Lovinger

Content Strategy: Why Now?Content Strategy Seminar 20128 February 2012Rachel Lovinger @rlovinger

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Photo by Rohanna Mertens©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

• Associate Content Strategy Director, Razorfish, New York

• Co-editor of scatter/gather, a content strategy blog: http://scattergather.razorfish.com

• Author of Nimble: A RazorfishReport on Publishing in the Digital Age (June 2010): http://nimble.razorfish.com(@NimbleRF on Twitter)

RACHEL LOVINGER

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• Where we’ve come from

• Why content strategy matters

• Where we’re headed

CONTENT STRATEGY: WHY NOW?

©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

WHERE WE’VE COME FROM

WHAT IS CONTENT STRATEGY?

First, a definition

“Content Strategy plans for the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content.”

- Kristina Halvorson

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• Text on the site• Images• Video • Audio• Data• User Comments• Email• Online Conversations

WHAT IS CONTENT?


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Photo by zandperl

CONTENT IS THE REASON PEOPLE GO TO YOUR SITE

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• Messaging: What are we trying to say, and to whom?

• Sourcing: Where is our content coming from?

• Management: How are we going to deliver and maintain it?

• Engagement: How do people find and connect with our content?

CONTENT STRATEGY RESPONSIBILITIES


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• Messaging• Content evaluation• Editorial strategy• Content/Brand alignment• Features & formats recommendations

• Sourcing• Gap analysis• Content specifications • Content creation guidelines• Governance plan• Syndication strategy

CONTENT STRATEGY ACTIVITIES


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• Management• Content Model• Editorial workflow• Metadata & Taxonomy• CMS consulting

• Engagement• Platforms/channels recommendations• Search strategy• Social strategy• Mobile strategy

CONTENT STRATEGY ACTIVITIES


12THESE ACTIVITIES ARE INTER-RELATED


Messaging

How are we going to deliver and maintain it?

Sourcing

Engagement Management

What are we trying to say, and to whom?

Where is our content coming from?

How do people find and connect with our content?

13CONTENT STRATEGY IS INTERDISCIPLINARY


Messaging

How are we going to deliver and maintain it?

Sourcing

Engagement Management

What are we trying to say, and to whom?

Where is our content coming from?

How do people find and connect with our content?

designerswriters

developersinformationarchitects

marketers

searchsocial media

editors

strategy& planning

HOW DID WE GET HERE?A bit of history

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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Goo

gle

Res

ults

Year

Results for "Content Strategy"

MENTIONS ON THE WEB: 2000-2008


162000: CHECKLIST FROM INC.

172001: JAKOB NIELSEN – “WRITING FOR THE WEB”

182002: PAUL FORD OFFERS HIS SERVICES

192003: ANN ROCKLEY – MANAGING ENTERPRISE CONTENT

202004: CS FOR EMAIL NEWSLETTERS

212005: AMY GAHRAN STARTS A SERIES

222006: RSS IS THE “HOT NEW THING”

232007: RACHEL LOVINGER – BOXES & ARROWS

242008: KRISTINA HALVORSON – A LIST APART

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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Goo

gle

Res

ults

Year




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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Goo

gle

Res

ults

Year




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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Goo

gle

Res

ults

Year




SOMETHING HAPPENED HERE

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At the IA Summit, organized by: Kristina Halvorson @halvorson and Karen McGrane @karenmcgrane

Attended by:

CONTENT STRATEGY CONSORTIUM: 19 MARCH 2009


Ian Alexander @eatmediaMargot Bloomstein @mbloomsteinJennifer Bohmbach @evoljenniferShelly Bowen @shelbowLorelei Brown @beezyChristopher Collette @colletticoR. Stephen Gracey @RSGraceyStephanie Hale @HaleStephanieMargret Hanley @magshanleyColleen Jones @leenjones

Rachel Lovinger @rlovingerJeff MacIntyre @jeffmacintyreKeri Maijala @clamheadLaura Melcher @lmelcherElena Melendy @emelendyChris Moritz @chrismoritzMelissa Rach @melissarachErin Scime @erinscimeGene Smith @gsmithSamantha Starmer @samanthastarmer

29CONTENT STRATEGY FOR THE WEB: 22 AUG 2009

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Photo by Jeff Myers

THEN: UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH

31CONTENT STRATEGY COMMUNITY

32CONTENT STRATEGY CONFERENCES

CS Forum2010: Paris, France

2011: London, England2012: Cape Town, South Africa

2011 & 2012: MINNEAPOLIS, MNCONTENT STRATEGY APPLIED

33ARTICLES & BLOG POSTS

34OTHER CONTENT STRATEGY BOOKS

35COLLEGE COURSES


College Courses

ContentsMagazine.com

36CONTENTS MAGAZINE

http://contentsmagazine.com/

HOW DID I GET HERE?A bit about me

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• Associate Content Strategy Director, Razorfish, New York

• Co-editor of scatter/gather, a content strategy blog: http://scattergather.razorfish.com

• Author of Nimble: A RazorfishReport on Publishing in the Digital Age (June 2010): http://nimble.razorfish.com(@NimbleRF on Twitter)

RACHEL LOVINGER

Photo by Rohanna Mertens©2012 Razorfish. All rights reserved.

39EDITORS: HOME PAGE

Screenshot via Wayback Machine

40THE OTHER 10,000+ ARTICLES

Screenshot via Wayback Machine

41HOW I BECAME A CONTENT STRATEGIST


Business Goals

Technology

Editorial Goals

42HOW I BECAME A CONTENT STRATEGIST


Business Goals

Technology

Editorial GoalsVision

Tactics

43APPROACHES TO WEB CONTENT STRATEGY

Diagram by Richard Ingram

Richard Ingram made this diagram to show how people bring different skills, backgrounds, and experiences to their work in Content Strategy, and this impacts the way they practice, and the aspects they focus on.

44HOW DID WE ALL GET HERE?

The following year, Ingram surveyed content strategists about their educational and professional backgrounds. He mapped the answers from 265 respondents to get an even more detailed view of the paths we took to get to Content Strategy.

Diagram by Richard Ingram

It’s not necessary to have “Content Strategist” in your title in order to

practice content strategy.

WHY CONTENT STRATEGY MATTERS

CLEARING OUT THE R.O.T.Content Grooming

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• Criteria for evaluating content

• This article is trivial

• These related items are redundant

ROT = REDUNDANT, OUTDATED, TRIVIAL


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• Evaluate content quality• Remove or revise content, as needed

• Prevent ROT in new content• Relevant• On-brand • Periodic review

CONTENT ANALYSIS & CREATION GUIDELINES


“EVERYONE’S A PUBLISHER”Content Creation

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• Sourcing or writing articles

• Creating videos

• Seeding social media campaigns

• Monitoring communities

• Etc.

NON-MEDIA COMPANIES

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• Define messaging goals“Encourage exploration and build

brand loyalty. Foster discussion among existing and prospective customers.”

• Optimize the organization and operational practices

EDITORIAL STRATEGIES

workflow diagram by Richard Ingram, via Intentional Design

“PRINT IS DEAD”Content Business Models

54PRINT IS AT RISK

Photo by inky

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ATTENTION IS DIVIDED

Photo by me

56CREATE NEW DIGITAL EXPERIENCES


DISRUPTIVE PERSONAL TECHContent Delivery

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READ ON OUR TABLETS

Photo by TheCreativePenn

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UPLOAD PHOTOS FROM OUR PHONES

Photo by Mathias Klang

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STREAM VIDEOS ON OUR TV

Photo by Dennis S. Hurd

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TALK TO OUR CARS TO PLAY MUSIC

Photo by HighTechDad

Multiplatform publishing follows the principle: Produce once, use multiple times.

64OPTIMIZE: CONTENT CREATION & EXPERIENCE

Photo by cvander

THE UBIQUITOUS CONVERSATION

Content Communications

66ENGAGING ON MANY CHANNELS


68TRACK SOCIAL ACTIVITY


WHERE WE’RE HEADED

FUTURE TRENDS & NEEDS

71INCREASED CONTENT STRATEGY COLLABORATION

Social

• Integrated Processes

• Commercial Tools

Marketing

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• Markup that provides more meaning and context

• Ad hoc and standard methods of adding structure

STRUCTURED DATA


<b>Madonna</b> Indicates that the text within the tags should be bold.

<H1>Madonna</H1> Indicates that the text within the tags is a headline.

<foaf:name>Madonna</foaf:name> Indicates that the text within the tags is a name, as defined in the “Friend of a Friend” vocabulary.

<amgID=64565>Madonna</amgID> Indicates that the text within the tags refers to the recording artist Madonna, as described on AllMusic.

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Example: Drupal 7• Open source CMS• Native support for standard data structures

STRUCTURED DATA IN THE CMS


CONCLUSION

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• Content Strategy has arrived• It will continue to develop and grow• We were doing Content Strategy without even knowing it• Now we’re getting disciplined

• It’s work that matters • Almost everything we do online involves content• We’re almost always online

Content strategy is going to help us make sense of this digital world

CONTENT STRATEGY: WHY NOW?


RACHEL LOVINGER@rlovinger

Thanks!

Lovinger

Technology

Transcript of Lovinger