DEFINING OUR PROFESSION,

DEFINING OURSELVES

Content Strategy Summit 2014

#CSSummit

August 19, 2014

Margot Bloomstein

@mbloomstein

Wiesloch Stadtapotheke Erste Tankstelle, cc Rudolf Stricker

Wiesloch Stadtapotheke Erste Tankstelle, cc Rudolf Stricker

1888, Wiesloch, Germany

City pharmacy

City pharmacy = filling station

Wiesloch Stadtapotheke Erste Tankstelle, cc Rudolf Stricker

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 4

1909, Altoona, Pennsylvania

America’s oldest gas station

JohnnieandAngela.blogspot.com

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 5

1913

Road maps & tire service

JohnnieandAngela.blogspot.com

Road maps & tire service

Full service

Attended pumps

Self service

Air pumps

Squeegees

cc flicker.com/photos/baggis

Is this a gas station?

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 8

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“A retail business providing the public

a convenient location to quickly purchase

a wide array of food, gasoline, and

services”

NACS, the National Association of Convenience & Fuel Retailing

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“2400 square feet

of packaged consumer items.

Today, there are different types of stores:

mini stores under canopies, expanded

food service, in-store seating.”

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Industries thrive through differentiation:

both buyers and sellers benefit.

What’s right for me?

What’s right for right now?

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Prospect:

Financial services

messaging, workflow,

editorial training

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@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 17

Prospect:

Financial services

messaging, workflow,

editorial training

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 18

Prospect:

Financial services

messaging, workflow,

editorial training

for social media

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 19

Prospect:

Midmarket institutional investment

messaging, workflow,

editorial training

for social media

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 20

Prospect:

Midmarket institutional investment

messaging, workflow,

editorial training

for social media

© Barbara Kruger

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 21

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 22

I help brands clarify their communication

goals to develop, instill, and maintain

appropriate content and editorial voice.

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 23

Content strategy plans for the creation,

delivery, and governance of useful,

usable and brand-appropriate content.

This is how I define content strategy.

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Content strategy plans for the creation,

publication, and governance of useful,

usable content.

Kristina Halvorson, A List Apart 2009

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Content strategy is to copywriting as

information architecture is to design.

Rachel Lovinger,

Content Strategy: The Philosophy of Data

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I work on how content is organized and

structured. […] I translate designs into

what needs to be built in the CMS to

make the content for the site work the

way it's supposed to.

Rachel Lovinger (@rlovinger), Razorfish

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Content strategy within our practice is

less editorial and more strategic. It helps

us determine what and how content will

help solve business and web goals.

Corey Vilhauer (@MrVilhauer),

Blend Interactive

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 28

I'm a content strategist, which is a fancy

way of saying ‘a writer who also has

design and marketing skills.’

Tiffani Jones-Brown (@ticjones), Pinterest

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 29

I'm a content strategist. This means I help

clients and companies figure out how,

when, and why to talk to their audiences.

Keri Maijala (@clamhead)

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 30

We are management consultants for

external messaging and editorial

workflow challenges.

Ahava Liebtag (@ahaval), Aha Media Group

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 31

I am often a ‘fulcrum’ between disciplines.

I spend at least half my time focusing on

business and cultural change, before

thinking about content.

Elizabeth McGuane, @emcguane

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A content strategist is like a business

analyst for your content. We look at how

content is currently helping (or hindering)

your business and develop a strategy to

make it work better.

Sally Bagshaw, @snappysentences

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The analysis and planning to develop a

repeatable system that governs the

management of content throughout the

entire content lifecycle.

Rahel Anne Bailie, @rahelab,

The Language of Content Strategy

Industries thrive through differentiation:

both practitioners and clients benefit

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 34

Industries thrive through differentiation:

both practitioners and clients benefit

but only when we precisely, narrowly

define both what we do and need

and encourage diverse specificity

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 35

• Drive the development and organization of content that is useful, compelling and

meaningful on our site, all social media platforms, and distributed content

• Create user flows, information hierarchies, wireframes, and content strategy

• Maintain fluency in industry terminology and develop our “voice” within it

• Determine content requirements, inventory existing content, identify gaps,

evaluate possible sources for additional material, and manage the process of

getting that content into production

• Maintain current content audit

• Creatively look for opportunities to improve content, consumer experience, and

SEO performance

• Manage editorial calendar to proactively keep content useful and up to date

• Train internal and freelance copywriters; develop any necessary training programs

• Develop analytics, conduct consumer and usability testing to help improve the UX

• Lead projects with the PR and marcomm team to support campaigns and launches

• Work with brand architecture and terminology to guide product organization and

internal customer service content and training

• Drive the architecture of and improvements to the internal product CMS

• Occasionally write or edit content, particularly metadata, titles, alt text and edit

general content to optimize for natural search

• Drive the development and organization of content that is useful, compelling and

meaningful on our site, all social media platforms, and distributed content

• Create user flows, information hierarchies, wireframes, and content strategy

• Maintain fluency in industry terminology and develop our “voice” within it

• Determine content requirements, inventory existing content, identify gaps,

evaluate possible sources for additional material, and manage the process of

getting that content into production

• Maintain current content audit

• Creatively look for opportunities to improve content, consumer experience, and

SEO performance

• Manage editorial calendar to proactively keep content useful and up to date

• Train internal and freelance copywriters; develop any necessary training programs

• Develop analytics, conduct consumer and usability testing to help improve the UX

• Lead projects with the PR and marcomm team to support campaigns and launches

• Work with brand architecture and terminology to guide product organization and

internal customer service content and training

• Drive the architecture of and improvements to the internal product CMS

• Occasionally write or edit content, particularly metadata, titles, alt text and edit

general content to optimize for natural search

Without clear differentiation,

hiring (and selling) is frustrating,

training and rework is expensive, and

“content strategy” gets a bad name.

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@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 39

But will we dilute the meaning?

But will we dilute the meaning?

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But will we dilute the meaning?

We’ll free the meaning

to communicate what we do or need

with greater precision.

“ ” I’m a designer

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 43

But what about the generalists?

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 44

But what about the generalists?

Follow your passion—

and work to better define the work.

Content strategists,

1. Be precise: own your definition.

2. Get specific: narrow what you want.

3. Be honest—and encouraging.

“No… and”

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Corporations and marketing departments

who want to hire content strategists

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“Clients”

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Clients

1. Be precise: own your definition.

2. Get specific: narrow what you want.

3. Be honest—and encouraging.

“No… and”

@mbloomstein | #CSSummit 48

This is an opportunity for growth and

specialization within our broad industry

because how we define our industry is

the sum of how we define ourselves.

THANK YOU! Margot Bloomstein

@mbloomstein

margot@appropriateinc.com

slideshare.net/mbloomstein

amzn.to/CSatWork

© 2014 Appropriate, Inc.

http://appropriateinc.com/ideas/growing-t-shaped-content-strategist/

http://www.slideshare.net/jcolman/content-strategy-for-marketers-smx-advanced-2013

http://www.clevegibbon.com/2011/08/what-do-content-strategists-do/