A presentation breaking down how Content Strategists and Technical Writers can get involved in the greater User Experience process.

1. @Speaker #LavaCon
UX for Content Strategists
and Technical Writers
What is Content Strategy?
Patrick Neeman
Director of Product Design, Apptio
@usabilitycounts
www.usabilitycounts.com
Troy Parke
Associate UX Director, Disney
@uxhow
www.uxhow.com

2. @usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon
The Speakers
Troy Parke
Associate Director of UX,
Disney Parks and Resorts
Drinks Diet Coke
Patrick Neeman
Director of Product Design,
Apptio
Drinks Whiskey

3. Mindy Messenger
Content Strategist at University of Washington
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon

4. What is Content Strategy?
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon

5. “
A Definition
I define content
strategy as
planning for the
creation, delivery,
and governance of
useful, usable
content.”
Kristina Halvorson
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon

6. @usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon
A Definition
Getting the right
content to the right
user at the right
time.”
Kevin P. Nichols, SapientNitro “

7. @usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon
Wikipedia Definition
Content strategy is the
practice of planning the
content creation, delivery,
and governance. A
repeatable system that
defines the entire editorial
content development
process.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Content_strategy “

9. Municipality of Anchorage
• 300k page website
• Several different content
management systems
• One webmaster that herded the
cats
• No understanding of the users
• No stated goals

10. Municipality of Anchorage
• Talked to stakeholders
• Extensive user research
• Content Audit: Quantitative Inventory
of 30k of 300k pages
• Distilled it to 17 page patterns
• Consolidated ~30 departments on
one content management platform
with governance rules
• Developed web parts that had fixed
content structures and could be
shared

11. Municipality of Anchorage:
Definition
• Key themes and messages
• Recommended topics
• Content purpose
• Content gap analysis
• Metadata frameworks and
related content attributes
• Search engine optimization
• Implications of strategic
recommendations on content
creation, publication, and
governance
!
http://alistapart.com/article/thedisciplineofcontentstrategy
Published December 16, 2008 | Work on site started January
2008

12. Right Content, Right User, Right Time

13. Who’s doing it now?
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon

14. The Competencies of User Experience
User Research
and Analytics
Understanding the
users through
observations and
data
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon
Content
Strategy
Planning for the
creation, delivery
and governance of
usable content
Information
Architecture
Organizing
information in a
product or website
in a usable way
Interaction
Design
Designing interactive
behaviors with a
specific focus on
their use
Visual
Design
Designing the visual
qualities in an
aesthetically
pleasing way
Front End
Development
Building the
interactive behaviors
to be used by the
end user
http://www.nickfinck.com/blog/entry/ux_career_progression_finding_a_niche_building_a_personal_brand/

15. Information Architects
User Research
and Analytics
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon
Content
Strategy
Information
Architecture
Interaction
Design
Visual
Design
Front End
Development

16. Interaction Designer
User Research
and Analytics
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon
Content
Strategy
Information
Architecture
Interaction
Design
Visual
Design
Front End
Development

17. Web or Visual Designers
User Research
and Analytics
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon
Content
Strategy
Information
Architecture
Interaction
Design
Visual
Design
Front End
Development

18. How to get involved in the
process?
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon

19. Work with the designers
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20. Recommended Resources
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon

21. Content Strategists on Twitter
• Kristina Halvorson — @halvorson
• Jonathon Colman — @jcolman
• Misty Weaver — @meaningmeasure
• Factor — @factorfirm
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon

22. @usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon
Content
Strategy for
the Web
Kristina Halvorson and
Melissa Rach

23. Exercise
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon

24. Travel Website: Content Strategy
• Who is the audience?
• What are the content
priorities?
• What’s the voice and
tone?
@usabilitycounts @uxhow #lavacon
• How often is the content
published?
• Who manages the
process?
• Who writes the content?