This presentantion caught the attention of 10 000 Finns in 24 hours. Want to know why? Check it out yourself! This is the ultimate introduction to content strategy by Finland's first content agency, Vapa Media. The evolution drawing of this presentation is with permission built upon the design of ©Humerus LLC All Rights Reserved. www.humerusonline.com".

1. Interact, don’t interrupt.
—
How content strategy will boost your
communication online.
Vapa Media’s presentation at Marketing and
Communication Conference in Helsinki 29.9.2011!

2. ”Exactly a year ago there was a lot of talk
about social media at this very same
conference. Boys we’re fiddling with their
brand new iPads and technology was
definitely in. But all we could think of at
Vapa Media was content. You know, the
stuff distributed, consumed and produced
on these platforms. We actually predicted
that after all the social media hype,
people would start talking about content.
We predicted that year 2011 would the
year of content strategy in Finland.”

3. In 2011 content is
not just a king...
We were right.
This year there’s
talk about content
both in media and
at this conference..

4. let’s be honest
here, this is what
interests us all!
But why is content so important? Of course the reason lies in money. With the careful
planning of content, companies can save in their marketing expenses, streamline their
operations in online enviroments, serve their customers better and improve their sales.

5. These....
...are...
Communication
Message
Satisfaction
Content Content Strategy
Measuring
Money
Cases
....the subjects we...
...talked about!

6. EVOLUTION OF THE WEB
Although the end of 1990’s was the real breakthrough of internet, our actions were then on a
very basic level. Websites were basically just gigantic PDF’s, that we could view. There wasn’t
any real interaction and websites were more like big advertising screens.
(Picture: www.humerusonline.com)

7. EVOLUTION OF THE WEB
About ten years ago we started to enjoy publishing. In the year 2002 Google bought Blogger
and blogs came into more regular use.
(Picture: www.humerusonline.com)

8. EVOLUTION OF THE WEB
When the amount of publications started to grow, companies wanted to stand out from the
crowd. The aim was to design such good looking sites that they’d leave Bob The Blogger behind.
Typical for this age was the importance of the visual and design aspects of online presence.
(Picture: www.humerusonline.com)

9. EVOLUTION OF THE WEB
Although blogging as we now know it started in the beginning of the 21st century, the concept of
social media rose to our awareness about five years ago. The amount of content blew the roof
as people started to produce content as well as follow it.
(The talk about social media was still more a talk about the platform. It’s kind of like instead of talking about
politics, we’d talk about the parliament building where politics is done.... )
(Picture: www.humerusonline.com)

10. EVOLUTION OF THE WEB
But now in the year 2011 it’s finally time we look at what influences things behind the platform.
Ladies and gentlemen, let us introduce the new, communicative human: Homo Contentus!
(Picture: www.humerusonline.com)

11. Homo Contentus is a super consumer of online content, who discusses, comments, takes part
and seeks for interaction actively. It is extremely important to realize that companies do not
compete only with other companies but with all content contributors online. That means blogs,
online magazines, communities and the friends of Homo Contentus.
(Picture: www.humerusonline.com)

12. Basic information
Usability
Content is about all of these things.....
Images Interaction
Findability
.... not just blogs or other textual content!

13. Content can be divided
into two different levels...
Service
Publishing

14. 1. Service

15. This is a (bad) example of online service from the
website of the Tax Administration...
Current topic, tax refunds,
are nicely on the top page..

16. But it leads first
to a completely
new sub page....

17. Then to
another
page...

18. And another...

19. Now we’re on
a new service..

20. And another page under
that...When will it end??!

21. Finally! We’re able to
log in to the service!

22. 2. Publishing

23. This a (good) example of publishing...

24. Just like the brand, the website is multilingual,
multicultural and has various content types.

25. Content didn’t mean only blogs to Benetton as
they opened their own web radio to the website!

27. “Content is not just about the marketing content. Companies should
realize that content is also the comments left by users or it’s the
discussions on the help forums. It’s about all the talk and communication
about the company in various online platforms.” – Karen McGrane, 2011

28. So for an example, content strategy is the concept and content of a
website.
Not just basic information but relevant, interesting and
useful content from the user’s point of view!

29. Content strategy
is also about
social media...
...its a way to
interact and inspire!

30. !!
It’s also the small stuff, like the way you reply to a customer who signs
up for your newsletter.

31. e
d s th
g is t nee e things!!
trate hes
ntent s f all of t
A co e dge o
l
know
Desig
n, ar
chite
cture
...
User experience design
Marketing
Technology Who are we talking to and with
what kind of tone...
What platforms will we use, when
and how.

32. But like Karen McGrane said at the CS Forum, good content is not always about
exploiting the latest platforms...
For example with iPads we’ve returned to the golden age of platforms. Because let’s
face it, content in iPads is basically huge PDF’s with no real interaction. You can’t
even copypaste the damn thing if you want to! It’s sad but true and the results
speak for themselves....

33. Even Wired couldn’t exploit the new platform as they conquered it quickly without
even thinking the added value it could and should give to the content. Although
Wired might need to ride the wave of new technologies and platforms, the
subscriptions tell the sad truth...
Down, down, down
we go...
In content strategy the content comes before the platform. This is the only way to
avoid costly and useless actions.

34. Content strategy cannot be bought ready made, it should always be
tailored to the needs of the company....
One strategy,
please!
Lucky for you, we have pinpointed a few critical items that every
content strategy should have!

35. ond
lways resp ny!
o uld a he co mpa
gy s h t
t s trate trategy of
nten s s
1. Co he busines
to t
Responds to
strategy!

36. Alko describes itself
as a responsible
alcohol store with
expertise and good
service......
The service and
expertise can
be seen also on
their FB page!

37. nces
au d ie !
es the em
gy defin ct w ith th
trate tera
ntent s way to in
2 . Co he
and t
Defines the
audiences!

38. Williams-Sonoma serves their culinary customers with recipes,
inspiring cooking and great photos! Yummy!

39. tent
es the con s!
y defin any ’s nee d
rateg p
ntent s t to the co m
3. Co ord ing
acc
Defines
content!

40. And content doesn’t always mean blogs and news articles. For Ikea,
good content means customer service and enabling purchases.

41. nt?
o d* conte
hat is *go
But w
What is good content?
What is good content?
What is good content?
What is good
content? What is good content?
What is good content? What is good
content?

42. Definitely not this! Good content is not about the amount of content...

43. It’s good to realize that people have the same
needs in online enviroment that they have irl.
Self-actualization Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs!
Esteem
Love/belonging
Safety
Physiological

44. Images Games,
virals, The hierarchy of
campaigns... Homo Contentus!
Social media,
Timeliness Blogs, etc...
Product search, customer
Service service chat, etc...
Basic information Product information, contact
info, etc...
Not just SEO but granulating
Findability the information to different
platforms!

45. “Good content is useful, in it’s best form,
best quality, fresh and gives the customer
what he or she needs.” – Eric Weismann, 2011
At the end of the day, good content is always
something like this.

46. Test
thes yo ur c
e qu o
esti ntent b
ons! y as
king
Do you care
and share? To the right
audiences?
The content
they’re Efficiently and
interested in? productively?
With measurable
goals?

47. Also with content we need to do measuring. It’s great that
companies are nowadays measuring e.g. visits, bounce
rates, and time spent on pages. But we need to be careful
with the results we get from analytics. Spending time on a
corporate website doesn’t actually tell anything about the
quality of the content...

48. What if your customers spend time on your website
because they just can’t find what they’re looking for or do
not understand the content you give them?

49. So besides basic analytics, we also need qualitative
analysis. We at Vapa Media think that qualitative analysis
should measure the satisfaction of the customer.
Content = content?

50. We can measure satisfaction on
two levels!
Quantitative
Qualitative

51. Quantitative
contacts
money
time

52. Qualitative
loyalty
respect
fanship
only choice

53. By measuring these things we can know
if the Homo Contentus is satisfied!
(Picture: www.humerusonline.com)

54. But how can we turn
content into money?
Well, we got some bad news for you: you can’t.
But don’t worry, content strategy will bring you
money because....

55. It’ll save you from
useless actions!
It will find the right
audiences and best
messages!
It will help you to
measure, analyze and
by that to develop in
online environments!
It will help you to
act as a publisher on
the web!

56. But just to remind you, even small
things can make a difference. Have
a look at what Sticky Content’s
Catherine Toole found out about
content...
If your online store’s content is
good, this percentage of your
customers will buy more!
And if the content sucks… well,
This many will return! this many will slam your company
to their friends!

57. So all we’re trying to say here
is that it’s the content
strategy who is the king!
(Picture: www.humerusonline.com)

58. www.vapamedia.fi
facebook.com/vapamedia
twitter.com/VapaMedia
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