Content Strategy for Everyone!

David FarbeySenior Technical CommunicatorMedidata Solutions Worldwide

Technical Communication UK23rd September 2010

@dfarbdavid@farbey.co.ukwww.farbey.co.uk

What is Content Strategy?

How is Content Strategy different from

Content Management?

My approach to Content Strategy and why it may be good for everyone

“Repeatable system that governs management of content throughout the entire content life cycle” Rahel Anne Bailie

“Repeatable system that governs management of content throughout the entire content life cycle”

Rahel Anne Bailie

of course content strategy isn’t just for the web

• Expensive to produce and maintain• Embodies valuable product knowledge• Differentiates you from your

competitors

Content Management orContent Strategy?

• Ann Rockley, with Pamela Kostur and Steve Manning:Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy, published in 2002

• Challenged “information silos”• Focused on importance of content re-

use• Emphasised structured writing and

XML-based tools• Stressed potential cost savings• Calculated ROI of Content

Management Systems

Based on Ann Rockley,Managing Enterprise Content

• Reflected in trends in tech comms:–Single-sourcing–Modularisation (chunking)–Structured writing tools (DITA)–Combining a CMS and a DITA

tool

Content Management orContent Strategy?

management is about rules

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fred_bear/251321215/

strategyis about thinking

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rybczynski/2520948165/

holistic

holism: the theory that parts of a whole are in intimate interconnection, such that they cannot exist independently of the whole, or cannot be understood without reference to the whole, which is thus regarded as greater than the sum of its parts .

"holism". Oxford Dictionaries. April 2010. Oxford Dictionaries. April 2010. Oxford University Press. 22 September 2010 <http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/holism?view=uk>

holism: the theory that parts of a whole are in intimate interconnection, such that they cannot exist independently of the whole, or cannot be understood without reference to the whole, which is thus regarded as greater than the sum of its parts .

• Content Strategy is broader than Content Management

• Content Management:– Where is your content?– When can it be reused?– How can your processes be automated?

• Content Strategy:– What is in your content, and why?– Who creates your content and who

approves it?– Who is responsible for your content once

it is live?

• Content Strategy is not a software package you can buy and forget about

• Make content relevant to people

• Make content useful for machines/systems

Adapted from Content Strategy: The Philosophy of Data by Rachel Lovinger

• Improve efficiency of content production

• Make content comprehensive

content exists

http://www.flickr.com/photos/austinevan/1225274637/

Myth 1

Myth 2 It’s easy to process raw content

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theguamaso/2843857844/

Myth 3 Anyone can write content

http://www.flickr.com/photos/olivander/19580483/

Adapted from Content Strategy for the Webby Kristina Halvorson

Idea Create Revise Approve

• Audit• Analyze• Strategize• Categorize• Structure• Create• Revise• Revise

• Revise• Approve• Tag• Format• Publish• Update• Archive

From Content Strategy for the Webby Kristina Halvorson

• Audit• Analysis• Strategy

Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach,Brain Traffic

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomorrowstand/1365648394/

• What content do we need to create? Why?

• How will the content be structured?• How will users find the content?• How will we get from here to

launch?• What’s next once the content is

“out there”?

Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach,Brain Traffic

http://www.flickr.com/photos/m0php/530526644/

• Technical communications• Knowledge development• Product management• Marketing• Sales• Services• Other groups?

• All content specialists face the same challenges:– Not enough time– Not enough resources– No clear direction– No “seat at the table”

• We can’t wait for someone else to decide on our strategy for us

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ppl_ri_images/4032222073/

• Rapid growth• Ad hoc solutions to content problems• Varying objectives• Danger of silos

Length of Sales Cycle

Price

Length of sales cycle/price

p(buyers=users

• Very high price point• Very long sales cycle• Very high likelihood that buyers are

NOT users

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nahkahousu/2301066415/

• Ability to react swiftly to changing market needs

• Ability to cope with business change

• Agile development

• Everything needs to be planned• Everything needs to be

coordinated• We need to ask Why are we

doing this? about everything

• Using a Content Strategy approach focuses attention on:– the quality and the effectiveness

of the content itself– the responsibility for creating and

maintaining content

• Create trust• Inspire action• Build loyalty

From Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjc/177320683/

Photo by David Farbey 2007

of course content strategy isn’t just for the web

@dfarbdavid@farbey.co.ukwww.farbey.co.uk

Thank you!