what's your business problem - selling content strategy
TRANSCRIPT
www.scroll.co.uk © 2015 Scroll LLP
Photo credit, all photos: Rahel Anne Bailie
What’s Your (Business) Problem?Selling content strategy into organisations
Rahel Anne BailieChief Knowledge Officer, Scroll
15+ years content strategy
10+ years tech communication5+ years business communication
Consulting / Instruction / Author
@ScrollUK @rahelab
WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?
Selling content strategy into an organisation
• Frame the pitch• Refine the pitch• Segment the strategy• Avoid blockers and busters
FRAME THE NEED
Frame the need for a content strategy
• Speak their language• Show them the money• Be clear and decisive
Speak their language
Speak their language
People trust other people “in the know”• Show that you understand the business goals• Use the vocabulary of the organisation• Teach them your jargon
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT
specialising in
CONTENT TURN-AROUNDS
Show them the money
Show them the money
Ultimately, there must be business impact• Work through the aspects of business value• Sit down with finance to run the numbers• Be prepared to defend your position
Representative business drivers
Be clear and decisive
Be clear and decisive
Ultimately, there must be business impact• Work through the aspects of business value• Sit down with finance to run the numbers• Be prepared to defend your position
WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU
is
SYSTEMATISE YOUR CONTENT
REFINE THE PITCH
Have the right conversation with the right audience
• Pitch to the right audience• Have the right conversation• Make your success their success
Pitch to the right audience
Pitch to the right audience
Content strategy is cross-functionalPotentially has far-reaching implications• Budget holders• Executive sponsors• Heads of functional areas• Technologists
Have the right conversation
wah wah wah XML wah wah wah CMS wah wah wah content strategy wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah content
curation wah wah wah wah
,, ..
Have the right conversation
Transportation
Sports
Their business
Walk the talk of getting “the right content to the right people at the right time”• Inform, educate, persuade• Emphasise the benefits, hard and soft• Use metaphors and examples
the audience understands
Make your success their success
Make it collaborative
It takes a corporate village to manage content• Take hold of the process, not the credit• Educate, inform, persuade• Their success is your success• Have a project, a budget, and clear governance
The thing about governance
A content strategy has lots of moving parts and affects many departments, and needs:• Buy-in from multiple teams• Teams to work together for end-to-end results• To get systems working together• To establish ownership and responsibility• To enforce the work that comes with responsibility
SEGMENT THE STRATEGY
Position the strategy for success
• Break the strategy down into digestible chunks• Expect many stages of Yes• Position the project for quick wins
Break the strategy into digestible chunks
Break the strategy down into digestible chunks
Photo credit: Stephan Schuster lab, Penn State
A content strategy can seem too big and scary• Find a manageable starting point• Fence it as a pilot project• Determine how to scale it• Agree on check-in points
Expect many stages of yes
Expect many stages of yes
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Easier to get buy-in for immediate effort• Remind them where you’re at• Remind them what they’d
agreed to• Discuss the next stage• Repeat as needed
Position the project for quick wins
Position the project for quick wins
Everyone loves a winner• Find small ways to win• Show how the win corrects a pain point• Connect the dots to future work and wins
AVOID BLOCKERS AND BUSTERS
Avoid blocks and busters
• Governasties• Technologists• Controllers
Governasties
Governasties
Governance can go awry with:• Entrenchment (“just say no”)• Death by silo• Benign neglect• Willing but unable (Dunning-Kruger effect)• Misunderstood goalposts
Technologists
Technologists
Technology groups can be formidable blockers:• Expediency over efficacy (minimum viable product)• Obfuscation by diversion of attention• Inappropriately placed authority• Limited themselves to their own sphere
(“we don’t know what the question is, but the answer is always what we know how to do”)
Controllers
Controllers
Control issues show themselves in several ways:• Gatekeepers (passive-aggressive form of sabotage)• Objectives and solutions don’t mesh• Leaving project at business unit or department level• Each department trying to solve problems in isolation
• Do your research – gather all the facts you can• Be confident in your presentation – know your
arguments thoroughly• Be generous with your coaching: prepare to bring the
organisation along with you
By email:[email protected]@scroll.co.ukBy telephone:UK +44 (0)203 318 1828 (office)UK +44 (0)7869 643 685 (mobile)
Social:Twitter: @ScrollUKLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scroll-llpTwitter: @rahelabLinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rahelannebailie
Services:www.scroll.co.ukTraining:www.digitalcontent.academy
SCROLLLondon, UK