Web Content Strategy - Web Write 101

Web  Content  Strategy  

“Content  Strategy   plans  for  the   crea/on,  publica/on   and  governance  of   useful,  usable   content.”     Kris9na  Halvorson  

“Content  strategy  is  to   copywri9ng  as   informa9on   architecture  is  to   design.”     Rachel  Lovinger,   Razorfish  

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The  two  sides  of  web  content  strategy  

Adapted  from  Rahel  Anne  Bailie  

What  is  a  good  content  experience  for  you?  

A  good  content  experience:   •  •  •  •  •  •  • 

Consistent  messages  across  all  channels   Consistent  naviga9on  and  terminology   The  right  format   Relevant  to  readers’  context   Accurate  and  up  to  date   Adds  value  to  users   Adds  value  to  our  organisa9on  

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But  web  content  has  become  complicated:    

 then      sta9c    centralised  walled    costly    geeky    difficult  

   -­‐>  -­‐>  -­‐>  -­‐>  -­‐>  -­‐>

             

 now    dynamic    decentralised    social    cheap    mainstream    easy  

  Adapted  from  Karen  McGrane  

The  result   •  duplicate  content   •  too  much  content   •  irrelevant  useless  content   •  poor  quality  content   •  out-­‐of-­‐date  content   •  missing  content   •  resources  wasted   •  risks  to  our  organisa9ons.  

Publishing  is  easy,  maintaining  quality  is  trickier…  

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Content:   what  to  say,   where  to  get   content  

Design:   UX,   look  ‘n’  feel,     structure  

Technology:   how  we  will   build  it  

Website  

The  result   •  Informa9on  architects  make  structures  with  no   detailed  knowledge  of  the  content   •  CMSs  are  hard  for  writers  to  use   •  Writers  are  reduced  to  filling  the  structure   •  Designers  make  pixel  perfect  Photoshop   designs  which  fail  when  merged  with  content     •  Developers  who  can’t  spell   •  SEOs  advocate  crea9ng  a  mountain  of  content   to  aXract  Google.  

‘The  elements  of  user  experience’   by  Jesse  James  GarreX  

(see  www.jjg.net/elements/pdf/elements.pdf)  

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Design:
 IA,
 look ‘n’ feel!

Technology: how we will build it!

Content:
 what to say, where to get content!

‘Content  first’  

Website  

“Although  much  remains  to  be   done,  our  websites  are   becoming  more  user-­‐centric   and  task-­‐focused.   “The  recent  revamp  of  the  EU   enlargement  website  shows  the   results  that  can  be  achieved   through  teamwork  and  the   consistent  applica9on  of  some   fundamental  principles.”     Tony  LockeX   University  of  Washington  EU  Fellow  

DG  Enlargement  case  study   •  Audience  research  showed   that  actual  users  tended  to   be  public  officials,  students   and  academics  –  and  hardly   a  single  journalist!   •  Reduced  from  300  to  92   pages   •  Results:  easier  for  readers  to   find  what  they  want,   clear  wri9ng  award.            

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What  content  strategy  isn’t   •  Content  management  system   •  A  style  guide   •  Outsourcing  wri9ng   …  although  each  of  these  can  be  part  of   your  content  strategy  

The  elements  of  content  strategy  

Research  and  discovery   •  What  are  our  goals?   •  How  do  we  know  if  we   have  been  successful?   •  Who  are  our  audiences?   •  What  do  they  need?   •  What  do  we  have?    

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Content  crea/on  and  op/misa/on •  What  do  we  need  to   create?     •  How  can  we  ensure  it  is   useful  and  usable  for  our   intended  audiences?     •  What  tools  would  help   writers  and  editors  create   beLer  content  quicker?     United Aircraft Corporation poster

How  can  we  keep  the  quality  high?  

How  can  we  ensure  that  only  content   op/mised  for  a  web  or  mobile  audience  is   published?

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Can  we   create  beXer   workflows  so   that  we  get   more  of  this

How  can  we  enable  content  to  be  widely   distributed  and  well-­‐promoted?   Widgets,  apps  and  reuse   RSS  

TwiXer  

YouTube   Linkedin  

Google+     and  search  

Content  

Facebook  

Website   home  page   Email   Content  architecture  

How  can  we  ensure  content  is  kept  up  to  date,  so   that  we  are  a  trusted  source?  

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