, links, and headings Keep it consistent throughout the site Here’s an example

37. Build

38. How Do You Get Content? Original content, written for & by the company RSS feeds from other sites Actively search for content on other sites and aggregate it (content curation) Working with bloggers, photographers, videographers, and podcasters Licensed content from 3rd party User-generated content from social media

39. Resources for Writers Letting Go of the Words , by Ginny Redish Don’t Make Me Think , by Steve Krug Killer Web Content , by Gerry McGovern Writing for Multimedia and the Web , by Timothy Garrand

40. Content Approval Process Document who will write, edit, and approve content for each section The approver makes sure that the content is useful, usable, and on-message for the brand Also checks that the writing stays true to the specified content type Checks that the voice and tone are consistent

41. Maintain

42. Editorial Calendar Document that details when (and why) each type of content will be updated Lists name of person responsible for maintaining that area of content

43. Editorial Styleguide Make available to everyone on wiki or intranet Leads to consistent, readable, and credible content See an example: Energy Information Administration’s Web Editorial Style Guide Includes: Editorial voice, Capitalization, Abbreviations, Commonly misused words, and more

44. Process to Remove Content Document the process you’ll use to remove out-of-date content from the site. Approval process Store on a wiki or intranet for all content providers to see.

45. Process to Archive Content Document when and how content will be removed and how it will be stored Put in a wiki or intranet for all content providers to access Document approval process to archive content

46. Who’s Doing It Right? REI www.rei.com Content staff is well funded and respected internally. Includes data architect content architect Taxonomist seo/natural search manager

47. REI and Facebook Fan page includes: expert advice Contests Content from REI’s Twitter feed, YouTube videos, and Flickr photo streams REI Outlet deal of the day

48. Web Content Lifecycle* Audit Analyze Strategize Categorize Structure Create Revise Approve Tag Format Publish Update Archive *Kristina Halvorson, Content Strategy for the Web

49. Resources Content Strategy for the Web , by Kristina Halvorson The Web Content Strategist’s Bible , by Richard Sheffield Content Wrangler community (ning) LinkedIn group Follow the #contentstrategy hash tag on Twitter Google Groups on Content Strategy Scatter/Gather blog

50. Questions?