7. Look Deep Within
• Un-researched Assumptions
• Isolated Opinions
• Loss of Time and Money
8.
9. Who Are These People Anyhow?
• User Interviews
• Survey
• Multivariate and A/B
Test
• Website Analytics**
•Social and Reputation Analytics
•Search and Keyword Analytics
•Contact Analytics
•Syndicated Research
10. The Other Guys
• How are competitors websites organized?
• What are they talking about?
• What’s their format?
• What’s their branding and messaging like?
• Where else are they active?
11. The Power Players
• Bloggers
• Social Media
Sites
• Celebrities
• TV Shows/Talk
shows
• #Hashtags
• Framilies
• Online Forums
• Trade Shows
• ETC…
12. Keep Your Eyes Open
• Current Events
• Advances in Technology
• Trends
• Best Practices
14. • Share your results with
stakeholders
• Have a Summary Document
Editor's Notes
These factors are necessary for your content strategy. Make sure you analyze the size of your project and your analysis is scaled for that. In other words just because a project is small doesn’t mean it gets left behind, you still need to analyze it not skip the analysis entirely.
According to the chapter the best way to conduct internal analysis is to talk to people inside the organization.Interview-have a one on one discussionGroup Discussion-talk to several people at onceQuestionaire/Survey-aren’t ideal but can help gather loads of info at onceLISTEN TO PEOPLE NO MATTER WHAT METHOD YOU CHOOSEThese things help you figure out what the important factors are
It’s important to follow these four topics when you are ready to interact with other people:Target audiences- who do you want to start a conversation with? Define your target audience clearlyMessaging- what do you want those target users to learn? Messaging means something different to everyone. Use it to prioritize content, keep content consistent and get the correct message across you want to your target audience. Channels- what is the purpose, how are they connected and what channels are used to deliver content? You can use several channels that work together to get your message across to your target audience.Workflow/Governance- how is content managed, maintained and created? People have multiple roles when creating content some examples of these are requesters, providers, creators, reviewers and publishers. Find out who does what because every department might have their own set of rules. This will help stakeholders understand the time and money put into a project and allows for realistic expectations.
When you do internal analysis these are the questions that get answered.
What happens when internal analysis is ignored or out of date? -strategies are built on un-researched assumptions-isolated opinions-loss of time and money
User Interviews- in depth, structured conversations with a user, usually conducted in person.Survey- series of multiple choice, fill in the blank, and open ended questions. Multivariate and A/B test- comparison of how different versions of important pages perform on your live websites. Website Analytics- detailed statistics about visitors use your website. Analytics is a favorite to use for research because it is a goldmine of information. Example: site gets little traffic, doesn’t mean people don’t like it just don’t know it exists Social and Reputation Analytics- measurements of the words people use when they look for content through search engines such as Google and search on your website Contact Analytics- measurements of why and how users contact you such as email, calling, or chat and how they respond. Syndicated research- research conducted by an independent company or organization and often sponsored by several companies within an industry.
Organized: by looking at your competitors site you can discover if: 1. labels have emerged in the industry ex: technical support is now only called support. You need to decide if you want to change from traditional to modern. 2. see if there are any trends towards organizing content by audience, target market, product type or service. 3. See where you need to change your layout. Maybe you need to borrow a few ideas how content is organized, categorized or structured. Talking about: Use this as a way to see what your competitors AREN’T talking about rather than what they are so you can differentiate your from them.Format: Do they use mostly text, podcasts, videos, forums, employee blogs. This can help you find any suitable options that might fit your target audiences, timeframe, internal resources and budget.Brand and Messaging: You don’t want to sound like them so take notes on key things like voice, images, production videos, commercials, etc.Active elsewhere: Find out other places they may have recognition, for example a blog or ad campaigns. Do they have a facebook, tumblr, twitter? Do they have an app?
These are the people and resources whose opinions shape your customers’ opinions of your organization.
Everything and anything can change your content. Be sure to keep checking on what is happening around you. These are some examples of things that impact your final content recommendations.
No matter how a user finds you, they almost ALWAYS have a specific goals and expectations. Well, if your content doesn’t meet their expectations quickly or at all, they will leave. Period. So you really need to find out what their goals are. Find a way to ask them so they will stay. This means, find out your competitors-your user may be looking around.
Get your stakeholders on board and show them what you and your team have been working on. Have a summary document ready for each one with business goals, internal requirements and competitive advantages so that everyone is on the same page.
Once you have all this accomplished your complete and ready for strategy time
