Secrets of Brand-Driven Content Strategy workshop

@mbloomstein | #IAS13 1

Margot Bloomstein IA Summit April 2013 @mbloomstein

Unless you understand what people are trying to do with your content you cannot know if it’s working or not.” Gerry McGovern

Your serve. And who are you again?

What is content strategy?

Planning for the creation, aggregation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable, and appropriate content in an experience.

Steps along the way…

Message architecture Content audit/inventory Prescriptive content matrix Content model Editorial style guidelines Metadata guidelines Governance guidelines

Deliverables are merely punctuation in the conversation. Don’t let them replace the conversation.

Why content strategy?

Because we all want the same thing, but content keeps getting in the way.

Content demands attention

Because we all want the same thing, but content keeps getting in the way.

(CC) http://www.flickr.com/photos/slworking

Content requires time

Sustainable content is content you can create—and maintain—without going broke, without lowering quality in ways that make the content suck, and without working employees into nervous breakdowns. Erin Kissane, The Elements of Content Strategy

Content dredges up politics

©Margot Bloomstein

to change, empower, support, advocate, teach, simplify, consolidate, remind, inform…

You cannot act in passive voice

to change, empower, support, advocate, teach, simplify, consolidate, remind, inform… Content demands an owner & ownership.

You cannot act in passive voice

This is your job now.

©Skillset.org

First things first.

What do you need to communicate?

First things first.

Why even…redesign the website, let the CEO start blogging, audit the content, start engaging on Twitter, consolidate the site architecture, add video testimonials, incorporate user reviews, develop new brand guidelines… if you don’t know what you need to communicate?

If you don’t know what you need to communicate, how will you know if you succeed?

What’s a message architecture?

A hierarchy of communication goals that reflects a common vocabulary.

A little thing with big impact.

How could we prove this is a car not like anything else out there? It’s a small car, but it’s premium. You get a Porsche 911 ride for a fifth of the cost. It’s got history… but in Europe. You need to give people content to give them history.”

Message architecture

Premium technology • Assertive; ready to perform as a driver’s car • Proactive and supportive of spontaneity Classic design • Experienced and savvy Cheekiness • Smart, “punny,” hip • Fun, gleeful

If these emails are boring you and you don’t mind missing out on all the lip-smackin’ stuff we’ll be sending in the future, simply send a message to owner-unsubscribe@insiders.miniusa.com and include “Unsubscribe” and your favorite fruit in the subject field.

Message architecture drives the user experience

Nomenclature Calls to action Instructional content Sentence structure Diction

…in content

Photographic angles Dark backgrounds Bold headlines Thick stroke weights

…and in design

…and in the choice of features and content types

A hierarchy of communication goals that reflects a common vocabulary.

Concrete, shared terminology, not abstract concepts.

Welcoming, but elite. Selective?

Accessible, open, and premiere.

Traditional, but edgy.

Words are valuable, but meaningless without context and priority. (In a few minutes, we’ll give them context.)

Why do this?

Words are cheaper than comps.

Why do this?

Let creative colleagues refine the concept, rather than confirm the purpose.

• Engage in a tangible, hands-on way • Encourage debate and conversation • Identify points of disagreement • Prevent seagulling • Force prioritization • Encourage ownership & investment

Cardsorting

• Groups of ~5 • Pick 2 people to represent the brand • Everyone else: put on your content

strategy hats!

Group 1: You’re a nonprofit eldercare provider in Florida. To attract a broader range of volunteers and donors, you want to change how people view senior living in the 21st century. Group 2: You’re an excellent Midwestern university known and valued locally—but you want to grow in relevance and attract more applicants , faculty, and funding from around the country and world.

Cardsorting

Step one: • Who we are • Who we’re not • Who we’d like to be

Go with your gut for about 20 minutes.

Cardsorting

Step two: • Who we are Who we’d like to be

Think aspirational. What needs to change? ~15 minutes

Cardsorting

Step three: • Form groups: what goes together? • Prioritize the goals or groups • Tell the story of those aspirations ~15 minutes

Why do this?

Gain standards by which to conduct a qualitative audit. (What is “good” anyway?)

Why do this?

Promote new content types to manifest the message architecture—not just because they’re trendy or feasible.

So where to from here?

Content audit: measure quality against the aspirational attributes in the message architecture.

So where to from here?

New content types: prioritize features against the new communication goals. Experience? Portfolio. Trust and responsiveness? Testimonials.

Audit time!

The organization Established and premiere • Founded in 1896 • International reputation for depth in several areas

• Not really a “destination” for tourists—but definitely for academics and researchers

Trusted • Known for research among competitors, but not local audience • Target audience is loyal, but places greater appreciation in its

tradition and history than modern updates Kid-friendly • Seen as ideal for family visits, school field trips, but relatively

unknown for adult applicability within the local target audience

Message architecture Engaged and curious • Creating knowledge by supporting rigorous scientific research

and disseminating information • Driving the public discussion to promote stewardship • Comprehensive in questions, open-minded in answers Welcoming • Accessible “for ages 5 – 95” • Relevant, tailored Applicable and relevant • Practical; engaged & empathizing with the community • Immediate, cutting-edge, and “in touch” Innovative • Ends > means in research, development, and engagement

Audit to understand what you have and what you need. Don’t just do it for fun. Before you can start, you need to know why. What are you trying to learn?

Each section* gets its own tab.

Every tab tracks the same data

Quantitative: • Head count: what do we have? • Is it consistent?

• Are similar content types consistent in size and structure?

• Is there parity of length, level of detail, and tone?

Every tab tracks the same data

Qualitative: is it any good? • ROT analysis: redundant, outdated, trivial • Current, relevant, and appropriate

to the message architecture • Does it serve the communication goals? • Does it speak to the target audience?

Each piece of content gets a row

Set up dropdowns to constrain data • Data Data validation List Sources

Message architecture Passionate about strategic discovery • Creative, spirited, inspired • Visionary, innovative thought leader and industry leader • Flexible Tactical and hands-on • In the trenches, in touch • Detail-oriented and methodical Pioneering • Groundbreaking, trend-setting • Modern and savvy People-focused and market-driven • Trusted by medical professionals, researchers, and media • Industry news source

What will you learn?

• What do we have? • What are the patterns, elements, & types? • Is it any good? • Do people even like it? (Check analytics!) • What do we need to update? • What do we need to translate? • Where do we need more?

Where can you go?

• Prescribe new content types • Advocate for more frequent content updates • Promote a new editorial calendar • Reallocate budget across social media channels

Content audit/inventory

Prescriptive content matrix

Content model

Editorial style guidelines

Metadata guidelines

Governance guidelines

Content model

Metadata guidelines

Gap analysis

Content model

Metadata guidelines

Gap analysis

Content model

Metadata guidelines

Gap analysis

By whom & when

But first things first: What are you trying to communicate? What content do you have and what do you need to do that?

Thank you!

Margot Bloomstein @mbloomstein margot@appropriateinc.com slideshare.net/mbloomstein amzn.to/CSatWork Title image: http://flickr.com/KandyJaxx All other images property of their respective owners, used under a Creative Commons license, or copyright as noted.

Secrets of Brand-Driven Content Strategy workshop

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