ReturnonEngagement

ReturnonEngagementContentStrategyandWebDesignTechniquesforDigitalMarketing

SECONDEDITION

TimFrickandKateEyler-Werve

Firstpublished2010byFocalPress

Thiseditionpublished2015

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Notices

Knowledgeandbestpracticeinthisfieldareconstantlychanging.Asnewresearchandexperiencebroadenour

understanding,changesinresearchmethods,professionalpractices,ormedicaltreatmentmaybecomenecessary.

Practitionersandresearchersmustalwaysrelyontheirownexperienceandknowledgeinevaluatingandusingany

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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData

Frick,Tim.

Returnonengagement:contentstrategyandwebdesigntechniquesfordigitalmarketing/Tim

FrickandKateEyler-Werve.–Secondedition.

pagescm

Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.

1.Internetmarketing.2.Socialmedia–Marketing.3.Strategicplanning.I.Eyler-Werve,

Kate.II.Title.

HF5415.1265.F7452014

658.8’72—dc232013051221

ISBN:978-0-415-84461-1(pbk)

ISBN:978-0-203-75181-7(ebk)

TypesetinMinionPro

byApexCoVantage,LLC

Contents

1.DigitalMarketingStrategyBasics

2.ContentStrategy

3.SEOandContentStrategy

4.DesignStrategy:AnIntegratedApproach

5.MeasurementStrategy

6.WritingfortheWeb

7.ProducingWebVideo

8.ContentandSocialNetworks

9.CreatingUsableDesigns

10.ClimateRide’sPedalPower

Index

ChapterOneDigitalMarketingStrategyBasics

We’ll start and end this book with Climate Ride. This small, virtual organization, whichproducesmulti-dayendurancesportingevents toraisemoneyforenvironmentalcauses,hasgrown from an idea in 2008 to a vibrant fundraising community that has successfully useddigitaltoolsasacriticalcomponentoftheirgrowthstrategy.Withminimalresources,theco-founders set out to create a cycling event that could transform lives and raisemoney for asustainablefuture.

Figure1.1ClimateRide’sf lagshipeventendsonthestepsoftheU.S.Capital,sendingaclearmessagetopoliticiansabout

theimportanceofenvironmentally-friendlylegislation.

Justfiveyearsaftertheidea’sinception,ClimateRidehasgrantedover$1.5milliontotheirbeneficiary organizations, which have a measurable impact on environmentally-friendlypolicy, nature conservation, triple bottom line business, bicycle and active transportationadvocacy,andmanyothernationalprogramscommittedtoasustainablefutureforpeopleandplanet.Theorganizationhasexpanded theireventofferings froma singlemulti-daycyclingevent fromNewYorkCity toWashington,DCtosimilarevents inCalifornia, theMidwest,and a five-day 50-mile hike throughGlacierNational Park, one of the areas in the UnitedStateshithardestbyclimatechange.

Climate Ride relies on its community of avid cyclists and environmentalists to fill their

events and raise critically needed funds for these organizations. And they do so mostlythroughthestrategicuseofdigitaltools.

Figure1.2ClimateRidefundsasustainablefutureinseveralkeyareas.

Climate Ride co-founders Caeli Quinn and Geraldine Carter didn’t have much of amarketingbudget,butquicklyfoundthatdigitaltoolslikeblogs,socialmedia,onlineforums,photo sharing,mobile apps, and so onwould play a key role in fundraising, outreach andorganizational growth. Cost-effective with the “viral coefficient” potential to reach a vastaudienceveryquickly,thesetoolsandtacticsarecriticaltoClimateRide’ssuccess.

The take-away here? With some knowledge, drive and resourcefulness, building asuccessful organization using primarily digital tools and strategy is within anyone’s reach.ClimateRideisjustoneexampleofmanythathavedonethis.

It startswitha solid strategy:bigpicture stuff, setting tools asideand focusingonvision,mission and messaging. In this chapter, we’ll define what it takes to create a successfulstrategy, thenapplythatstrategytomultipledisciplines:marketingstrategy,digitalstrategy,and content strategy. Then,we’ll outline the steps you can take to begin building out yourown organization’s digital strategy. We will cover Climate Ride’s digital strategy andexecutionofmanytacticscoveredthroughoutthebookindetailinthelastchapter.

DefiningDigitalMarketingStrategy

Theweb is infinite, your budget and resources are not. A good digitalmarketing strategyshouldhelpyoumakedecisionsabouthowtouseresourcestoachieveorganizationalgoalsondigitalplatforms.

Adigitalmarketingstrategyshoulddotwothings:

1. Clearlyconnectdigitalplatformgoalstoorganizationalobjectives.2. Definesuccess,soyoucanmakedata-baseddecisionsaboutwhentopersevereand

whentopivot.

Ofcourse,“digitalplatforms”coversanever-wideningarrayofdevices,servicesandchannels,eachonerequiringspecificskillsandinsightsthatoftencrossdisciplinessuchasUX,content,developmentandmarketing.Asaresult,twoprimarystrategicchallengesinthedigitalfieldare:

1. Integrating multiple disciplines, including content creation, user experience, webdesign,webdevelopment,analyticsandmarketing,intoonecoherentdigitalstrategy.

2. Developingstrategy-drivenprinciples,guidelines,andgoalsthatallowforflexibilityandextensibility.

Figure1.3It’sdangeroustogoalone—takethisbook!

Whiledigitalmarketingstrategieswillvarywidelybyorganization,thisbookwilllayoutaset of foundational principles for understanding how to create a comprehensive digitalmarketingstrategythatalignswithyourorganizationalgoals.Wewillalsosharearangeofpractical tips and tools to guide you through the process of developing and refining yourdigitalmarketingstrategy.

ThePointlessLandGrab

Figure1.4CompassXStrategyfounderNancyGoldstein

Marketing strategist Nancy Goldstein owns CompassX Strategy, a certified Illinois BCorporation (more on B Corps later in this book) that creates sustainable growth forpassionatecompanies.Sheadvisesthatorganizationsbeclearontheirmission,message,andvaluesbeforedivingintodigital.HereisNancy’sadvice:

Marketingisdead.Everyonesaysso.Infact,ifyouGoogle“marketingisdead,”youwillget238,000,000responsesallsayingthatnow,theonlythingthatmattersisdigital,keywordsandengagement.Tosomeextent,thatistrue.Companies canno longer talk at people regardless ofwhether theywant to be talked at.Digital relevancy andengagementmatter.

But in the quest for digital relevancy and engagement as defined through keywords, likes and shares,manycompanieshavelosttheirway.Withoutclearbrandobjectives,thisquest isreallyjustapointless landgrab.Justbecauseyoushowupasthefirstresultforapopular-but-not-yet-ownedphrasedoesn’tnecessarilymeanitisrightforyourbrand.Sixhundredpeoplelikingorsharingyourcatmemehaslittlebearingonwhethertheywillchooseyourbrandorconnectwithyouinawaythatmatterstoyou.Unlessyouaresellingcatposters.

Toensurethatthemarketingactionsyoutakearerelevanttobothyouraudienceandyourbrand,considerthefollowingquestions:

Does this action ref lecthow theaudienceyouwant toattract thinksabout theproductor serviceyouoffer?Doesthisactionref lecthowyouwantyourbrandtobeknown?

Whatisthedesiredresultofyouraudienceengagingwiththisactivity?Howdoesithelpyouachieveyourbusinessgoals?

Onceyouhaveansweredthesequestions,yourmarketingefforts—digitalorotherwise—willhavemorepurposeandwillbemorelikelytobuildyourbusinessinameaningfulway.

ElementsOfDigitalMarketingStrategy

Inthisbookwecoverthreekeycomponentsofadigitalmarketingstrategy:contentstrategy,designstrategyandmeasurementstrategy.

1.ContentStrategy

ContentStrategyrequires identifyingspecificgroupsofusers,developingkeymessagesandcontentbasedon theirneedsand interests, creatingcontentoptimized for thechannels theyuseanddistributingthatcontentatavelocitythatmaximizesitsvaluetotheuser.

Thegoalistodevelopcontentthatisvaluabletoyouraudiencesanddeliveritwhereandwhentheyneedit.ContentStrategyincludesthefollowingcomponents:

ChannelStrategy. Channels are any platform you communicate through, includingwebsites,apps,videos,emails,games,IVAS,andsocialmedia:Twitter,Facebook,andsoon.Thegoalhereistofigureoutwhatchannelswillhelpyoubesttellyourstorytoatargetedaudience.Channelsthataremostrelevanttoyouraudiencewillobviouslybringthemostmeasurablesuccess.Inotherwords,don’topenaTwitteraccountjustbecause“everyonedoes”—haveaplan.MessagingStrategy.Messagingstrategyisthepracticeofcreatingcustommessagesgearedatdifferenttargetaudiences.Promotion Strategy. Creating useful content is just half the battle—developing astrategytopromoteyourcontenttailoredtoeachaudienceandchannelwillhelpyouensurethatyourcontentreachesyourtargetaudience.Governance Strategy. Governance and maintenance guides provide a structure toassess your content and resources, establish ownership and approval process, andensurequality.CommunityBuildingStrategy. Targeting potential customers, oftentimes on socialnetworks, who need what you offer and focus on maintaining regular, meaningfulconnectionswiththem.

2.Design/UserExperienceStrategy

Designingfordigitalisdesigningforaction:boththeactionstheuserwilltakeandtheactionsasiteorappwillofferinresponsetouserinput.Inotherwords,userexperience(UX)designisabouthowasiteworksaswellaswhat it looks like.Whenbusinessgoals,contentstrategy,features and visual identity work in tandem the experience goes beyond utility to actualenjoyment.

Some core components critical tomelding business andmarketing goalswith design/UXstrategy:

UserResearch.Thefirststepindevelopingasuccessfulstrategyistolearnasmuchasyou can about your audience. Market research (qualitative and quantitative),interviews,userpersonas,empathymapsandarangeofothertoolscanhelpyougetasolidpictureofyourcoreaudience.UXTools.Thenext step is toorganize thedatayougained fromuser research intoactionable insights.Annotatedsitemaps,wireframesanddigitalorpaperprototypes,andotherUXtoolswillhelpyoumapandtestacompellingstory.MobileFirst.Nielsenreportsthatasof2012,nearly40%1ofallwebbrowsingisdoneon mobile devices. Following a “mobile first” strategy, which means developingwebsites formobile devices first and adding styles as content viewports grow, willkeep you ahead of the game to provide intuitive, rewarding experiences for usersacrossthewidestarrayofplatformsanddevices.

SustainabilityandAccessibility

Thoughthisisn’tabookabouteithersustainabilityoraccessibility,awebsitethatmeetspresentandfutureperformanceandenergyefficiencystandardswhilealsoprovidinganintuitive experience foruserswithdisabilitieswill have a longer shelf life, reachmorepeople, and show that your organization is mindful of a world beyond the customerconversionfunnel.Plus,it’sjustthegoodthingtodo.Herearesomeresources:

Sustainability

Check out Mightybytes’ sustainable web design blog at http://mightybytes.com/sustyweb and author Pete Markiewicz’ blog athttp://sustainablevirtualdesign.wordpress.com/ for a plethora of resources on designingenergy efficient, future-forwardwebsites. For a quick resource guide, download James

http://mightybytes.com/http://sustainablevirtualdesign.wordpress.com/

Christie’sposterHacktheClimatehere:http://bit.ly/19fThZG

Accessibility

508-complianceistheminimumstandardtostriveforwhenofferingcontentforpeoplewith disabilities. Check out http://simplyaccessible.com/archives/ for tips on creatingexperiencesthatmaptoindividualdisabilitiesratherthanjustblanketsupportforscreenreaders.Forbasic508-complianttips,tryhttp://bit.ly/c9h0eT.

3.MeasurementStrategy

Oneadvantageofworking in thedigitalspace is theamountofquantitativeandqualitativedataatyourfingertips.Thechallengeismakingthatdatauseful.Yourmeasurementstrategyshouldhelpyouextractactionable insightsfromtheseaofavailabledata.Herearesomeofthethingswe’llcover:

DifferentiatingBetweenEngagementandConversion.Engagementisusingdigitaltoolstofind,listento,andmobilizeacommunityaroundanidea.Conversionistakingaction,likeclickinganadorpurchasingaproduct.IdentifyingRelevantKeyPerformanceIndicators(KPIs),Targets,andObjectives.Relevant performance metrics for both engagement and conversion track audienceactions,likesharesandpurchases,ratherthanpassivebehaviorslikevisitsandviews.Measuring Content Popularity and Performance. Keeping track of things liketraffic, bounce rate, and shares can give you insight into what types of content isattractingandengagingyouraudienceversuswhatcanbecut.MeasuringDesign.Digitalanalyticstoolscanmeasuretheperformanceofwebdesignelements,likeimagechoicesandcallstoaction.

TheMightybytesContentStrategyFramework

AtMightybytes,wehaveadaptedandexpandedadigitalmarketingmetricsmodeloriginallycreatedbyAvinashKaushik,formerDigitalMarketingEvangelistforGoogle,2tostructureourthinkingaboutcontentmarketingstrategy.Ourframeworksolvesforchallengesatfourstagesof the content marketing development process: strategic planning, content creation,

http://bit.ly/19fThZGhttp://simplyaccessible.com/archives/http://bit.ly/c9h0eT

promotion,andanalysis.

1.StrategicPlanning:Gettingbuy-in

Planningaroundthisframeworkbuildsasharedunderstandingacrosstheteamon:

Defining“goodperformance”ChoosingKeyPerformanceIndicatorsTheProcessforanalyzingmetricstoproduceactionableinsights

Figure1.5UseourContentStrategyFrameworktogetbuy-infromallstakeholderswhendevelopingyourstrategy.

2.ContentCreation:Tyingcontenttostrategicgoals

Ourframeworkmakesthelinksbetweenstrategy,content,andmetricsexplicitto:

Provideaguideforwriters,designers,andothercontentcreatorsMakeiteasyforexecutivesandmanagerstoprovideusefulfeedback

3.Promotion:Ensuringyourtargetaudiencefindsyourcontent

Creating content is only half the battle; the other half is promoting it so that your targetaudience finds the useful and interesting work you’ve created for them. Planning for

promotioninthestrategystageensuresthat:

YourcontentisoptimizedforyourtargetpromotionchannelsYourkeyperformanceindicatorsmetricsarealignedwithyourpromotionstrategy

Figure1.6ReferenceyourContentStrategyFrameworkwhencreatingcontenttoensurethatyoucreatecontentthataligns

withyourstrategicgoals.

4.Analysis:Identifyingactionableinsights

Set the stage for effective analysis by choosing Key Performance Indicators, targets, andsegmentsbeforeyoubegincreatingcontent.Whentheperformancedatacomesin,you’llhaveaplaninplacetomakeyourtwokeydecisions:

Whatcontent/campaignsshouldweallocatemoretimeandbudgetto?Whatcontent/campaignsshouldwecut?

Figure1.7Establishingyourperformancecriteriainadvancemakesiteasiertomakedata-baseddecisionsaboutwhat

aspectsofyourcontentstrategytokeepandwhattochangeovertime.

ContentStrategyFrameworkWalkthrough

Feastyoureyesontheframeworkinitsnaturalstate:

Figure1.8TheMightybytesContentStrategyFramework.

Emptychartsandcolumnsaren’tparticularlyuserfriendly,sointhissection,we’ll filloutthe Content Strategy Framework as if we were an imaginary company,RoadshareChicago.org,planningoutthestrategyforawebsiteredesign.

Roadshare Chicago is a non-profit organization that drives the creation of bike-specifictraffic lanes by conducting research on the economic benefits of bike lanes and organizingcampaigns to support bike lane legislation. If Roadshare Chicago was developing theirwebsite’scontentstrategy,thisishowtheywouldfillintheframework.

1.MissionStatement

Webeginwiththeorganization’smissionstatement.Weincludethisstepfortworeasons:

1. Beginningwiththeeasystuffisanicewarmupforthetougherworkahead,and2. Amission statement can be vague, but objectives and goals must be specific and

measurable.Creatingaspecificspaceforthemissionstatementmakesitnecessarytoteaseoutorganizationalobjectivesandwebsite/campaigngoalslateron.

http://RoadshareChicago.org

We’vecreatedasplendidmissionstatementforourimaginarycompany,RoadshareChicago:

Figure1.9

2.OrganizationalObjectives

The first step inanystrategyprocess is to identifywhatyouhope toachieve. In thedigitalspace,where content canbe createdwith the clickofabutton,organizations caneasilygetdistracted and waste effort, so it’s important to tie every digital initiative back toorganizationalgoals.Afterall,ifyourdigitalinitiativesdon’thelpyouachieveorganizationalgoals,thenwhat’sthepointofpursuingthem?

Forexample,ifyousellaproduct,yoursiteshouldincreasesales.Ifyousellaservice,yoursiteshouldgenerateleads. Ifyouareanonprofit,yoursiteshouldincreasedonations. Ifyourunevents,yoursiteshouldincreaseregistrations.Andsoon.Identifyingtheseobjectiveswillinformcontent,design,UXandmeasurementstrategies.

RoadshareChicago’sthreeorganizationalobjectivesare:

Figure1.10Whatdoesyourorganizationdotodeliveragainstyourmission?

3.DigitalPlatformGoals

Next, translate organizational goals into goals that can be achieved through the digitalplatform(s)youaredevelopingastrategyfor.Thekeyhereistorememberthatyourdigitalplatformsare justoneaspectofyourorganization.Afterall,awebsitewillneverbeabletolobby a senator directly, a Facebook page can’t delivermeals, and a Twitter account can’tconduct investigative journalism. For the purposes of working on your digital platform

strategy, identifygoals for tasks theplatformcandobest.Drawing thisdistinctionbetweenorganizational and digital platform goals is critical to keeping digital strategy in its properplace:inserviceoftheoverallorganizationalgoals.

Digitalplatformgoalsaremeasurable,specific,andhaveaclearroadmapforimprovement.Examplesofsomegooddigitalplatformgoalsinclude:

IncreaseonlinedonationsAttractqualifiedsalesleadsIncreasewhitepaperdownloads

For example, one of RoadshareChicago’s key organizational objectives is to conduct peer-reviewedresearchontheeconomicandsocialbenefitsofbikelanes.Theorganizationdevotesagreatdealoftimeandmoneytoconductingthatresearch,but itallhappensoffline.Theirwebsiteisusedtodisseminatethatresearch.Thefinalstepinidentifyingyourwebsitegoalistoidentifyyourcalltoaction,ortheactionyouwantyoursitevisitortotake.

Figure1.11Howcanyoubestadvanceyourorganizationalobjectivesthroughthedigitalplatformyou’restrategizing

about?

4.AlignTargetAudienceGoalswithOrganizationalObjectives

Now that you’ve identified digital platform goals, the next step is to identify the audiencegoalsthatoverlapwithorganizationalobjectives.Peoplecometoyoursiteforareason:theywanttolearnsomethingorbuysomethingordosomething.Conductingaudienceresearch,atopicwecoveringreatdetailinChapter2,helpsyouidentifyyourtargetaudience’sgoals.

Thekeytoaneffectivedigitalmarketingstrategyistofigureouttheminimumcontentthatwill persuade your target audience to do business with you rather than a competitor. Forexample, your target audience might prefer a one-on-one training session, but would besatisfiedwithavideotutorial.

There is no one foolproof method for creating the perfect balance of audience andorganizationalgoals.Get therightpeopleontheproject:contentstrategists torepresent theneedsand interestsofyouraudience,marketingpeople to representwebsitebusinessgoals,andUXprostofleshouthowyoucanbringgoalsanddesigntaskstogether.Thesepeoplewillensurethatyourtargetaudiencegetsfairrepresentationwhensettingbusinessandmarketinggoals for website projects by including users in the process whenever possible throughinterviews,qualitativeandquantitativeresearch,human-testedprototypes,andsoon.

In this section of the framework enter the results of the extensive work necessary tounderstand your target audience goals and tie them to your organizational goals. ForRoadshareChicago,thetargetaudiencegoalsthatbestoverlapwiththeirbusinessgoalsare:

Figure1.12Whatarethegoalsyourtargetaudiencehasthatbestoverlapwithyourdigitalplatformgoals?

5.ContentHypothesis

Thissegmentoftheframeworkisyourhypothesisaboutthecontentthatyouthinkwillbestpersuadesitevisitorstotakeaction.

We cover content strategy in great detail in Chapter 2, so we’ll keep this section short!RoadshareChicago’scontenthypothesesare:

Figure1.13What’syourhypothesisaboutthecontentthatwillbestmeetbothyourbusinessandvisitorgoals?

6.Promotion

Nowthatyou’vegotahypothesisaboutwhatkindofcontentwillbestmeetyourwebsiteandtarget audience goals, the next step is to decide how to promote that content so that yourtarget audience can actually find it. Thewhole point of content strategy is to inspire youraudiencetotakeaction,andthefirststepdownthatpathisforyouraudiencetoactuallyfindit!Inthissectionofthemodel,itmakessensetolistoutyourprimaryplatforms,becauseyouwill use that information to determine yourmetrics of success. In our example, RoadshareChicagopromoteswhitepapersprimarily throughemailandtestimonials throughFacebookandTwitter.

Figure1.14

Figure1.15

7.KeyPerformanceIndicators

KPIs,orkeyperformance indicators, liveup to theirname: they indicatewhetherornotaninitiative is succeeding in its goal. You can and shouldmeasure a range of things for yourwebsiteanddigitalcampaigns,butwhenplanningyouroverallstrategy, identify justoneortwoimportant,high-levelKPIs.Thisdoesn’tmeanyoushouldstopmeasuringeverythingelse.Itjustmeansyoushouldbeclearonyourpriorities.Itisimportanttodothisupfront,astheseindicatorswillinformmanystrategicdecisionsasyoufleshoutcontentstrategy.

In their book Lean Analytics, authors Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz extol thevirtuesoffindingtheonemetricthatmatters (OMTM).Companiescanmeasuredozensanddozensofmetricsthatwillrevealperformanceinsights,butatanygiventimeinthelifecycleofabusinessthereisasingularmetricthatmattersaboveallothers.Ifyou’rejuststartingout,thismightbegeneratingawareness,sonetincreaseinreferraltrafficfromaspecificsourceorlikes on Facebook might be the OMTM. If you’re further along in the business life cycle,referrals or churn rate—the rate at which users leave your site, close their accounts, etc.—duringagivenmonthmightbemostimportanttoyou.

WecoverhowtoidentifythebestKPIsinChapter5,buthereareRoadshareChicago’s:

Figure1.16Whatmetricbesttellsyouifyourcontenthypothesisiscorrect?

8.Targets

KPIs should be pairedwith targets and timeframes to set realistic expectations for steady,

measurableimprovement.Let’ssaythatRoadshareChicago’smembershipconversionrateforthepastsixmonthsis25%.Isthatgoodorbad?Ifthetargetwas15%, it’sterrific,but if thetargetwas60%,it’snot.

The best way to set targets is to review historical performance and then establish areasonable next step. If you don’t have historical performance to fall back on, just pick anumberthatfeelsreasonableandgiveitatry.Thatmayseeminformal,buttherealityisyouhave to start somewhere.Accumulatinghistorical performancedatawill helpyou setmorereasonabletargetsovertime.

Figure1.17Targetsgiveyousomethingtoshootfor.

9.DataSegments

“Data segment” is a technical term used in analytics soft ware to refer to a group ofindividuals that are similar in a specific, marketing related way. There are three basicsegmentationcategories:

Acquisition:Howdovisitorsgettoyoursite?Thisincludespaidads,organicsearch,direct,socialmedia,emailmarketing,etc.Behaviors:Whatarepeopledoingonyoursite?Thisincludesvisitingpagesandusinganytoolsyouprovide.Outcomes:Arewereachingourconversiongoals?Thiscanrangefromsigningupforanewslettertopurchasingaproduct.

Figure1.18Webanalyticssoftwareservicesprovidearangeofdefaultsegmentsandoptionsforcreatingcustomsegments.

ThisisascreenshotoftheUniversalAnalyticsdefaultsegment/customsegmentmenu.

Segmentingyour target audience intodifferentgroupshelpsyou tailormessages to theirneedsand interestsand thenmeasure theperformanceofyour tailoredmessages.Wecover

segmentinginmoredepthinChapter5.ForRoadshareChicago,themostusefulsegmentsare:

Figure1.19Whatsegmentofouraudiencearewetryingtoreachwiththispieceofcontent?

UsingYourContentStrategyFramework

This framework is aworkingdocument. It’smeant tobe reviewedbefore creating content,used as a guide to configure your analytics software, and—most importantly—to makedecisionsaboutallocatingmoneyand timeacrossallyourdigitalefforts.Tosimplify things,createoneframeworkforeachdigitalplatformyouworkon.

Wespentalotoftimedevelopingthisframeworktomakeitusefulandactionable,butthetruthisthatwhatyouputintotheframeworkislessimportantthantheactofengagingyourorganizationinastructuredconversationaboutstrategyandperformance.

Building out your Content Strategy Framework with your team and getting everyone’sbuy-inhelpsensure that thedecisionsmadebasedonyour strategywillbeunderstoodandaccepted. Funding issues in particular can cause emotions to run high, and pegging thosedecisionstoKPIsdemonstratesthatdecisionsarebasedondata,notopinion.

Conclusion

In this chapter,we defined strategy types and introduced theContent Strategy Frameworkwe’llbeworkingwiththroughoutthisbook.

Whatwediscussed:

Digitalmarketingstrategyisgearedtowardscreatingopportunitiesforanorganizationtobuilddeepercustomerrelationshipsondigitalplatforms.DigitalContentStrategyisthepracticeofdevelopingcontentthatisvaluabletoyouraudiencesanddeliveritwhereandwhentheyneedit.Thethreeprimaryelementsofdigitalcontentstrategyarecontentcreation,userexperiencedesign,andmeasurement.Developinga strategy framework toguidecontentcreationhelpskeepyourcontentstrategytiedtoyourorganizationalstrategy.

Profile

Figure1.20MikeVolpe,CMOofHubspot.

MikeVolpeCMO,Hubspot,www.hubspot.comMikeVolpe,ChiefMarketingOfficerofHub-spot,shareshisthoughtsbelowoninboundmarketing,measurementandcontentiteration,marketingautomationandmore.

Mike leads the company’s lead generation and branding strategy through inboundmarketing, includingblogging, searchengineoptimization,videomarketing,and socialmedia.YoucanreadhisarticlesandparticipateinwebinarsledbyMikeatHupsot.comandwww.mikevolpe.com.

http://www.hubspot.comhttp://Hupsot.comhttp://www.mikevolpe.com

What has changed at HubSpot and in themarket since the first edition ofReturn onEngagementin2010?

Well,we’vegrowna lot!Todaywehave10,000customersaroundtheworld.Wehave600employeesnowandopenedaEuropeanofficeinDublin.

Whathasbeenthebiggestchangeintheworldofmarketingmeasurementoverthepastfewyears?

Morepeoplearerealizingtheycanmeasuremostmarketingefforts,andthere ismoreandmore interest inmakingmarketingmore scientific. I am not sure there has beenenough effort at making measurement accessible to the mainstream marketer. Mostmarketingsystemsarestilltoocomplicatedandrequiretoomuchspecializedexpertisetoimplementandusethem(exceptforHubSpotofcourse…ha!).

Iftherewasonesinglemeasurementtask,concept,ideathatyouthinkmarketersshouldembracewhatwoulditbe?

I’llgiveyoutwo.Thefirstisdomoreinboundmarketing.Second,measureand iterate.Youhavemoreandmore tools today tomeasureyour

marketing.Youshouldnotoverthinkthings.Sojusttrysomethingandseeifitworksornot.Beingfastandadaptivebeatsoutcarefulandplannedintoday’sfastpacedworld.

Whywouldmarketerswanttouseamarketingautomationsystem?

Marketingautomationoftenmakesiteasiertosendmoreandmorespamtoyouremaillist.

Whatmarketersshoulddo insteadis tofigureouthowtouse inboundmarketingtoattract more prospects through SEO and social and blogging and then customize thebuyingexperiencethroughpersonalizedinteractionsonthewebsite,insocialmediaandinemail.ThisiswhywebuiltsomethingdifferentthantraditionalmarketingautomationatHubSpot.

What do you say tomarketerswho have concerns about automatingwhat should becustomandpersonalizedinteractionswithcustomers?

Only use automation tomake interactions better andmore personalized, for instance,usingtechnologytoenableyourwebsitetochangebasedonwhoisvisitingyourwebsiteis a gooduseof “automation.” Sendingmore emails to the list youpurchased isnot agooduseofautomation.

Howare the terms “digitalmarketing,” “contentmarketing,” and “inboundmarketing”different?

Digitalmarketing justmeansontheweb,whichcan includebanneradsandspamandcrapthatannoyspeople.

Contentmarketingismuchbetter,itisusuallylessannoyingtoattractpeopletoyourbusinessusingcontentmarketingtechniquessuchasablogandwhitepapers.

Inboundmarketingmeanstransformingyourmarketingtoattractpeopletoyouandinterrupt them less—this includes content marketing but also encompasses free orfreemiuminteractivetoolsorproducts(suchasmarketing.grader.com).

Wheredoescontentstrategyfitintotheabovemix?

Content strategy is an aspect of inboundmarketing. Knowing your customer personawellandcreatingcontentthattheyloveiscriticaltomakingallthisstuffworkwell.

Howdoyoupractice“leanmarketing”?

We’vebloggedaboutagilemarketingbefore.We’re fans.Wewerealsoprofiled in theEricRies’ bookLeanAnalytics. In today’sworld, you need to respond to buyers andmarkettrendsquickly.Thequarterlyorannualcampaigncycledoesnotmatchwithhowtheworldworks.Wetrytocomeupwithagameplaneverymonthandthenexecuteonthat,thenmeasureit,andthenadjusttoabettergameplanthenextmonth.Thenrepeat.Weiteratetowardsuccessmorethanwedocampaignplanningtowardsuccess.

We’ve seenan increasingamountofoverlap in shareddisciplinesbetweenUX,design,marketing and content strategy recently.What advicewould you have toweb designfirmswantingtobuildintegratedteamswithmarketing,design,anddevelopmentunderoneroof?

There isa tonofpower inhavingmore integration; itenablesyoutohave fewersilosandhaveacustomerexperiencethatisclosertowhatthecustomerwants.Itgetshardtodoasyougrowbecauseyounaturallyneedtobreakpeopledownintosmallerteamsformanagement reasons, but try to organize your company according to the customerpersonas,notjobfunctions.

What’syouradvice for someonewanting to incorporateA/B testing into theirwebsitemarketingprocess?

Alwaysbetesting.Thereisnoreasonyoushouldnotjusthaveatestrunningallthetime

http://marketing.grader.com

— on your landing pages on your website on your email marketing. Look for amarketingsystemthathas testingbuilt in,notaseparate testingsystemthathas tobeintegratedwithyourothersystems.Thatwillmakeiteasiertotestmoreoften.

Notes

1. Avinash Kaushik, “Nearly 40 Percent of Internet Time Now on Mobile Devices,” Marketing Land,

http://marketingland.com/report-nearly-40-percent-of-internet-time-now-on-mobile-devices-34639

2.AvinashKaushik,“Occam’sRazor,”www.kaushik.net/avinash/digital-marketing-and-measurement-model/.

http://marketingland.com/report-nearly-40-percent-of-internet-time-now-on-mobile-devices-34639http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/digital-marketing-and-measurement-model/

ChapterTwoContentStrategy

Yourcontent isby far themostcritical componentofyouronlinepresence. Itdrives traffic,informsusers,buildsawareness,convertscustomers,positionsyourcompanyorpeoplewithinyourcompanyasthoughtor industryleaders,aswellasaslewofotherthingsimportanttomeetingstrategicorganizationalgoals.

Peopleinteractwithyourcontenttogainknowledge,learnaspecifictaskortechnique,findoutmore aboutyou, readaboutyourproducts or services, anddecidewhetherornot theywanttobecomeacustomerorpartofyourcommunity.Searchenginesinterpretyourcontentand serveuppages in search results basedonkeyworduse andavarietyof other content-driven factors. Therefore, creating content that meets the needs of a targeted group ofcustomers(orfuturecustomers)andisoptimizedforsearchengine“crawlability”willhelptheright folks findyouand interactwithyourorganization inamanner that,as longasyou’readdingvalue,potentiallybenefitseveryone.

Thesinglemostcommonmistakeorganizationsmakeistostartbloggingandtweetingandsoonwithouthavingaplanfirst.Youneedmorethanjustwordsonawebpage.Mappingoutyour organization’s overall digital strategy in the first few rows of the Content StrategyFrameworkwecoveredinChapter1establishesthefoundationsofthatplan.Inthischapterwe’ll focus specifically on content strategy, which helps you execute against the “content”hypothesisidentifiedinyourContentStrategyFramework.

WhatIsContentStrategy?

AuthorKristinaHalvorsondefinescontentstrategyasplanningforthecreation,delivery,andgovernanceofusefuldigitalcontent.Ultimately,contentstrategyaddresses thekeyquestionthat the new digital landscape prompts: with a zillion options for information andentertainment, how can I best reach potential customers and provide value to them? Forstarters,shiftyourmindsetfromthinkingaboutwhatyouwanttosayandstartthinkingaboutwhatyouraudiencewants toknow.Yourpotentialcustomersareonline fora reason.Whataretheylookingfor?Whatchannelsaretheysearching?Whatdevicesaretheyusing?How

canyoureach them inaway thatbest suits theirneedsata timeorplacewhen theyneedwhatyoucanoffer?

Figure2.1Peopleareconnectedinmorewaysthanever.

Yourgoal is tofigureout theanswerstothesequestionssothatyoucandevelopcontentthatisvaluabletoyouraudienceanddeliveritwhereandwhentheyneedit.Keepinmindthat content isn’t just copy or images. It’s photography, audio, podcasts, blog posts, video,animations, games, emails—anything that you can use to relate amessage or facilitate thatself-discoveryprocess.

Focusingonpotential customerneeds firstdoesn’tmeanyou forgetaboutbusinessgoals.On the contrary; it’s a strategy for driving business goals. A good content strategy drivesconversionandincreasescustomerengagementby:

Enablingself-guideddiscovery:Making it easy for potential customers to find theinformation,servicesandproductstheywantattherightpace.Meeting customers where they are: Engaging your customers through all thechannelstheyuseforeducationandentertainmentmakesiteasyforthemtofindyou.Tailoring messages to target audiences: Creating key messages that groups ofcustomersaremostreceptivetoincreasestheirpositivesentimentandbrandloyalty.Maximizing impressions: Publishing content at times and at a frequency thatcustomersaremostreceptivetomaximizesimpressionsandbrandawareness.Producingactionableresults:Gettingmeasurableperformanceresultsenablesyoutoadjustyourcontentinreal-timetomaximizeperformance.

UnderstandingOrganizationalNeeds

Ifyouaretaskedwithcreatingcontentstrategyforaclientyoufirstneedtounderstandtheirbusiness.Hereare somequestions tohelpyoubetterunderstand theorganizationyou’llbeworkingfor:

UnderstandingTheirBusiness

Howdotheymakemoney?Whatproductsorservicesaremostprofitabletotheorganization?Why?Is there a dedicated sales and/or marketing team, and if so, how are theystructured?Howissuccessmeasured?

UnderstandingTheirCustomers

Whoarethecustomers?Whataretheirneeds?Howdoestheorganizationcurrentlyfind(andkeep)customers?Haveuserpersonasorothermarketresearchdeliverablesbeencreatedalready?(Ifso,youneedthese.)

OtherRelevantQuestions

Whatistheexistingcontentcreationprocess?Whoapprovescontentandhowdoesthatprocesswork?Doeditorialguidelinesexist?Whodecideswhattypeofcontenttoproduce?Whattypesofcontentdoestheteamcurrentlyproduce?Whatarethecompany’sbrandconsiderations?1

For a printable worksheet on identifying organizational needs, visit the Return onEngagementwebsiteat(www.returnonengagement.net)

http://www.returnonengagement.net

CreatingSeductive,CompellingContent

Theultimategoalofdevelopingagoodcontentstrategyistocreatecontentsoseductivethatyouraudienceswon’tbeabletoresistreading,usingandsharingit.Thatsets thebarprettyhigh.Still,goodcontentstrategyisallaboutengagementthatmeetsgoals:

Creatingcontentthatpeoplewanttoreadorwatchnotonlyanswerstheirquestionsbutalsoimprovestheiropinionofyou.Creatingcontentthatpeopleactuallywanttoshareincreasesbrandexposure.Joiningconversationsaboutmutual interestswith friends/followers isarguablymorevaluablethaneitheroftheabove.Goodcontentcandrivethoseconversations.Creatingcontentthatincreasesconversionsisjustgoodbusiness.

Peopleincertainindustries,especiallythosewithtechnicalorspecializedaudiencesorthoseinhighlycompetitivemarketplaces,mightargue thatcreatingseductive,compellingcontentthatcutsthroughtheclutterandisusefultothereaderisdifficulttoimpossible.Wedisagree.While itmaybe tough, it startswith findingoutallyoucanaboutyourparticularaudienceandprovidingthemwiththetypeofcontentthatcanonlycomefromyourorganization.

First, thinkabout thestoryyouhaveto tell.Howdoesyourorganization impactpeople’slives?Patagoniacapturesstoriesofadventurespeoplehavewhilewearingtheirgear:

Figure2.2There’snothingpeoplelovemorethansharingphotosoftheirvacations—particularlyiftheygottocuddlewitha

babybear.

What value do you provide to your customers that they can’t get anywhere else?MailChimp,anemailmarketingservicewithbuilt-insurveyfeatures,analyzesthemillionsofsurveystheydeliverandreportsonwaystomakeyoursmoreuseful:

Figure2.3Findingindustrybenchmarkinginformationcanbedifficultandexpensive.MailChimpmakesiteasyandfree.

What can you share with customers that will help them make a decision about doingbusiness with you? Chicago-based online community Threadless invites people to vote onwhichdesignstoprintandsell:

Figure2.4Threadlessinvitestheircustomerstodecidewhichdesignsgetprinted,aterrificwaytobothboostcommunity

engagementandproducetheshirtstheirmostengagedcustomerswant.

The chief stumbling block for companies is focusing on messaging that resonates withemployees and owners instead of considering what will resonate with customers. Forexample, you may be very proud of your company’s culture, but your culture isn’t veryinterestingorcompellingtocustomersunlessyoucanshowaclearconnectionbetweenyourcultureandyourservice.

For example,CoyoteLogisticshelps companiesmove their freight as cheaply, efficiently,andquicklyaspossible.Theircorporatecultureprizestenaciousteamplayersthatgetthejobdonenomatterwhat.Theircorporateculturestoryisdirectlytiedtotheircustomers’primaryneed:togettheirproductsshipped,withnoexcuses.

Identifying your most compelling story is a key part of the audience research you willconductwhendevelopingacontentstrategy.

Figure2.5Coyote’s“noexcuses”cultureassurescustomersthattheywillreceivetop-notchservice.

ConductingAudienceResearch

It is impossible tooverstate the importanceofaudienceresearch.Youmay thinkyouknowyourcustomers,butwithoutunbiasedresearch,youmayinterprettheirbehaviorsincorrectly.You (or someone in your organization) may have years of direct, personal contact withcustomers,butthisdoesn’tequatetoresearchthatmayrevealhiddeninformationaboutwhysomeone purchases your product or service over your competitor’s. Audience research isimportantbecauseithelpsyouprovehypothesesaboutyourcustomerswithactualdataandactionableinsights,whichcanresultinmeasurableimprovementstocustomerloyalty,brandawareness,andyes,theactualfinancialbottomlineaswell.

Swiffer,thehousecleaningproductspurveyor,madeaseriousmessagingerrorwhentheypromotedtheirlatestproduct,asteamcleaningmop,withanimageofawomandressedlikeRosietheRiveter.Theirtargetaudience,womenbetweentheagesof25and40,wereincensedto see one of the most iconic images of working women used to shill for housekeepingproducts.TheoutcrywassoimmediateandpervasivethatSwifferpulledthead,whichmeantthatthousandsofdollarsandhundredsofworkinghourswentdownthedrain,allforalackof

audienceresearchandtesting.

Figure2.6Researchyourtargetaudience’slikes,dislikes,andinterests.

There are two primary approaches to audience research: qualitative and quantitative.Qualitativeresearchisconcernedwithcapturinginsightsandideasfromtargetcustomers(orusersinthedigitalworld);quantitativeresearchfocusesonidentifyingtrendsindata.

QualitativeResearch

Qualitativeresearchisgenerallyconductedwithasmall,non-representativegroupofpeople.Thegoal is tocreatea looselystructured,objectiveenvironment thatallowsyou toexplorethethoughtsandfeelingsoftargetuserswiththegoalofidentifyinginsightstoimproveyourproductorservice.Fordigitalcontent,qualitativeresearchmethodscaninclude:

1. Conductinguserinterviews

2. Fieldobservationofusers3. Automatedusertesting

1.UserInterviews

User interviews can be as exhaustive as all-day focus groups with two-waymirrors or assimple as asking a few in-person questions. There are two primary categories of people tointerview:existingandpotentialcustomers.

Thespecificwordingoftheinterviewquestionswillvaryaccordingtoyourspecificproductorservice,butingeneraltherearetwocategoriesofquestions:whatdopeoplelikeandwhataretheirpainpoints?

1. Whatdotheylikeaboutyourproductorservice?Whatwouldmakethempurchase,donate,orotherwiseuseyoursolution,findyourcontentvaluable,etc.?

2. Whataretheirpainpoints?Whataretheroadblockstopurchase?

Youcangetmuchmoredetailedthantheabovequestions,buttrytokeepyourinterviewspecific and focused to provide insights that are actionable. For a list of user interviewquestions and an editable interview handout, visit the Return on Engagement website atwww.returnonengagement.net.

2.FieldObservationsofUsers

Sometimesthemostusefulresultscomefromjustsittingbackandwatchingacustomertrytoaccomplishatask,likecommentingonablogpost,registeringforanevent,etc.Designerscanuse affordable onlinemeeting tools like Skype or GoToMeeting towatch how a customermovesthroughawebsite.Youcanaskthesametypesofquestionsyoumightask inafieldobservation.Thebenefitofremotetestingisthatyoucanconductquicktestsateverystageofthedevelopmentcycle.Thiscanbeparticularlyhelpfulinanagilewebdevelopmentprocess,wheresmallchangestoasite’sdesignarerolledoutveryquicklyandfrequently.

3.AutomatedUserTesting

Designers can also use specialized but affordable usability testing tools, such aswww.loop11.com,whichautomaticallygatherscustomerfeedbackandrecordstheirbehavior.Thebenefittothisapproachistoreplicatetraditionalusabilitytestingtechniques,whichstrive

http://www.returnonengagement.nethttp://www.loop11.com

togatheracustomer’sfeedbackwithoutinfluencingtheirbehaviororresponses.Youshoulddefinitelypollmorethanjustoneortwousers(orpotentialusers),butkeepit

manageable.Thepurposeofqualitative research is right in thename.Use it togleanusefulinsights from people who are exemplary of those you wish to reach with your content,product, or service. For data trends across a wide number of users, you’ll want to usequantitativeanalysis.

QuantitativeAudienceResearch

Quantitative analysis provides trend data through numbers. Research results are typicallyanonymous and answers are candid. Two simple options for conducting quantitative userresearchare:

1. Analyzingsitevisitormetrics2. Conductingaudiencesurveys

1.SiteVisitorAnalysis

Whileit’sgreattosurveyyouraudiencetogettheircandidfeedbackonusability,intentions,andsatisfaction,it’salwaysagoodideatoroundoutyourresearchwithunfiltereddatathatcomesfromanalyticstools.Awiderangeoftoolsexisttohelpyougatherquantitativedataonsite visitors. This data can help you create a more accurate picture of your audience byprovidingdetaillikegeographiclocation,demographicinformation,andwhatspecificactionsvisitorsaretakingonyourwebsite.Welike:

Quantcast.Afreetoolthatcapturesdemographicinformationaboutyourvisitors.UniversalAnalytics. A free tool that captures awealth of information about howvisitorsfindyoursiteandwhattheydowhentheygetthere.KissMetrics. A paid service that complements Universal Analytics by showing youeveryactionindividualuserstakeonyoursite.

2.ConductingAudienceSurveys

Usersurveysshouldneverbeutilizedforresearchonnewfeaturesorservicesbecausepeoplearenotverygoodatpredictingwhetherornottheywillbuysomethinginthefuture.Theyare,however,idealfordiscoveringtwotypesofinformation:demographicsandintent.

1. Demographics:Do thepeoplewhouseyoursitemakemoreor less thanacertainamount per year, for example? How many computers are in their household?Becausethequestionsareaskingforfactsratherthanopinionsorexperiences,thesesurveyscanbedeliveredtoyourmailinglist.

2. Intent:Whatdoyourvisitorswanttodoorlearnwhentheycometoyoursite?Wasit easy for them to use? Did they find what they needed? Services likeiPerceptions.com and Fluidsurveys.com ask these questions when your visitors areactuallyonthesite,whichmeansyougetyourvisitorsreactionsinthemoment.

Audiencesurveysshouldbeasshortaspossible.Askonlywhatyouneedtoknow,becausethe longer the survey, themore likely it is people will exit before finishing. Avoid askingquestionsyoucananswerwithyourowndata,suchashouseholdincomeifyoualreadyhaveverifiabledataonaveragehouseholdincomeforyoursitevisitors.Youraudienceisdoingyoua favor by taking your survey, so you only want to spend that goodwill for useful andactionabledatathatyoucan’tgetanyotherway.

One important thing to note: quantitative analysis requires quantity. Quantitative userpollingrequiresarepresentativesampleso thatyoucansafelyassumethat the insightsyouglean from trends in the data will apply to the majority of your users. Services likeSurveyMonkeyandGoogleWebsiteSurveyincludeanalyticstoolsthatcantellyouifyou’vegotten enough survey respondents to produce statistically significant results. These services,andotherslikethem,alsoprovideassistancewithwritingeffectivesurveyquestions.

Onceyouhavecollectedquantitativeand/orqualitativedata,youcanuseittocreateasetofuserpersonasandempathymaps,toolsthatarethebackboneofastrongcontentstrategy.

AudienceSurveyTools

Audience surveys are excellent tools for gathering information about your audience’sdemographics and their experience with your site or product. Surveys-as-a-Serviceproviders make it simple for non-professionals to write effective survey questions,distribute surveys to their audience, determine whether or not they’ve reached astatisticallysignificantsamplesizeandanalyzetheresults.Welike:

SurveyMonkey.comGetFeedback.comiPerceptions.comFluidSurvey.comSurveyGizmo.com

http://iPerceptions.comhttp://Fluidsurveys.comhttp://SurveyMonkey.comhttp://GetFeedback.comhttp://iPerceptions.comhttp://FluidSurvey.comhttp://SurveyGizmo.com

PuttingAudienceResearchToWork

Onceyou’ve conducted enoughaudience research, distill the collected informationdown toinformcontentapproaches.Twocommonandusefultoolsfordoingthisareuserpersonasandempathymaps.

UserPersonas

A user persona is a research-based fictional characterwho represents the attributes, needs,wants,andbehaviorsofagroupofcustomers.Convertingyourquantitativeandqualitativeresearch into a set of user personas is a technique to improve the customer-centricity of aproductorservicebydevelopingafact-basedunderstandingofyourusers.Userpersonaswillhelpyoudecidewhichcontenttokeep,expandorthrowaway.

Userpersonasoftencontainthefollowingmaterial:

Basics:Name,Gender,Age,JobTitle,HouseholdIncome,GeographicInformation.AttributesandBehaviors:Whatarethisuserpersona’srelevantcharacteristics?AttitudesandBeliefs:Howdoesthisuserpersonathinkandfeelaboutrelevantissues?Challenges:Whatarethethreerelevantproblemsthisuserpersonaneedstosolve?Solutions:Howdoesyourproductsolvethoseproblems?Influencers:Whoismostinfluentialinhelpingthisuserpersonamakeadecision?Thiscanincludepublications,TVshows,celebrities,andfriends.Language:Whatwords,phrasesandtopicsresonatewiththisuserpersona?Channels:Whatchannelsdotheyusetoget information,entertainment?Whatsocialmediachannelsdotheyparticipatein?

It’stemptingtoanswerthesequestionsbasedonwhatseemsrightinsteadofactualresearch,butresist!Auserpersonabasedonamentalimageofyourcustomercanleadtargetingeffortswildly astray. Personas are only as useful as the data you gather to validate them. Instead,createpersonasbasedonactualdataproducedfromexistingcustomersandmetricsproducedfromwebanalyticsandsocialnetworks.

Figure2.7Wellresearcheduserpersonascanhelpyoumakedecisionsaboutthekindofcontentmostlikelytocaptureyour

targetaudience’sinterests.Foraprintableuserpersonatemplate,visittheReturnonEngagementwebsiteat

www.returnonengagement.net

EmpathyMaps

Empathy mapping is a technique to help you visualize what your customers are thinking,hearing,seeing,anddoingwhentheyinteractwithyourcontentinaspecificlocation.Nooneusesaproductorserviceinavacuum,soit’simportanttothinkthroughpotentialdistractionsandchallengesinthecontextofuse.

Anotherbenefitofcreatinganempathymapisthat itallowsdesignersanddeveloperstoworktogethertoconsidertheperspectivesofmanydifferenttypesofcustomersatthesametime. It’s an alternative to themore time-intensive process of creating a series of narrowlyfocused user personas or characters that represent the perspective of a single hypotheticalwebsitevisitor(e.g.,amalecollegegraduate,age42).

http://www.returnonengagement.net

Byworkingwithempathymapstoidentifyanaudience’shighlevelneedsandwishes,youcanquicklyandefficientlyuncoveropportunitiestoenhanceuserexperience.

Youcancreateanempathymapinthreeeasysteps:

1. Draworplaceapictureofatypicaloractualcustomeratthecenterofthemap.2. Createareasaroundthecustomerphotothatorganizeswhatthecustomerhears,sees,

thinks,anddoes.3. Adddetailstotheappropriatebranches.Considerusingpost-itnotesoradryerase

boardtomovedetailsfromonesectiontoanotherasneeded.

Figure2.8Empathymapshelpyouthinkthroughthecontextinwhichyourtargetaudienceisexperiencingyourcontent.

Foraprintableempathymap,visittheReturnonEngagementwebsiteatwww.returnonengagement.net

ContentPlanning

Nowthatyou’vedoneresearchonwhoyourcustomersare,whatchannelstheyuse,andwhatwordsandphrases theyusetodescribetheirpainpoints,youcanbegintocreateaplanforcontent.Thetoolsandtacticscoveredinthissectionareusedbycontentstrategiststodeveloptheir work—they are the meat and potatoes of content strategy. Each one helps keep youfocusedonthetwingoalsofcontentstrategy:meetingaudienceneedsandmeetingbusinessgoals.

http://www.returnonengagement.net

MessageArchitecture

A solid content plan begins with message architecture. Message architecture establishesconcrete,sharedterminologythatguidescontentdevelopmentacrossteamsandchannels.Itiswhatbringstogetheryourorganizationalmessaging(businessgoals)withtermsandkeywordsthatmeet your customers’ needs (audience goals), and should be developed based on youruserpersonasandkeywords.Eachaudienceandbusinessgoal shouldhaveat leastonekeymessage attached. Ideally, any teammember should be able to clearly understandmessagearchitecture and create content that alignswithmutually understood goals. For an editablemessage architecture worksheet, visit the Return on Engagement website atwww.returnonengagement.net.

http://www.returnonengagement.net

Figure2.9Thisisasimplemessagearchitectureforanarthritismedication,Celebrex.

IdentifyingChannels

Content planning also starts with identifyingwhich channels you’ll use to publish content.Channelsareanycommunicationplatforms relevant toyouraudienceandgoals.This couldinclude billboards,magazines, brochures, directmail, sell sheets, videos, and so on.Digital-specificchannelsincludewebsites,apps,onlinevideos,emails,games,socialmedia,andsoon.

Yourgoalistofigureoutwhichchannelsyouraudiencemostoftenusesandtoadaptyourstoriesforthatchannelformat.Don’twastetimecreatingcontentforchannelsyourcustomersdon’tuse,ordon’tuseveryoften.

Yourquantitativeandqualitativeresearchshouldhelpyouidentifythebestchannelsaslongasitaddresseshowyouraudienceaccessescontent.Aretheyathomeattheirdeskorinthestoresearchingontheirphone?Aretheybrowsing,ordotheyneedtofindinformationfast?Whichsocialnetworksdotheyfrequent?

Asalways,youmustalsoconsideryourbusinessgoals inaddition to theuser’sneeds.Toidentifythechannelsfavoredbyyouraudiencethatmakemostsenseforyou,startwiththesequestions:

Arewealreadyusingthechannelsourusersfrequent?What actions do youwant users to takewhen accessing content?Are those actionspossibleusingthischannel?Is user-generated content an option, given time and budget constraints? (This may

requiresignificantgovernanceresources.)Howwillyoutrackresultsonthischannel?Isthischannelcost-effective?Dowehavethestaffresourcestocreateandmaintaincontentonthischannel?

ThinkAbout“TheInternetofThings”

“The Internet of Things,” a termproposed in 1999 byMIT technologistKevinAshton,moves beyond mobile phones and tablets to consider ubiquitous devices like smartrefrigerators, thermostats, cars, and any other platform where content might beexperienced. Though not applicable to all content, it is increasingly possible that yourcontent could end up on many platforms where the concept of a ‘browser’ doesn’tnecessarilyapply.Thus,alongwithconsideringusers,contentstrategistsshould:

ConsiderdevicesandhowtheyareusedConsidertheroleofdifferentplatformsinexperiencingcontentConsiderwebstandardswheneverpossible

EditorialCalendars

Onceyou’veestablishedyourchannels,youcanbegin todevelopaneditorial calendar—thebackboneofyourcontentplan.Hereyou’llorganizethemajorpiecesofcontentyouplantoproduceandwhen they’ll bepublished.Howyou create andmaintainan editorial calendarwill depend on the size of your team and the resources you have to accomplish ongoingcontent creation and execution. Projectmanagement tools like Basecamp or even a simplecalendarapplicationcanhelpgreatlywiththisprocess.Therearealsocontentstrategy-specificonline tools—like Compendium.com, for example—that offer a more robust platform formanagingacalendar.

Assigningblogtopicstoteammembersandensuringyoucoverrelevantindustryeventsorseasonaltopicsismucheasierwhentasksareoutlinedinaspreadsheetandassignedduedates.Besuretosetrealisticexpectationswithyourteam(andyourself).Ifyouexpectco-workerstowriteoneblogpostpermonth,forinstance,makesuretheyclearlyunderstandwhatisneededandprovidethemwiththetime,editorialsupport,andscheduletohelpthemsucceed.Foraneditable editorial calendar, visit the Return on Engagement website atwww.returnonengagement.net.

http://Compendium.comhttp://www.returnonengagement.net

Figure2.10AninsidelookataMightybytesEditorialCalendar.

ChannelandVelocityPlans

Channel and velocity planswork in conjunctionwith your editorial calendar to establish apublishingscheduleforallyourcontent.Youreditorialcalendaroutlineswhatcontentyou’llcreate and who will create it, while channel and velocity plans help plan your contentdistributionfortheweb,mappingoutwhichoutletsyou’llpublishtoandwithwhatfrequency.

ChannelPlan

Yourchannelplanoutlinestheoutletsyouwillusetodistributecontent,whichyouidentifiedwith the help of your audience research. This includes yourwebsite, emailmarketing, andsocialmediachannels.Athoroughchannelplanwillalsoincludenotesonmessagestructure,targetaudienceanddesiredactionforeachchannel.Thiswillhelpyouidentifytherighttypesofcontenttoshareoneachchannelandwhatyourcallstoaction(ifany)willbe.

Youcanalsoincludeyourintendedfrequencyinachannelplan.Thisisknownasvelocity.For an editable channel planning document, visit the Return on Engagement website atwww.returnonengagement.net.

http://www.returnonengagement.net

Figure2.11AdaptthisChannelPlantemplatetoincludeallyourdigitalchannels.

VelocityPlan

Avelocity plan is an outline of the frequencywithwhichyouwill publish certain types ofcontentontheweb.Yourvelocityplancanbeassimpleasnotinghowoftenyou’llpublishtoyourestablishedchannels,oritcanincludelong-termcontentdetailsthatmaptocampaignsand themes. For example, if you create content devoted to holistic wellness, sharing coldremedieseverywintermightnotbeabadidea.Ifyou’redoingaticketgiveawayinadvanceofanevent,thenumberoftimesyoutweeteachdaymightincreaseastheeventdategrowsnearer.

Velocityplans are alsogreat tools for reusing content. Popular seasonal topics canbe re-shared on an annual basis, as long as the content remains relevant. Repetition strengthensimpressionsandrelationships.

You should be particularly mindful that while publishing frequently helps your searchenginerankingsandsharingfrequentlyonsocialchannelsboostsyoursitetraffic,tomaximizereturns on social networks you must be helpful and useful. If your content is repetitive,irrelevant,orimpersonal,itwillfallflatandyoureffortswillbewasted.

Therearelotsofdifferentvelocitymodelsfordifferentchannelsandtypesofcontent.Hereare a few examples, and for an editable velocity planning document, visit the Return onEngagementwebsiteatwww.returnonengagement.net.

Channel:TwitterSubject:EventVelocity:

http://www.returnonengagement.net

Executeaticketgiveawaythreeweeksinadvanceofanevent.Promotedifferentaspectsoftheeventeverythirddayforthreeweeks.Rotatebetweendifferenttargettimeslotswithinatargettimezone:

-9–10amforpressannouncements-Primetimetelevisionforconsumers

Figure2.12ThesearevelocityplansforaTwitterfeed,blogseries,andmonthlynewsletter.

ContentSpecificationDocument

Acontent specificationdocument isa setof rules foreachchanneland typeofcontent thatbothcopywritersanddeveloperscanuseasablueprinttoguidetheirwork.Youshouldworktowardthegoalofarmingacopywriterwiththe toolsnecessarytomatchspecifications foreachpieceof content.Likewise, ifyou share thisdocumentwithUXdesigners, they shouldhaveampleresourcestocreatesitewireframesandpagelayouts.Foreachcontenttype,definemessage,audience,andconversiongoals.Asyoucanseeinthisexample,specificinstructionsforeachindividualcontenttype—inthiscaseateaser—areincluded.

Whenyou’vesketchedoutguidelinesforallcontenttypes,youendupwithablueprintthat

includes:

Aformatforeveryheading,subheading,andparagraphwithwordcountsNotesonwhatpagesthecontentshouldlinktoNotes on photography and other multimedia content that includes specific brandattributesStoryboardsforvideos,ifapplicableWhethercontentexistsforthispagealreadyornotWhoisresponsibleforit

Figure2.13Contentspecificationdocumentsalsomakeiteasyforanyonetojumpinandwriteapieceofcontentthat’s

alignedwithyourstrategy.

Whilecreatingthisdocumenttakesabitoftimeonthefrontend,itsimplifiestheprocessforwriters,developers,anddesignerscreatingnewcontent,becausethey’llhaveablueprinttowork from. For a sample content specfication planning document, visit the Return onEngagementwebsiteatwww.returnonengagement.net.

ContentAudits

Usea contentaudit toassess theexistingcontentonyour site.Contentaudits identifybothgaps to be filled and content to be revised or redirected. Leaving outdated or irrelevantcontentonyoursitedetractsfromyourqualitycontentandmayconfuseandultimatelyturnoffvisitors.

http://www.returnonengagement.net

Auditingeverysinglesitepagewillofferthemostthoroughunderstandingofalloutdatedcontent. But if that’s not an option due to time or resource constraints, consider auditing asample of the site, such as themain landing pages,most visited subsections, or yourmostpopularblogcategory.Thisshouldgiveyouagoodsenseofwhatneedstobeadded,edited,orupdatedwithoutdrowningyouinexcesswork.

Contentauditsareidealfor:

Scopingandrevisinganexistingwebsitewithextensivecontent.Managingpoliticalissuesarounddepartmentalownershipofcontent.Assessingexistingprintanddigitalcontentresourcesforpotentialrepurposing.

Yourcontentauditwillrecordquantitativeinformationthatwillhelpyouanswerqualitativequestionsabouthowyourcontentisperforming.

QuantitativeInformation:ObjectiveDetails

Howisitorganized?Whatarethemainsectionsandsubpages?WhatcontentdoyouhaveANDhowmuchofitdoyouhave?That’snotjustcopy,it’severything:video,PDFs,registrationsforms,etc.Iseverythinguptodateandincompliancewithcompanyorlegalstandards?Whocreatedit(whichdepartment)?Howmuch traffichas thispagegenerated?What is thebounce rate?Whatareyourtrafficsources?Howmuchtrafficcamefromsocialmedia?Whatotherpagesdoesthissitelinkto?Whoownsfinalapproval?Thiscomesintoplaywhenyou’vegotreallycomplexsitesthatrepresentmorethanonedepartment,company,orbrand.

Qualitative:IstheContentAnyGood?

Isitstillrelevanttoyourusersandyourbusinessgoals?Isitrightforthechannel?Isitusefultousers?

Hereisatemplateforasimplecontentaudit.Foraneditablecontentauditdocument,visittheReturnonEngagementwebsiteatwww.returnonengagement.net.

http://www.returnonengagement.net

Figure2.14Thestructureissimple,butdon’tletthatfoolyou—contentauditsareatonofwork!

SocialMediaOptimization

SocialMediaOptimization (often called SMO) can drive qualified traffic to your site usingsocialnetworks.“Optimizing”forsocialmediasimplymeansyou’remakingiteasyforyouraudiencetoshareyourcontentviatheirsocialnetworks.Youcandothisbyincludingsocialsharingbuttonsonyourcontent,suchasblogposts,butyoucanalsooptimizeforsocialmediabysharingcontentontherightchannelsattherighttime.Forinstance,ifaCalifornia-basedsurfb oard company has an active Twitter following in Australia, they’ll likely need toschedule some content at times theAustralian audience is actually awake. You should takeSMOintoaccountwhenbuildingyourchannelandvelocityplans.

AdaptingContent

Howdoyoucreateenoughcontenttopublishacrossallthesechannels?Yourexistingcontentcan be revised, tweaked and reformatted for different channels. For example, a blog postcouldbebrokenintoaseriesoftweets.Keypointsinavideocouldberepurposedforawhitepaper. An infographic, hosted on your site,might performwell on Pinterest. A blog seriesmightmakeforapopularwebinar.

Maintainingaworkingspreadsheetofallyourcontentcanhelpyoumapexistingcontenttonewchannels.

ContentGovernance

Insmallorganizations,contentrulesareofteninformal.Whenpeoplehaveacloserelationshipto a business orwork on small teams, content that serves the dual needs of audience andbusiness can happen naturally, without written rules. But as an organization grows morecomplex, itmaybecomenecessarytoformalizethemanagementofcontentstrategy.Thisis

knownascontentgovernance.Agovernancemodel—evenif it isunwritten—isanunderstandingofwhocreatescontent

andwhomanagessocialmedia.Inlargeorganizationswithcomplexcontentneeds,awrittencontent governance model provides structure to establish ownership, define approvalprocesses,andcontinuouslyevaluatecontentandtechnicalresourcestoensurethatallcontentis meeting the dual needs of the organization and its audience. Think of your governancemodel as abusinessplan foryour content strategy. It’s a livingdocument thatdefineshowyourorganizationcurrentlyoperatesandincludesplansforcontingencyandgrowth.

Figure2.15Establishingagovernanceplanhelpskeepyourcontentcreationtrainonthetrack.

Likeacontentaudit,thereisnosingleformatforacontentgovernancemodel,butabasicmodelmightinclude:

WhoisresponsibleforcreatingandmaintainingcontentWhatwrittendocumentsexistthatoutlinehowcontentiscreatedandmaintainedWhatbusinessstandardsareweresponsibleforupholdingWhataudienceneedsmustweaddressTechnicallimitationsandcapabilitiesBudgetsReviewprocessesStaffstructureContingencyplans—howwillwehandlecrisis?

For an editable content governance document, visit theReturn on Engagement website atwww.returnonengagement.net.

http://www.returnonengagement.net

Conclusion

Effective content strategy helps you tie content-drivenmarketing goals to customer needswhile improving search engine rankings in the process, which results in more qualifiedcustomertraffictoyourwebsite.Yourpotentialcustomersareonlineforareason.Whataretheylookingfor?Whatchannelsaretheysearching?Whatdevicesaretheyusing?Yourgoalistofigureouttheanswerstothesequestionssothatyoucandevelopcontentthatisvaluabletoyouraudiencesanddeliveritwhereandwhentheyneedit.

Theconceptswecoveredinthischapterinclude:

Usingyourorganization’suniquestoryandassets tocreatecontentsoseductive thatyouraudienceswon’tbeabletoresistreading,using,andsharingit.Anoverviewof content strategyartifacts, includingcontent specificationdocuments,contentaudits,messagearchitecture,andarangeofother tools.Foreditablecontentstrategy templates and worksheets, visit the Return on Engagement website atwww.returnonengagement.net.Basicstrategiesforoptimizingyourcontentfordifferentsocialmediaplatforms.Managecontentcreationacrossyourorganizationwithgovernanceandmaintenanceplans.

Profile

http://www.returnonengagement.net

Figure2.16SarahBest,ContentandSocialMediaDirector,Mightybytes

SarahBestContentandSocialMediaDirector,MightybytesMightybytes’ContentandSocialMediaDirector,SarahBest,sharesherthoughtsbelowonthechallengeofscalingsocialmediaprograms,governance,andmore.

Sarahisanaward-winningcontentandsocialmediastrategist.AsoneofFoursquare’sfirstbusinesspartners,Sarahwroteand launchedfourFoursquarebadges,growingherclient’s business page from 0 followers to over 120,000. As a content strategist, Sarahhelpsarangeofclientsget toknowtheircustomersanddevelop thecontent thatbestsuits both business and customer objectives. Sarah’s past clients and partners includeRailstoTrailsConservancy,Michelin,theAppleStore,theArtInstituteofChicago,theCityofChicagoandmore.HerawardsincludeBestUseofSocialMediaPlatform(Travel+ Leisure Magazine, 2012), and others for social media marketing (CommunicatorAwards, North American Travel Journalists). She was named the #1 North AmericanInfluencer for SocialMediaWeek (Synthesio, 2011). She also fostered community as aMeetUphostatSXSWInteractive2014.

Whatiscontentstrategy?

Contentstrategy isa termthat isusedtodescribea field thathasemerged in thepastfive years or so. Content strategy acknowledges that the terminology and approachesused tomanage print publications around amonthly editorial calendar are no longeradequatetomanagethecomplexworldthatwelivein,whichhasmultitudinouscontentchannelsthatallhavetheirownrulesofengagement,theirowntoneandaudiences,andwhichoperateatdifferentvelocities.

Thewebisalivingthingthatexpandsandcontracts,anditsaudiencesarediverseandmovefromplatformtoplatformlikeschoolsoffish,neverfullyunifyingordissipatingbutsometimescoalescingaroundcertainculturalmomentsandideas.Contentchannelsarethereefsthathelpfacilitatethisbehavior.

Contentstrategyisasetoftoolsandtacticsthatdealswiththiscomplexity,justasinmathematics,chaostheorysetsouttoexplainthebehaviorofdynamicsystemsthatarehardtopredict,liketheweather.

Wheredothedisciplinesofcontentstrategyanduserexperiencedesignoverlap?

Tome,contentstrategyanduserexperiencedesignaretwosidesofthesamecoin.Myown content strategy practice is rooted in user research and empathy.What are theirneedsanddesires?Whatchallengesdotheyface?Andhowdowebalancethoseneeds

with business objectives? Additionally, what devices are they using inwhat contexts?Howdoyoumakethecustomer’sexperiencebothusefulandcompelling?Ithinkthosearequestionsthatbothcontentstrategistsanduserexperiencedesignersask.

Wherecontentstrategydivergesfromuserexperienceiswithaconcernwithhowtoengage users across a number of different channels, such as through social mediaplatforms, a drip marketing campaign executed via email, and different parts of awebsite.Velocityalsocomesintoplayincontentstrategy—understandingtherhythmofTwitter,versustherhythmofFacebook,andsoon.

Content,web,email,social,search:Howdoyouseeitallfittingtogether?

They’re all channels throughwhichyou can reach audiences, andyou should considerwhicharemostimportanttomeetingyouraudience’sandyourbusiness’sobjectives.

Whatcanthefieldofmarketingandthefieldofcommunicationslearnfromeachother?

I think thatmarketingoftenstartswithaconcernwithconversions:howmanypeopleamIconvertingtoasale,andatwhatcost?Becausetraditionalcommunicationsisbasedin the idea of earningunpaidmedia placements, I think there ismore of an emphasisplaced on the value of strategic partnerships:what companies and organizations can Ipartnerwith to extend theaudienceofmybrand?Alsoon relationshipbuilding:whatinfluencershaveextendedthereachofmycontentthisweek?

Thereisalottovalueinbothapproaches.Learninghowtotiesocialmediaeffortstoadollaramount canbeextremelyvaluable in communicatinga returnon investment tobusinessstakeholders,butsocanstrategicallythinkingaboutpartnershipsasavehicleforattractingnewaudiencesandgeneratingmediaplacements.

Whatisthekeytoasuccessfulstrategicpartnership?

Thekeytosuccessfulpartnershipsistostartaconversationwithapotentialpartnerwithan open mind and open language: How can we work together do something that ismutually beneficial? That is how Imade the partnershipwith Foursquare happen. Bypitchingmyteamashavingtherelationshipswithpress,influencers,andconsumersinamarketthattheydidn’tyethaveafootholdin,Chicago.Andthatsuccessfulpartnershipopened thedoor tomanyothers, includingpromotionalpartnershipswith localmedia,SouthwestAirlines,localrestaurants,theatersandculturalinstitutions.

HowhasyourcareerchangedsincethefirsteditionofReturnonEngagement?Whatdoyoudodifferentlyonadailybasisthanyoudidseveralyearsago?

I used to spendmy days communicatingwith tens of thousands of followers throughsocialmedia,and tomillionsofcustomers throughabrandedwebsite.Thereare somepatternsofengagementthatareeasiertoseeandunderstandifyouareworkingwithahugegroupofpeople.Icameintothatpositionatatimewhensocialmediatacticswerenot particularly well defined, and I had the freedom to experiment across a lot ofplatforms,everyday,onamassivescale,toseewhatworkedanddidn’twork.

Today,Ispendlesstimeontheground,andmoretimeapplyingwhatI’velearnedtothecontentandsocialmediastrategiesofclients indiversesectors.Myclientscometome not quite knowing who their online audiences are; not knowing what content todevelop for a newwebsite orwhat to do about all their old content; or not having astrategyforwhattodoafterthelaunchoftheirsite.Helpingcustomersdevelopamoresophisticatedunderstandingofwhattheircustomersaredoingonline,andhowtobettercommunicatetheirbrandthroughstrategicmessages,isveryrewarding.

Whathasbeenthebiggestchangeintheworldofsocialmediamarketingoverthepastfewyears?

Scalabilityisalwaysachallenge.Inanidealworld,wecoulduseplatformslikeTwittertolisten to every individual customer’s needs and to meet those needs quickly andefficiently.Intherealworld,thereisneverenoughtimetodoaperfectjobofthis.ThatiswhyIspendtimehelpingclientsprioritizekeymessagesandtodiscoverwhatchannelsare most effective for reaching their target audiences.We have to think strategically,becausethereisonlysomuchtimeintheday.

Conversely,Ifindthatthebiggestchallengethatmostofmyclientsface,isproducingcontentwithinacertainbusinessenvironment.Almosteveryoneatsomepointcomestome with questions about governance: how do they get a particular department orstakeholder’sbuyin?Howdotheysolvetheproblemofhavingtoomanydepartmentswanttoomanythingsonahomepage?Howdotheydotheworkthattheyneedtodowhile facing certain staffing constraints? That is what governance tools such asworkflows,approvalandreviewprocesses,andwrittenpoliciessolve.

Whatwillbethebiggestchallengeformarketingfirmswantingtostayrelevantmovingforward?

Whileit’salwaysachallengetokeepupwithwhatthelatestInstagramorPinterestis,atyourcoreyoujusthavetohaveapracticethatisbasedinsomethingdeeperthanthat,whetherit’sbasedinusabilityorinsomethingelse.Thefishwillswimfromreeftoreef,butwecanobservesomepatternsintheirbehaviorsthattranslatefromoneplatformtoanother.

Similarly, what will be the biggest challenge for web design firms wanting to stayrelevantmovingforward?

I think thebiggest challenge iskeepingupwithaudiencecontexts.According toAmitSinghal,aSeniorVicePresidentofGoogle,theidealfuturetechnologyisonethatfadesintothebackgroundwhenyoudon’tneedit.Physicaldevicessuchasmobilephonescanpresentbarrierstotheuserthatseparatetheminunnaturalwaysfromtheworldaroundthem. With gestural interfaces, native language search, geolocation and devices likeGoogleGlass,thosebarrierskeepbreakingdown.

Mobile phones have already exploded the idea of user experience to encompassdynamicandunstablescenarios,suchaspeoplewhoaretweetingaboutanaturaldisasterin real time, or to give a more mundane example, people who are price-checkingsomethingatanelectronicsstoretomakesurethattheyaregettingthebestdeal.

Thosedynamicsituationsarejustgoingtokeepgettingmoreandmorecomplex,withmoreandmoredesignpatternsandaudiencecontextstoconsider.

Whatisthedifferencebetweencontentmarketingandinfluencerengagement?

Ialwaystrytoidentifysituationsthataremutuallybeneficialtoboththecustomerandthebusiness.Ithinkthat“contentmarketing”cansometimesbetoonarrowlyfocusedonconversionsattheexpenseofmeetingacustomer’sneedsanddesires.

Goodinfluencerengagementcanproduceareturnonengagementwhilefacilitatingarelationship rather than just a conversion. You still get the conversions, but you alsofostercustomerloyalty.

AnexampleofthisfrommyowncareerwaswhenIstartedaprograminChicagoforamateurphotographers,whohadtheneedtodeveloptheirskillsandadesiretoexplorenew parts of the city. They also interacted with other photographers online throughFlickr (andsubsequently through Instagram)buthadn’tyetmeteachother in real life.MyclienthadaneedtosourceauthenticphotographyofChicagowithoutpayingalotofmoneyforit.

The win-win situation that I came up with was to host events for photographerswhere they could develop their photography skills with local teachers, gain moreknowledgeaboutChicago’sneighborhoodsthroughguidedtours,andmeettheironlinefriendsforthefirsttimeinreallife,overdrinks.Iprovidedthemwithteachers,spacetogatherin,andthoughtfullyfacilitatedevents.Thiscostalmostnothingbeyondpayingtheteachers,sincemyofficealreadyhadspaceandknowledgeableguidesatourdisposal,aswell as relationshipswith restaurants andbarswhowerewilling todonatedrinksandappetizers.

Thebusinessbenefitwasthatweendedupwithphotographythatwashigherquality,

better annotated, and with relationships with photographers that we could leveragewhenweneededphoto content. It also led tophotowalk event partnershipswith theApple Store, Art Institute of Chicago, HancockObservatory and other businesses andorganizations.

Thebenefittothephotographerswasequallyclear:theyweregainingnewskillsandengaging in peer-to-peer education, exploring unique locations around the city theymight not normally have access to, and forming lasting friendships with otherphotographers.ThemeetupsthatIorganizedresultedinanindependentgroupofover400photographerswhostillorganizephotowalksarounddifferentareasofChicagoontheirown.Imyselfmetsomeofmybestfriendsinthegroup.

Wheredoyouseetheindustryevolving?

On the technical side, continuing development of gestural interfaces and naturallanguage based search is fundamentally changing user experience design. On themarketing and communications side,what I am seeing is people innovating strategiesusingexistingplatformstosolvemoreandmorecomplexproblems,suchaspreventingviolenceandcommunicatingeffectivelyduringnaturaldisastersandpoliticaluprising.

Anythingelseyouwanttoshare?

I think it’s crucial to remember thatpeople indifferent cultures and situationsuse theinternet in radically differentways. Read case studies about peoplemaking billions ofdollarsinfinancialmicrotransactionsthroughm-pesas(mobilebanking)inAfrica.Thinkaboutgrandparentsaccessingtheinternetthroughaproxylikeagrandchild(“Couldyoulookthisupforme?”).Thinkabouthowpeoplewithlimitedmobilityorvisionusetheinternet.Thinkabouthowtoddlersusetablets.Ilovetostudyedgecasesandtoreadcasestudiesoutsideofmydiscipline,becauseitexpandsmysenseofthestrategiesandtoolsthatareavailabletome,eveninlessextremecircumstances.

Note

1.ThisinformationhasbeenrewrittenfromcontentavailableatTheMozBlog,April10,2013,“HowtoBuildaContent

MarketingStrategy,”.www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-build-a-content-marketing-strategy.

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/how-to-build-a-content-marketing-strategy

ChapterThreeSEOandContentStrategy

SearchEngineOptimization(SEO)isanonlinemarketingstrategyfordrivingqualifiedsearchenginetrafficbyincreasingapage’srankinorganic(i.e.,unpaid)searchenginelistings.

AsuccessfulSEOstrategyisbuiltonafoundationofhighqualitycontent.Oncethecontentisinplace,youoptimizethatcontentforsearchenginesinthreeways:

Identifyingandusingkeywordsandsearchphrases.Developingandexecutingasmartlinkbuildingstrategy.Optimizingpagemetadata.

IdentifyingandUsingKeywordsandSearchPhrases

Peopleusesearchengines to findspecific information.Thewords theyenter into thesearchbar represent the primary information the search enginehas about the searcher’s intent, sosearchenginealgorithmslookforcontentthatusesthosewords.Asacontentstrategist,yourgoal is tofigureoutexactlywhatwordsyourtargetaudienceusestosearchforthecontentyour organization has created. These words are your keywords, and you’ll use themthroughoutallyourcontenttofocussearchengineattentiononyourcontent.

BroadTermandLongTail

Whenpeoplesearch,theytendtousetwotypesofkeywords:broadtermandlongtail.Broadtermwordsdescribeyourofferinginthemostgeneralwaypossible.Longtailwordsdescribeyourofferinginamorespecificway.AccordingtotheteamatMoz,70%ofsearcheslie1inthelongtail,hundredsofmillionsofuniquesearchesthataredonejustafewtimesperday.

Forexample,arealtormightusethissetofbroadtermandlongtailkeywords:

BroadTerm LongTailRealtor Ranch-stylehomesforsale

Homeforsale HomesforsalebyownerinChicagoNewhome(s)forsale BestChicagorealestateagents

PrinciplesforChoosingKeywords

Your keywords can and should change over time based on performance data, so choosekeywordswiththemindsetthatyou’retestinghypothesesratherthanlayingdownpermanentrules.Therulesofthumbweusewhenwe’recreatingkeywordlistsare:

1. Sticktokeywordlistsofabout20orsotermsandphrases.2. Useamixofbroadtermandlongtailterms.Thereisalotofcompetitionforbroad

terms— think about how many companies want to be the first search result for“wedding planning”— so it’s hard to fight to the top of the search rankings usingbroadtermsalone.Rankingatthetopforalongtailtermlike“DIYphotobooth”isamuchmoreattainablegoal.

3. Include 2–4wordphrases.This is partly because it’s howpeople search andpartlybecausephrasesarelesscompetitiveandmoretargetedtowhatyouoffer.

4. Alwaysdoarelevancecheckonyourkeywords.Termsthatseemlikeagoodfitforyour content may prove to have associations that are less relevant to yourorganization. For example, a realtor might consider using the term “affordablehousing.”However,aquickGooglesearchof“affordablehousing”showsthatthetopresultsareall forgovernmentassistance.Forarealtor, “cheapapartments”conveysthesameideawithoutthegovernmentassociations.

KeywordTools

Thereareabunchof toolsyoucanuse to identify thebestkeywords foryourcontentstrategy.Hereareseveral:

FreeOptions(mostrequireanaccount)

Google Keyword Planner (adwords.google.com/keywordplanner) is areplacementfortheerstwhileGoogleKeywordToolthatnowusesfunctionalityfromthatandtheirtrafficEstimatortool.AGoogleAdWordsaccountisrequired.Wordtracker (freekeywords.wordtracker.com) gives you free access to theirkeyword tool (with an account), but they also have a paid suite of online

http://adwords.google.com/keywordplannerhttp://freekeywords.wordtracker.com

marketingtoolsaswell.SEOBook’sKeywordTool (tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/) is free,butlikeWordtrackeralsoofferspremiumoptions.

PaidOptions

Allthreeoftheseoptionsofferasuiteoftoolswithapaidsubscription,oneofwhichisakeywordtool.

Moz(moz.com/tools/keyword-difficulty)SEMrush(semrush.com)Hubspot(www.hubspot.com/products/seo)

Figure3.1Alwaysdoarelevancecheckonyourkeywordstoensurethatyouareusingtermswiththerightconnotation(see

http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/http://moz.com/tools/keyword-difficultyhttp://semrush.comhttp://www.hubspot.com/products/seo

also3.2).

LinkBuilding

Searchenginesseelinksfromreputablewebsitesasvotesrepresentinginternetuser’schoicesaboutwhat pages are relevant and important. Link building is an SEO technique aimed atincreasing thenumberandqualityof sites that link toyourpage.Whilenoneof the searchengines publish guidelines outlining exactly how they measure link building, there are ahandfulofprinciplescontentstrategistscanusefullyplanaround:

Figure3.2

1. Credibility:Theinternetisfullofspam,andsearchenginesusetwosignalstorankcredible sites above spam sites: site popularity and trust. The more popular andrespected a site is, themoreweight search engines give to links from that site to

yours.Inotherwords,it’smorevaluabletohaveahandfuloflinksfromverypopularsites likeWikipedia andGitHub than it is to have dozens of links from siteswithlimited reach and popularity. Inbound links from highly trusted domains, likeuniversities (.edu), government websites (.gov) and non-profit organizations (.org),areanotherimportantsignaltosearchenginesthatyoursiteiscredible.

2. Relevance:Inboundlinksfromsiteswithinatopic-specificcommunitymattermorethan links from general or off-topic sites. For example, if your website sells doghouses,earninglinksfromtheSocietyofDogBreedersismorevaluablethanearninglinksfromanoff-topicsite.

3. Recency:Whenpeoplesearchforinformationonatopictheywantthemostup-to-date information, so all things being equal, search engine algorithms rank newcontentoveroldcontent.Thus,it’simportantnotonlytoearnlinkstoyourwebsite,butalsotocontinuetoearnadditionallinksovertime.

4. Socialsharing:ThelastfewyearshaveseenanexplosionintheamountofcontentsharedthroughsocialservicessuchasFacebook,Twitter,Google+andPinterest.Todate,nooneknowsexactlyhowsocialsharingimpactssearchengineresultsbutthegeneralconsensusisthatitdoes.

Link-BuildingStrategy

Everyonewouldliketogetmoretrafficfromsearchengines.Google,whichhasthehighestsearchvolume,istheholygrailofsearchenginemarketersandcontentcreators.Butrankinghigher inGoogle search results isn’tanovernightprocess.Searchenginescan’tbe “tricked”into ranking sites higher if you use tactics like adding a website link to a press release,submittingyourwebsitetodirectories,orexchanginglinkswithfriends.Asearchenginethatiseasy to trick isnotveryuseful,because theywould rankpoorcontenthigher thanusefulcontent.Thus, creatinghigh-quality, shareablecontent is theultimateway to rank in searchengines.

InaguestpostfortheMightybytesblog,AndyCrestodinaoutlinedtwoeffectivestrategiesforbuildinganarrayofhigh-quality, inboundlinkstoyoursite:guestbloggingandcreatinglink-worthycontentonyoursite.Here’swhathehadtosayabouteach.

GuestBlogging

Popular blogs need content.Most of them are actively looking for submissions from guestbloggers.They’remorethanhappytoincludealinktoyoursiteinyourauthorbioifyoucangivethemanarticlethatmakestheiraudiencehappy.

Writesomethingworthyofbeingpublishedonagreatblog.Makesurethetopic,tone,length,andformattingareafitfortheblogyou’retargeting.Network with the blog editor. Connect with the editors of blogs in your industry,especially blogs that your audience is likely to read. Socialmedia is a greatway tomakewiththesevaluableconnections.Submitittotheeditor,complyingwiththesubmissionguidelinesifavailable.Beopentochanges.Remember,you’reaguest.Beconsiderate.

GooglePageRank

Google’s PageRank algorithm assesses the trustworthiness of the sites that link to youandassignsyoursiteanumberfrom0to10.Foryearscontentstrategistsusedtheirsite’sPageRanknumberastheKeyPerformanceIndicatorfortheirwork.

Then inOctober 2009,Google employee SusanMoskwa noted, “We’ve been tellingpeopleforalongtimethattheyshouldn’tfocusonPageRanksomuch;manysiteownersseemtothinkit’sthemostimportantmetricforthemtotrack,whichissimplynottrue.”2

Yoursite’sPageRankshouldmerelybeconsideredahelpfulindicationofitsauthorityasopposed to the ‘be-all-endall’metric to focuson. Instead, focusonmetrics thatwillhelptherelevancyofyoursiteinbusinessterms,likeconversionrates.

CreateLink-worthySiteContent

This is the ultimate trick to building links. It’s alsoGoogle’s own top recommendation forranking.Itworkslikethis:

Createa trulygreatpieceofcontent.Originalresearch,detailedhow-tocontentandusefultoolsareespeciallyeffectiveforthisapproach.Alignthepostorpagewithakeyphrase.Findaphrasethatpeoplearesearchingforandaphrasethatisn’ttoocompetitive.Usebasicon-pageSEOwhenwritingthepagetomakesureit’sindicatingitsrelevanceforthephrase.Postandshare itwitha fewbloggerswhoare interested in the topic.Again, socialmediaisusefulforthis.Personalemailscanalsobeeffective.Bringthecontenttotheirattention and politely suggest they cover the topic on their blogs, if it isn’t tooawkward.

Most content strategists are focused on creating link-worthy content for their own

organization’s website (or the client for whom they are doing strategy). Guest blogging,however, is often over looked because the content is offsite. Still, if content you create forothersiteslinksbacktoyourwebsite(inyourbio,forinstance),itaddsvalueintheformofinbound links.Thusguestblogging shouldbeconsideredan importantpartofyourchannelplansorotherstrategiccontentinitiatives.

Metadata

Metadataisdataaboutdata.Peoplecanunderstandinformationifpresentedintext,images,charts,videos,andsoon,butsearchalgorithmscanonlyreadtext.Inordertoensurethatthecontentpresented in imagesandvideoscanbe included insearchenginerankings,we labelthosefileswithmachinereadabletexttags.Thesetagsaremetadata.

Yourpagetitletags,imagealttags,linkanchortext,andevenfilenamesshouldadheretoyourkeyword strategy just likeon-page content should.Thispracticewill ensure thatyoursite’scontentisbeingindexedcorrectlybysearchengines.

Whichtagsaremostrelevanttothe“crawlability”ofyourwebsitebysearchengines?Hereare some commonly usedmetadata tags relevant to how a search engine interprets awebpage.

MetaDescription

Thistagprovidessearchengineswithashortdescriptionaboutthecontentonthepage.Whenyourpageappearsonasearchresultlist,yourmetadescriptionisthesnippetofinformationtheperson searching sees.Although algorithmsno longer relyheavily onmetadescription,people still do. According to a survey conducted by iAcquire and SurveyMonkey, 43% ofpeopleclickonaresultbecausethemetadescriptionbestmatcheswhatthey’relookingfor.3

The length limit formeta description is just 155 characters, so all your practice composingwitty Tweets will pay off here. It is also important to note that this description is whattypicallyshowsupwhenyousharelinksviasocialnetworkslikeFacebookorLinkedIn.

Figure3.3Thetextintheredboxisthemetadescriptionofthispage.

PageTitle

ThetitletagdefinesthenameofanHTMLdocument.Thetitleshowsupintwoplaces:inthetopofthewebbrowserandinasearchengineresultspage(SERP).Becausethetitletaghasabig influenceonsearchengine rankings, it’san importantplace to leadwithkeywords (butmakesureitsoundsnatural,asitisoneofthefewtagsvisibletohumans).You’relimitedtoamere70characters.Itisbesttoplaceyourkeywordsinthebeginningwhenpossible.

Figure3.4ThetextintheredboxisthePageTitle.

HeadingTags

Searchengineslooktoheadingtagstogaugetherelevanceofapage’scontent.TheH1tagisthemostimportantbecauseitidentifiesthecontentofthepage.EachpageonlygetsoneH1tag, so treat them the way newspapers treat headlines: attention grabbing and full ofkeywords.Headingtagsrangeinsixsizes—h1,h2,h3,h4,h5andh6(naturally).Astheydenoteawebpage’sin