Post on 16-Apr-2017
Communicating With Purpose Digital Content Strategy for Higher Education
Georgy Cohen CUPRAP
March 11, 2016
A bit about me…
Content is hard.
I’m Georgy.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/5241459773https://www.flickr.com/photos/saltygal/1289079855
I’m Georgy.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/5241459773https://www.flickr.com/photos/saltygal/1289079855
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adam_sporka/324696196/
Blank page panic
I’m Georgy.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/5241459773https://www.flickr.com/photos/saltygal/1289079855
What is content strategy?
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.“
Content strategy plans for the creation, publication, and governance of useful, usable content.
Kristina Halvorson Author, Content Strategy for the Web
“
I’m Georgy.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/5241459773https://www.flickr.com/photos/saltygal/1289079855
Content strategy helps ensure that our content is goal-oriented, useful,
sustainable, and effective.
Content is the foot soldier that represents our brand and
helps us achieve our goals.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/usarmyafrica/4067719395
Our content requires ongoing care and feeding.
(That includes the organizations, processes and
standards that inform it.)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/myri_bonnie/11867181635
Content thrives when it has purpose.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/unmundane/3346378735
https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalnc/8245694174/
Content strategy is relationship management
But content is pretty frustrating…
There’s just SO MUCH of it!
It is really hard to keep track of all the
details.
What is s/he working on over there? I
I have no idea.
I don’t know how video/
magazines/social/web/PR works.
It’s complicated. I don’t have the skills, know the process, or
have the time.
I don’t have a lot of guidance, so I am kind of
winging it.
It can get really political, really
quickly.
What came of this work? Was my effort
even worth it?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adam_sporka/324696196/
Blank page panic
Content strategy helps ease those frustrations by answering questions
before they come up.
22
The newsroom of now, the newsroom of the future, is very much a studio environment of specialists that collaborate. Your editors are people who understand opportunity, and then they gather those people together and produce it.
- Cory Haik, Washington Post
“
http://www.niemanlab.org/2012/06/does-your-newsroom-have-a-smart-refrigerator-strategy/
Planning#cssummit @radiofreegeorgy
Without People, You’re Nothing.
Georgy Cohen #hewebpitt
April 9, 2014 #confabfeelings
http://www.flickr.com/photos/confabevents/10855537113
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.
Philo of Alexandria
23
The newsroom of now, the newsroom of the future, is very much a studio environment of specialists that collaborate. Your editors are people who understand opportunity, and then they gather those people together and produce it.
- Cory Haik, Washington Post
“
http://www.niemanlab.org/2012/06/does-your-newsroom-have-a-smart-refrigerator-strategy/
Planning#cssummit @radiofreegeorgy
Without People, You’re Nothing.
Georgy Cohen #hewebpitt
April 9, 2014 #confabfeelings
http://www.flickr.com/photos/confabevents/10855537113
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.
Philo of Alexandria
Content strategy is made up of various tools and processes designed to help facilitate stronger communications.
Goals and Messaging
Goals
http://alistapart.com/blog/post/evaluating-ideas
Goals
http://alistapart.com/blog/post/evaluating-ideas
Content planning pillars• Goals: What are we trying to accomplish?
• Audience: Who are we trying to reach?
• Message: What are we trying to say to them?
• Medium: What is the best way to say it?
• Action: What do we want them to do next?
Core Strategy Statement
Source: The Content Strategy Toolkit
CUPRAP University accomplishes __________ and
__________ by publishing content that is
__________ and __________ that makes
__________ feel __________ and __________
so they can __________ or __________.
Goal
Goal
Descriptive Word/Phrase Descriptive Word/Phrase
Audience Emotion or Adjective Emotion or Adjective
Complete This Action Complete This Action
Messaging Framework
Source: Brain Traffic
ProofValue StatementFirst Impression
What first impression do we want our
audiences to have when they interact with our content?
What do we want our audiences to know or
believe about the value we provide?
What will demonstrate that what we want them to know or believe is true?
When someone visits ohio.edu for the first time, it is important for first impressions to be positive, real and lasting. Having a well-planned approach to how content is prioritized and purposed is how [we] have focused [our] efforts.
Renea Morris Exec. Director, University Communications & Marketing
Ohio University April 2014
“
www.ohio.edu/compass/stories/13-14/4/Branding-OHIO-website-4.cfm
Content inventories and audits
Content inventories help us learn what content is on our website.
Content audits help us understand whether or not that content is
valuable or effective.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31954002@N08/16988822232
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adam_sporka/324696196/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31954002@N08/16988822232
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adam_sporka/324696196/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cannedtuna/4853380320
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adam_sporka/324696196/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31954002@N08/16988822232
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adam_sporka/324696196/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cannedtuna/4853380320
https://www.flickr.com/photos/31954002@N08/16988822232
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adam_sporka/324696196/
Tools for content inventories and audits
• Content Insight • Flock • Screaming Frog • Content Auditor by Kapost • Blaze • Excel or Google Spreadsheets!
Editorial calendars
https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalnc/8245694174/
An editorial calendar is a tool for planning, scheduling and organizing web content publishing.
• Homepage • News • Blog • Social media • Program deadlines
and details
• Profiles/testimonials/brand stories
• Course information • Faculty/staff bios • Tuition and fees
What can you manage with an editorial calendar?
Components of an editorial calendar• Section(s)
• Topic
• Source
• Format/content type
• Media (photos, video, etc.)
• Description
• Links
• Channels
• Category (e.g. school, initiative, campus)
• Workflow
• Roles (author, editor, owner, approver, publisher)
• Dates (draft, review, revision, approval, publish, promotion)
• Status
• Brand alignment
• Audience alignment
• Outcomes
Training and guidelines
To execute a content strategy, people must be trained,
supported, and empowered to fulfill their designated role.
• Reinforce consistent, strategic content creation at a tactical level
• Align style guidelines offered with types of content creation likely to happen at various levels across the institution
• Train and maintain awareness of style guidelines
Style guides
•How to Maintain •Message Architecture • Style (incl. breakdown by page type)
• Voice and tone • Client-specific • House style guide
• Content Guidelines • Content type A • Content type B • Content type C
• Taxonomy •Web Writing and Publishing Best Practices • SEO Guidelines
Style guides
Content guidelines
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49392356@N03/8446610848/
EXAMPLES OF OTHER SCHOOLS
http://sites.utexas.edu/redesign/files/2014/09/University_Communications_September2014.pptx.pdf
EXAMPLES OF OTHER SCHOOLS
http://sites.utexas.edu/redesign/files/2014/09/University_Communications_September2014.pptx.pdf
EXAMPLES OF OTHER SCHOOLS
http://sites.utexas.edu/redesign/files/2014/09/University_Communications_September2014.pptx.pdf
EXAMPLES OF OTHER SCHOOLS
http://sites.utexas.edu/redesign/files/2014/09/University_Communications_September2014.pptx.pdf
From “Training the CMS” by Eileen Webb via A List Apart http://alistapart.com/article/training-the-cms
When we embed instructions where they’re most relevant and helpful, we help our authors build good habits and confidence. We allow them to maintain and expand a complex site without feeling overwhelmed.
Eileen Webb http://alistapart.com/article/training-the-cms
“
Cross-Training: News (example)
Headline
Tweet
Summary/ Meta Tag
Body
Guidance for best practices for Headline text
Guidance for best practices for Facebook text
Guidance for best practices for Tweet text
Guidance for best practices for Summary text
Guidance for best practices for Body text
https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalnc/8245694174/
Bake your up-front planning into your guidelines, which become the law governing your web content.
• Help close knowledge gaps • Make a high-level strategy
actionable and accessible • Empower and inform
people to fulfill their role in a content strategy
• Document standards, criteria, & processes
• Ongoing education
Training
Editorial meetings and content communities
https://www.flickr.com/photos/22921004@N06/4735850445
Putting the appropriate 12 people in a room does not guarantee that productive things will happen.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wscullin/3770015203
• Source ideas from across campus • Include social, photo, and video • Discuss and decide on content planning • Share outcomes and measurement • Own it and facilitate it, but don’t dominate it • Encourage collaboration (which promotes efficiency!) • Share guidelines and revisit editorial priorities • Take, share, and archive minutes • Learn about other campus & communications functions
Editorial meetings
Content Scoring
Story Goal 1 Goal 2 Audience 1 Audience 2 Message 1 Message 2 Total
A
B
C
Evaluate each story idea for the degree of alignment: 3 = High Alignment 2 = Medium Alignment 1 = Low Alignment Source: The Content Strategy Toolkit
StoryWhere else could it be published/promoted?
Why would that be appropriate?
What roles, skills, or steps would be required?
A
B
C
Content Scoring
Source: The Content Strategy Toolkit
Build a communications culture.
• Connection to information • Connection to each other • Single conduit for disseminating information • Easy to find the heroes/rock stars
Build a content community
Governance
Content ownership and workflow
https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalnc/8245694174/
Without web governance, web publishing becomes chaotic.
• Publishing workflow (including roles, tasks, timeframes)
• Training, guidelines, and documentation
• Internal communication • Gap assessments
(knowledge, processes) • Measurement and testing
• Defined structure of authority and accountability
• Content communities • Managing resources
(human, financial, etc.)
Governance checklist
• Types of governance models: Centralized • Consistent, uniform policies, processes, guidelines, and standards • Requires large staff to manage disparate units • Does not account for variety inherent in large organizations
Marcom
Unit Unit Unit Unit
Governance models
• Types of governance models: Coordinated • Allow for tiers of ownership and various roles • Opportunities for two-way collaboration and partnership • Can foster sense of community, inclusion, and buy-in, and encourage peer support • Central level must own training, support, guidelines, resources, and active maintenance of
relationships and community
Marcom
Unit Unit Unit Unit
Governance models
• Types of governance models: Decentralized • Processes are organic and may vary • Fosters individual freedom and innovation, but also silos • May be little or no connection/relevance to central brand/goals • Any dotted-line relationships are inconsistent and informal • Difficult if not impossible to manage or control
Marcom
Unit Unit Unit Unit
Governance models
https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalnc/8245694174/
For a plan to come together, you need someone to own it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49392356@N03/8446610848/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49392356@N03/8446610848/
EXAMPLES OF OTHER SCHOOLS
http://www.ohio.edu/webadvisory/contentstrategy.cfm
EXAMPLES OF OTHER SCHOOLS
http://www.ohio.edu/webadvisory/contentstrategy.cfm
Measurement
https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalnc/8245694174/
We need to measure content in order to plan content.
• Answers questions you have about your content • Must determine which numbers matter to you, and why • Measure against established goals and success metrics,
which should align with organizational goals • Place numbers in context by measuring patterns over
time and considering offline events • Validate qualitative analysis
Measurement
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pleeker/117683322
MeasurementCreate
Publish
PromoteMeasure
Analyze
Plan• Answer questions about your website
• Confirm content effectiveness (and retool/abandon ineffective efforts)
• Validate qualitative analysis • Understand user patterns
over time • Make more informed content
decisions, better serving both organizational objectives and user needs
• Offers externally-sourced data amidst internal flux
MeasurementCreate
Publish
PromoteMeasure
Analyze
Plan
• Collect content outcome data from across platforms (web, social, email)
• Plot data against success metrics
• Share outcomes internally
• Observe any other patterns/trends
• Given these outcomes, what do we do next?
• Consider new platforms/metrics
Story
Email Newsletter
.edu News Feeds
Homepage
News Site
• Pageviews • Time on page • Desktop/mobile
• Likes • Comments • Shares • Views
• Retweets • Likes • Replies
• Clickthrus• Pageviews • Time on page • Desktop/mobile
• Pageviews • Time on page • Desktop/mobile
Measurement
MeasurementAnalytics Measurement Framework
(adapted from Avinash Kaushik)
Business Objectives What is your website’s purpose?
Content Goals What actions do you want people to take on your website?
KPIs What relevant metrics can help measure goals over time?
Targets How do you rate success?
Segments What visitor attributes will provide meaningful insights?
Next steps
I’m Georgy.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/5241459773
How do you become a content strategist?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/saltygal/1289079855
[Content strategy] should always be evolving and always be a goal to improve it. … Every time your content becomes more strategic, the better your university gets.
Tim Jones Associate Vice President of Marketing
Clarkson University
“
http://meetcontent.com/blog/case-in-point-content-strategy-at-n-c-state/