user focused content strategy that is just right

Content Strategy That Fits

SMALL MEDIUM AND LARGE

Carrie Hane Dennison @carriehd

Lorelei Brown @beezy

#userfocus

Self-test

Do you have

A list of search terms?

Analytics?

A list of site content?

A standards/editorial style

guide?

Target audiences?

Do you know

When you need to update your

site?

Who is responsible for the

content?

What words everyone is using to

describe your

company/product/offering?

Content Strategy AUDITS, STRATEGY, GOVERNANCE

Audits – LISTING

A list of content on your site.

What wordseveryone is using to describe your

company/product/offering?

Search terms?

Strategy – PLANNING

When you need to update content.

Defined audience.

How content builds a relationship with your

audience.

Governance – MAINTAINING

Define who is responsible for the content.

Standards/editorial style guide?

Know who’s the sheriff?

Why Bother?

Reasons WHY you’re doing this – a plan

that everyone can agree on (more or less)

Ways to measure if the plan is working

Guidelines to prioritize work

Less overhead time figuring out what you

need to do

More time spent engaging your audience

Audit – You Are Here

You can’t know how to get where you’re

going until you know where you are.

SMALL

Start with top level pages and key

‘strategic content’

Note seasonal/response content

MEDIUM

Add audiences, purposes, start evaluation

LARGE

List every page

image of map with

"you are here"

INSERT EXAMPLE OF

AUDIT

screen shot of NGAUS content inventory

Audit Outcomes

Catalog of what’s there

Condition of the content – good, editable,

redundant, terrible

What’s missing

Strategy – We Are Going

There

What’s the route you’re going to take to get

there?

SMALL

Define who we’re trying to reach and what they

want to know.

MEDIUM

Map pages and paths to user tasks

Find pain points

LARGE

Group content to pages

Consider IA/functionality revisions

Strategy Input

Strategy Input

Strategy Outcomes

Strong guidelines for producing content.

Hit the ground running – we’re already

ramped up.

Common understanding for designers,

developers, marketers….everyone.

Ggovernance – We’re Here!

SMALL

Define how something gets on the site

Write a basic site calendar

Assign content ownership

Create an archive policy

MEDIUM

Write a visual and editorial style guide

Include voice, vocabulary, etc.

Create workflows

LARGE

Form a governance board that meets quarterly

Coordinate website and other communication channels

Get a place at the table

GOVERNANCE EXAMPLES

Screen shot of giant spreadsheet of terror

Governance Outcomes

Standards and process

Unified voice

Content is audience-focused

Getting Started Activities

Assess the situation

Audit

Get baseline metrics to measure changes

Find Partnerships

Coordinate editorial calendars

Record decisions

Build buy-in

Keep Going

Altruism: Build credibility by being

helpful

Communicate bite-sized, what’s-in-it-for-

me numbers and facts

Make it easier to produce and post

content

Self-Interest: Show value by being helpful

Track saved manhours from your team

and other teams

Save happy emails