Content Strategy & Community

by @BenjMartin

Originally delivered at the Brighton Content Strategy

Meet-up on 24/04/12

A not-so-long time ago, in…

um… the internet… I guess…

EPISODE V THE COMMUNITY STRIKES BACK

The worst thing a content manager can say to a community manager is…

“Hey, would you mind posting a link to that thing we just published on the community?”

A good community manager will always answer “Why?”

@BenjMartin

Although this model

has good intentions,

it is ultimately

ineffective…

Create

content

Publish

It on

community

Get traffic

and

conversation

Have idea

for content

@BenjMartin

With the existence of the community,

content strategy can now afford to (and

should) become more agile…

“You can have content without

community and you can have a

community without content but – and

here’s the fun part- if you have a

thriving community the community

BECOMES the content.”

Source: Darika Ahrens (Forrester, formerly Tempero) http://tempero.co.uk/content-strategy-vs-community-strategy

@BenjMartin

That’s not to say you should just create

content to pander to the community

The community itself is varied, so no

content will ever fully resonate

However, the make-up of the community

can provide guidance as to what

content is the most suitable

@BenjMartin

Community Managers and Content

Strategists are frequently guilty of

assuming people knowledgeable as they

are about the subject…

@BenjMartin

If you want to effectively leverage a

community for your content, a good (but

vague) rule of thumb is…

Create BROAD-LEVEL content for

traffic and conversation (it is better to patronise few and inform many than vice versa)

Create HIGH-LEVEL content for

niche audience acquisition and

brand advocacy (but its still important to appeal to those few who know a bit more)

@BenjMartin

“But what content works well on Facebook / Twitter /

Google+ / blah / blah / blah?”

Well, it depends on the subject matter, really, but

here’s a (really) rough guide…

Facebook: Stuff related to Facebook (however

loosely), Photos, Videos (from YouTube), “Top

3/5/10” posts, Polls

Twitter: Stuff related to Twitter (however loosely),

Photos, “Top 3/5/10” posts, grabbing headlines

Google+: Videos and Links (but it’s still kinda too

early to tell)

@BenjMartin

HOWEVER, community managers need to remember

that while it’s up to the content makers to create

stuff that it is suitable…

It’s up to you to tell them what actually is suitable

It’s up to you to frame it in properly

It’s up to you to keep the conversation going

It’s up to you to report back on your findings

@BenjMartin

As engagement is slowly (but thankfully) becoming

more important than size, and their numbers more

visible, Community Managers have become more at

the mercy of Content Strategists to create decent,

worthwhile content.

This symbiotic need for each other’s expertise has

thus restored “balance to the force”.

@BenjMartin

@BenjMartin