A core content strategy process for a strong start csa

MARLOWE BECKLEY

A Core Content Strategy Process for a Strong Start

Agenda

• Introductions

• Overview

• Methodology

• Intermission (15 min)

• Deliverables

• Resources

Goals for Today

• Learn Everything

• Provide Resources

• What are your goals?

ABOUT MARLOWE BECKLEY

• Content Director, Hathway, a mobile innovation agency

• Formerly of SapientNitro, Razorfish, and Manifest

• 10 years in Content Strategy

• Previous clients include Fortune 50 financial servicesfirms and some of the world’s largest companies

• @marlowebeckley

• [email protected]

• www.linkedin/in/marlowesarahbeckley

http://www.linkedin/in/marlowesarahbeckley

ABOUT HATHWAY

• Since 2008, Hathway has been helping global brands put useful brand experiences in the hands of customers at the right time and place

• Our value lies in concepting breakthrough ideas paired with outstanding execution across media, touchpoint and device

• www.wearehathway.com

Every interaction, connection& touchpoint matters.

Class Bio

• Name, title, company, goal for today

• How many years have you been working in content?

• Who works at an agency?

• Who reports to IT or Operations?

• Who reports to Marketing?

• How many of you work in an Agile environment?

• How many work in waterfall?

• What types of content do you work with?

Business Issues Bio

• What is the biggest content problem you have?

• What is the biggest business problem your company is facing?

• How is content positioned to support that problem?

Overview ObjectivesDefine Content

Define Content Strategy

Purpose of Content Strategy

What Is Content?

Rahel Bailie: The stuff between the tags

Joe Pulizzi: Compelling information that informs, engages or amuses

Kevin Nichols: Any recorded information

Ann Rockley: Not limited to one purpose, technology or output. Intelligent content is structurally rich and semantically aware, and is therefore discoverable, reusable, reconfigurable and adaptable.

Quiz

Besides text and photos, what kind of content formats do you deal with now?

What kind of content do you expect to create in the next five years?

Is your company’s current process set up to handle that content?

Strategy Definition

• A plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim

• Options chosen to create a desired future, such as achieving a goal or finding a solution to a problem

Content Strategy Definition

• Fundamentally, it’s simply getting the right content to the right customer at the right time, in the right format.

• A content strategy is a repeatable method for identifying all content requirements up front and to create consistently structured content designed for reuse, managed from a definitive source, to meet both customer and business needs.

• A repeatable system that manages content throughout its lifecycle

Two “Sides” to Content Strategy

• “Front end”: Editorial• Content Development• Writing/Editorial Style Guides• Editorial Calendar

• “Back end”: Content Architecture• Content Models• Content Types• Taxonomies • Metadata

Source: Ann Rockley

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2016/02/types-content-strategist/

Content Strategy Components

Where is the Content Strategy?

• A set of guidelines that document the standards and requirements of the relevant content

• Outlines the business process for creating consistent, unified and structured content

• May include a content model to illustrate the enterprise’s content and their relationships

Content Lifecycle

Content Lifecycle

Sources: Gartner, June 2000 and Rahel Bailie, Intentional Design

• Acquire

• Author

• Localize

• Metadata

• Present

• Transform

• Aggregate

• Revise

• Requirements

• Testing

• Metrics

• Models

• Standards

• Structure

• Repository

Manage Analyze

CollectPublish

Content

Repository

Workflow

Integration

Strategy


• Requirements

• Testing

• Metrics

Manage Analyze

CollectPublish

Implementation


• Present

• Transform

• Aggregate

• Revise

• Acquire

• Author

• Localize

• Metadata

• Models

• Standards

• Structure

• Repository

Manage Analyze

CollectPublish

Governance


Content

Repository

Workflow

Integration

Quiz: Lifecycle

• Can content exist in all quadrants?

• Where is your content coming from?

• What should happen to content before it moves through the lifecycle again?

• Content management/governance allows content to?

• How do you add value to content?


Methodology

Methodology Overview

Discover: Current state

• Content process

• Content requirements

• Business performance

• Use cases

• Tech/Tools

Define: Future State

• Content metrics

• Business goals

• User needs

• Tech/Tools

• Channels

• Processes

• Blue sky

Gap Analysis

• Identify needs

• Determine level of effort

• Low-hanging fruit

• Provide options

Define: Roadmap

• Editorial plan

• Process

• Tech/Tools

• Governance

Deliverables by Phase

Discover

Assessing & Auditing• Content Brief• Content Assessment• Content Inventory• Content Audit• Competitive Assessment

Business Planning & Resources• Staffing RecommendationRequirements• Content Metrics • SEO Recommendations• Content RequirementsStrategic Recommendations• Content Recommendations• Content Strategy framework• Conceptual Content ModelEditorial• Editorial Strategy & style

guide

Content Production / Migration

• Content Matrix• Content Migration Plan• Content Production Plan• Localization Strategy• CMS Authoring Guide

Define Design Implement

Business Planning & Resources• Governance Model• Business Org Structure • Staffing PlanContent Model and Workflow• Content Types definition• Template recommendations• CMS Content Model• Content Matrix• Content Lifecycle definitionTaxonomy & Meta-tagging• Taxonomy• Metadata and Tagging Strategy• Taxonomy Governance PlanEditorial• Editorial Calendar• Editorial Style Guide• Copy Deck

Source: Kevin Nichols

Quiz: The Purpose of Content Strategy

• Why do we go through all this effort?

CS as Strategist/Consultant

• The content strategist is a management consultant in disguise (according to Rahel Bailie)

• Content strategy is businesstransformation

• CS solves business problems

• CS uses a repeatable methodology, justlike consulting

• Consulting exists to help clients improve ROI

Content Strategy ROI

• Enhanced communication across teams and less rework, reduced duplication of content

• Better, more consistent user experience

• Consistent SEO to give your content more mileage

• Repeatable methods for identifying requirements

• Definitive sources of legally-approved content

• Re-usability for a variety of content through multiple devices (modularity)

• On-demand assembly processes to meet customer communication needs efficiently and consistently

How to calculate content strategy ROI

• There are hard and soft evaluations of content strategy return on investment• For example: Consistent voice and tone that improves the customer

experience through increased engagement may be “soft” to measure but invaluable to the brand credibility and perception

• Tie key performance indicators to content. • A/B test calls to action and measure the results

• What other measures are there?

Content versioning escalation example

Quiz: Align Business Goals to Content Strategy

Common Business Goals

Increase revenue

Reduce risk

Globalization

Increase engagement

Improve economies of scale

Content Tactics

High quality content

Streamlined content production

Automated review process

Multi-channel publishing

Personalized content

Deliverables

Deliverables by Phase

Discover

Assessing & Auditing• Stakeholder Interviews• Content Brief• Content Inventory• Content Audit• Competitive Assessment

Business Planning & Resources• Staffing RecommendationRequirements• Content Metrics • SEO Recommendations• Content RequirementsStrategic Recommendations• Content Recommendations• Content Strategy framework• Conceptual Content Model




Business Planning & Resources• Governance Model• Business Org Structure • Staffing PlanContent Model and Workflow• Content Types definition• Template recommendations• CMS Content Model• Content Matrix• Content Lifecycle definitionTaxonomy & Meta-tagging• Taxonomy• Metadata and Tagging Strategy• Taxonomy Governance PlanEditorial• Editorial Calendar• Editorial Style Guide• Copy Deck


Map Deliverables

The Minimum

Discover






Business Planning & Resources• Governance Model• Business Org Structure • Staffing PlanContent Model and Workflow• Content Types definition• Template recommendations• CMS Content Model• Content Lifecycle definitionTaxonomy & Meta-tagging• Taxonomy• Metadata and Tagging Strategy• Taxonomy Governance PlanEditorial• Editorial Calendar• Editorial Style Guide• Copy Deck Source: Kevin Nichols

Minimum deliverables for a full CS project.

The We Don’t Want Content Strategy Minimum

Discover



Define



The New CMS Minimum

Discover






Business Planning & Resources• Governance Model• Business Org Structure • Staffing Plan• Content Model and Workflow• Content Types definition• Template recommendations• CMS Content Model• Content Lifecycle definitionTaxonomy & Meta-tagging• Taxonomy• Metadata and Tagging Strategy• Taxonomy Governance PlanEditorial• Editorial Calendar• Editorial Style Guide• Copy Deck Source: Kevin Nichols


Deliverables to Share

Discover


Business Planning & Resources• Staffing RecommendationRequirements• Content Metrics • SEO Recommendations• Content RequirementsStrategic Recommendations• Content Recommendations• Content Strategy

framework• Conceptual Content Model




Business Planning & Resources• Governance Model• Business Org Structure • Staffing Plan• Content Model and Workflow• Content Types definition• Template recommendations• CMS Content Model• Content Lifecycle definitionTaxonomy & Meta-tagging• Taxonomy• Metadata and Tagging Strategy• Taxonomy Governance PlanEditorial• Editorial Calendar• Editorial Style Guide• Copy Deck Source: Kevin Nichols


Successful Content

The Ideal Content

• High Quality

• Relevant

• Accessible

• Accurate

• Engaging

• CMS Agnostic

• Findable

• Timely

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PLUS gives users what they want:

• Task completion

• Entertainment

• Socialengagement

Steps to Create Content

Plan

Acquire assets

Align to Model

Migrate

Build

Author Process

Quality Content Checklist

• Chunked and designed for reuse

• Semantically tagged

• Mapped to a content model

• On brand –voice and tone correct

• Consistent across all channels –analog and digital

• Uses quality, unique keywords (Mathewson)

• What else?

Select Deliverable Examples

Content Audit

Content Audit

• Read Content Audits and Inventories: A Handbook by Paula Land

• Use the inventory as your base

• Identify high-value content• Popular

• Required by law

• Current

• Meets top 5 business/customer goals

• Other criteria?

• Look for patterns and gaps

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Content-Audits-Inventories-Handbook-Paula-Ladenburg-Land/1937434389

Content Brief

Content Brief

• May be a stand-alone document

• Often part of Experience Strategy, Creative Brief or other doc

• Structure:• Background/Project purpose• Business problem• Content objectives• Special considerations, if any (third parties, APIs, etc.)• Recommendations• Roadmap (optional)• Process (may be separate by phase)• Budget (may be in another doc)

MGM GRAND &MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL

Role: Content Director, led team of six content strategists

Project Overview: This project required a flexible, scalable, cross-platform content strategy and uniquely structured content model to allow for consistent content to live anywhere across 12 separately branded MGM Resorts.

Responsibilities: Team management, presented all client-facing work, collaborate with internal work tracks, daily meetings with client stakeholders, presentations to executives, facilitated taxonomy workshops, plus ran tagging and authoring training sessions.

Tasks & Deliverables:

• Stakeholder Interviews & Research

• Content Audit Findings & Content Strategy Recommendations

• Site Navigation Research and Recommendations to 4 levels

• Content Model to accommodate multiple content sources

• Scope Matrix & Content Requirements

• Content Matrices and Migration Management

• Content Governance Plan with Workflows

• Content Authoring Training Manual (co-author, 500 pages)

Results: Increased conversions, cross-sell ability and content management, allowed for more engaging story-telling.

http://www.mgmgrand.com/

Content MappingConceptual IA

Physical IA

Conceptual Information Architecture

• Map the current and future state content to a conceptual site map• Card sort

• Client workshop

• Make sure you have all the content from everywhere

• Map goals and objectives of the content• Use the customer’s/user’s mental

model/terminology

Goal

Objective

Task

Content

Content

Objective

Activity

Content

Physical Information Architecture/Site Map

Courtesy Kate Cleveland.com

Taxonomy/Metadata

Taxonomy and Metadata

• Taxonomy = controlled vocabulary + structure

• Essential for findability

• Drive navigation

• Bridges the content model and metadata

• Three kinds of me data:• Admin

• Structural

• Descriptive

• Quiz: Define types of metadata

Taxonomy Example

• Business: Cell phone provider

• Create three levels of taxonomy

• Include synonyms where possible

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4Amenities

GolfGreenSand TrapTeeFairwayWater HazardClubhouseCaddy

PoolArchitecture

CabanaDaybedLazy RiverUmbrella

LifestyleWet SplashSunbathingSwimsuit

ShoppingType of Store

Clothing StoreJewelry StoreGallery

Asset Metadata Requirements Example

55

Exercise: Create a taxonomy

• Business: Cell phone provider

• Create three levels of taxonomy

• Include synonyms where possible

Content Model

Content Model

• White: Static content

• Greens: CMS

• Blue: Dynamic content

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Content Type Example

59

Attraction Attraction Name User Entered Text FieldDescription User Entered Text FieldAttraction Times User Entered Text FieldHours of Operation User Entered Text FieldAdditional Ticketing Options User Entered Text FieldTicket Prices User Entered Text FieldRestrictions User Entered Text FieldGeneral Information User Entered Text FieldDisclaimers User Entered Text FieldImages User Entered ImageVideo User Entered VideoBuy Tickets Guest HyperlinkWebsite User Entered HyperlinkDeals User EnteredBackground/History/Design of attraction User Entered Text FieldFan/Guest videos and images User Entered Image/VideoAwards/Accolades User Entered Text Field# of visitors per year User Entered Text FieldCost to build User Entered Text FieldOpened User Entered Text FieldStats User Entered Text Field

Name Element` Content source Field type in CMS Required or optionalYYYYNYNNNYNYNN

NNNNNN

Model to template examplePAGE TEMPLATECONTENT TYPES

Global Header

Local Navigation

Featured Content

Link List

Footer

Article

Content Matrix

66The Content Matrix: Deconstructed | CSA2014

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CONTENT MATRIX?

• It is what we make it

ECM matrix used with permission from Wordimage.com

When Do You Use A Content Matrix?

• Any time you need to understand your content

• Structure unstructured content

• Whenever you need a:

• Content inventory

• Audit/assessment

• Gap analysis

• Migration plan

• Content development tracking

• Capture any data about content

• Identify content goals/audiences/priorities

By Project Phase

• Discovery: Inventory, audit, gap analysis

• Design: Site map, content model

• Develop: Page templates, tracking

• Deploy: Migration plans

• Govern: Metadata, taxonomy

A Migration and Build Matrix Example

Bank Bank

Bank

Bank

Bank

Bank

Bank

Bank

Bank

Long-Form Content Solution

Editorial CalendarFunctional

Integrated

Where is your content published?

• Website

• App

• “Old social media”: Facebook, LinkedIn

• “New social media”: Snapchat, Instagram

• Content Design

• Content Marketing

Common Business Goals

• Increase • Online purchases

• Lead generation

• Promote• Ideas

• Brands

• Yours? Line up business goals and customer needs with the calendar

Editorial Calendar

• Functional calendar:• Schedules when and where content is published

• Leave room for emergencies and surprise campaigns

• Include all content channels –what if owned by another team?

• Integrated calendar:• Go beyond a schedule

• Anticipate content needs

• Identify content connections, upsells, duplication

Campaign

• Social media

• Landing page

• Email blast

New Product

• Landing page

• Support/help content

• Campaign

Blog

• New products

• New ideas

• Social media

The Future of Content Strategy

• What skill differentiates acontent strategist from the AI copy writing and automated A/B testing and automated tagging software that is becoming standard for large companies?

76The Content Matrix: Deconstructed | CSA2014

THE FUTURE IS CHANGE

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the exiting model obsolete.

- Richard Buckminster Fuller

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RECOMMENDED READING

• Content Strategy: Connecting the dots between business, brand, and benefits by Rahel Anne Bailie and Noz Urbina

• “Enterprise Content Strategy: A Project Guide” by Kevin Nichols

• Managing Enterprise Content by Ann Rockley and Charles Cooper

• Content Strategy for Mobile by Karen McGrane

• Content Everywhere by Sara Wachter-Boettcher

• Mobile First by Luke Wroblewski

• Content Typing & Flows, Rahel Anne Bailie

• Modeling Information Experiences: A Recipe for Consistent Architecture, Andrea Ames

• Content Strategy Alliance templates

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http://xmlpress.net/publications/content-strategy/

http://www.amazon.com/Managing-Enterprise-Content-Unified-Strategy/dp/032181536X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360242972&sr=1-1

http://www.abookapart.com/products/content-strategy-for-mobile

http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/content-everywhere/

http://www.abookapart.com/products/mobile-first

http://www.slideshare.net/aames/modeling-information-experiences-a-recipe-for-consistent-architecture?qid=cf03c6b1-2f26-45a7-8eee-b75f2e637756&v=&b=&from_search=9

CONTENT IS PRECIOUS

“You can’t afford to create a piece of content for any one platform. Instead of crafting a website, you have to put more effort into crafting the different bits of an asset, so they can be reused more effectively, so they can deliver more value.”

- Nic Newman, BBC (via Karen McGrane)

Thank you

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Presentations & Public Speaking

A core content strategy process for a strong start csa