Content Strategy applied: An eBay use case

Content strategy for business sellerseBay Europe

A use case .::. Content strategy applied conference

Nikki Tiedtke . EU Senior Content Strategist

Lucie Hyde . Head of EU Content

Contents

1. The need for a content strategy

2. Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team

3. The context: Online communication for business sellers

4. From chaos to content strategy

5. Where are we now? A content strategy framework

4. Examples of our content strategy

:: Process: workflows & roles:: Brand opportunity & communication strategy:: Messaging hierarchy & Information Architecture:: User research & logfile analysis:: Content template

2Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case

The need for a content strategy

A content strategy approach was already established for eBay US for creating user interfaces and managing Help.

In Europe, we started to establish a content strategy approach in the Marketing & Communications team for business sellers.

Why there?

It was a new, international team.

It was a new communication approach.

It needed content for many communication channels.

It involved localization and content management.

It was a fast pacing, complex environment.

It needed all tools and methods of content strategy – a perfect pilot for implementation.


Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team

Content strategist as usability consultant:

• Identify internal and external customer needs first, beforedefining processes, strategy and tools

• Address and help resolve conflicting customer interests

• Test & refine before implementing

Content strategist as change manager and networker:

• “Test and refine” approach allowed for continuous improvement

• Team could see benefits of content strategy step by step

• Help build relationships and communication within teams

• This was key for us: 11 teams in 5 countries and 7 languages.

Content strategist as content lead:

• Identify the “what, how, where, when and who” side of content creation.

• Create editorial guidelines based on customer needs, usability standards and brand objectives.

• Manage copywriting process and writers.


What do

you

need?

Content

strategistStakeholder

Contents









Our customers

• About 500.000 eBay business sellers in EU.

• Only a small amount of sellers are business sellers, but they create more than 2/3rd of eBay‟s GMV.

• Very important customer group for our business.

The project: Creating business seller news

• All changes for business sellers are combined into a release and communicated 2-3 times a year as “seller news”.

• Communication for 12 websites, 7 languages, different formats:

• Marketing newsletters: Tailored to segments (up to 10 – 15 different newsletters)

• Onsite banners

• Online news pages (~ 400.000 unique users in UK; ~ 1.15 Mio in DE)

• Help pages

• Printed “seller report” (sent to about 30.000 EU PowerSellers with highest GMV)

6

The context: Online communication for business sellers

Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case

The topics of business seller news

• New selling formats and tools

• New ways of managing inventory

• Policy or legal changes

The business objectives

• Create customer-friendly communication which matches user and business needs.

• Drive awareness and adoption of changes, build a trusted relationship with sellers, help them to be successful.

The team

• 11 teams in 5 countries (London, Zürich, Berlin, Dublin and San Jose)

• Core team: 25 members across all locations and languages

• Wider team is even bigger (web development, marketing execution, customer support, etc)

7

The context: Online communication for business sellers


Contents









9

In the beginning: Huge team, only few processes

Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use caseImage from: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/12/rubber-ducks.jpg

No editorial

guidelines

No editorial

process

Unclear roles &

responsibilities

Do I know you?

Teams with weak

relationshipsNo tools & templates

No match between

business objectives

& user needs

No quality

management

No process

documentation

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/12/rubber-ducks.jpg



10

The team: virtual and international


Brand Marketing (Zürich)

Seller Communication (London, Berlin, San Jose)

Seller Marketing (Zürich)

Customer Support (Dublin, Berlin)

Content Management (London, Berlin, Zürich)

Copywriters (London, Berlin)

Localization (San Jose, Berlin)

User Research (London)

Business Management (London)

Web Development (Zürich)

What do

you

need?

Content

strategistStakeholder

Legal (London, Berlin)

11

From chaos to content strategy


1. Built strong relationships between teams.

2. Identified stakeholder and customer needs.

3. Defined editorial process, roles & responsibilities and

tools.

4. Defined messaging hierarchy & information

architecture.

5. Tested all the above. Refined. Tested again.

6. Created editorial guidelines based on stakeholder

and customer needs, messaging hierarchy as well as

brand objectives.

7. Defined quality measurements for content.

Images from: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/12/rubber-ducks.jpg and http://www.gettyimages.com

Tweet! We„re

following a content

strategy




http://www.gettyimages.com/

12

Timeline


Jan Feb JulyJuneMayAprMar OctSepAug Nov Dec

2010

Built relationships with teams (11 teams, 5 countries)

Defined editorial process

& tested approach

Refined editorial

process & tested againFinalised and

documented process

Documented usability

standards for web content

Analysed regular market & user research. Integrated findings into editorial guidelines

Created editorial

guidelines

Defined quality standards for content

Created EU editorial style guide based on usability

standards, user research & editorial guideline.

Style guide trainings

for EU teams

Refined editorial

guidelines

Refined editorial

guidelines

Contents









Deliverables build framework

for a repeatable process.

Can be applied to other

projects and teams.

Enables us to continuously

improve, react fast and

structured within virtual,

international teams.

14

Where are we now? A content strategy framework


Delivered in 2010:

• Process documentation

• Documentation of whole content strategy

for business seller communication

• EU editorial style guide

• Style guide trainings for key stakeholders

• Quality standards for online content

• Documentation of business objectives &

user needs and how they translate into a

editorial strategy

• Content audits & inventories

• Content & briefing templates for copywriters

Discover

Define

DesignDevelop

Deploy

Govern

15

Repeat and refine: Continuous improvement


Discover

Define

DesignDevelop

Deploy

Govern

Content Strategy

• Understand business

objectives and user needs.

• Content inventory and audit.

Identify gaps.

• Understand briefing from

stakeholders. Identify gaps.

• Define content

deliverables and

scope effort.

• Define projectplan.

• Brief copywriters

• Create messaging hierarchy &

Information Architecture.

• Create or use user-centered templates

for drafting content.

• Translate business objectives into key

messages and call to actions.

• Create & review copy for all deliverables

and channels.

• Use quality standards to measure copy

quality.

• Translate & localize copy.

• Define quality

assurance standards

and test online

pages.

• Deploy / launch

online pages and

communication.

• Define and manage content

lifecycle (update or end-of-life).

• Analyze user research, logfile

analysis and success metrics.

Contents









Highest Level Major Seller Release Responsibility Map TO BE (Proposed)

Cu

sto

me

r

Se

rvic

eP

rod

uct

Co

nte

nt

ma

na

ge

me

nt

Se

ller

Ma

rke

tin

g

Se

ller

En

ga

ge

me

nt

Se

ller

Pro

po

sitio

n A

Confirm

information

about the

proposition to

be included in

the release.

B 1

Kick off the

process. Set the

direction for the

communication.

C

Write copy for

EU specific

initiatives.

Localise copy

for global

initiatives.

E1

Get the Micro

Sites copy

translated via

L10n

D1

Information

Architecture.

Design the

Micro Site

F1

Put the

translated

content into the

Micro site

G2

Live to Site

Checkpoint Go/

No Go

H

Manage Post

Launch Fixes

G1

QA Content

F3

CS Preparation.

Templates,

scripts,

outbound call

schedule

I

End of life for

obsolete content

J

Post Launch

Review

D2

Information

Architecture.

Design the RM

channel

structure.

F2

Put the

translated

content into the

DM structure

E2

Trans creation of the DM

B 2

Confirm

marketing

response. Brief

contributing

teams.

17

Process: Workflows 1/2


We first defined the

overall process steps.

And then the process

within each step.

18

Process: Workflows 2/2


Example: Detailed

process within one

step.

19

Process: Roles and responsibilities


In addition to the process

documentation we defined the

detailed roles and responsibilities for

each process step.

Business objectives & editorial strategy

Professional seller proposition:

Be a trusted, reliable business partner for sellers to enable great profits and

sales velocity.

We will present timely, relevant information, that is easy to understand, helpful, and easy to access…

• Targeted & personalised

• Focussed on their key needs

• Clear and plain language

•Scannable page structure

• Visual aids and not just

text

• Easy to use

• Concise

• Reduce clutter

• Call to action

highlighted

• Correct

communication

channel and format

• Optimised for

search engines

• Easy to find on

eBay

… allowing sellers to take action to change their business and sell more efficiently.

Advanced

notice

Reasons to believe :

20

Of course we documented

the editorial strategy to meet

these goals in much more

detail (i.e. style guide).

Messaging hierarchy*

eBay Inc confidential 21

Secondary

message

Who?

How?

When?

How much?

Primary

message

What?

Why?

* From Karen McGrane, Bond art + science: http://www.slideshare.net/KMcGrane/why-ux-design-needs-content-strategy

Call to action What do I

need to do?

Information architecture 1/2


Messaging hierarchy

defined our information

architecture. From index

page…

Information architecture 2/2


… to single subpage.


* From an online survey to a sample of business sellers. Sent after communication launch.

Question: Which of the following words or phrases do you think describes all the communications you have received from eBay?

User research: 2009 to 2010 comparison*

Business sellers

Negative feedback

Positive feedback

2010 results

2009 results

2010 results

2009 results

http://worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/europe/germany.htm


Logfile analysis

We analyze online pages

regularly to understand

how customers use them.


Content template: One example

Just one of many

templates we created.

From 2009…


To 2010: our business seller news


Thanks for listening. Questions?


Nikki Tiedtke | EU Senior Content Strategist | eBay GmbH

Phone: + 49. 30. 8019. 5361

Mobile: + 49. 151. 52 66 15 92

Skype: nikkitiedtkeebay

E-Mail: [email protected]

Web: www.ebay.de

Marktplatz 1 | 14532 Europarc Dreilinden | Germany

blocked::mailto:[email protected]

http://www.ebay.de/

Technology

Content Strategy applied: An eBay use case