The Future of Tech Comm in the Content Era - Take 2
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THE FUTURE OF TECHCOMM IN THE CONTENT ERA – TAKE 2 #acrolinx
description
At a webinar last November, this panel discussed the impact of the Content Era on technical communicators – and over 1200 of you signed up! We were amazed by the level of interest in this topic. The discussion was fascinating, but we were left with dozens of questions we didn’t have time to answer. And now we’re back to answer them: *If technical content has become as important to buyers as marketing content, how can TechComm and Marketing resolve their differences in personality and process and learn to get along? *How will “marketizing” technical content affect its reputation for credibility? *What specific approaches can you use to analyze and understand your audience? Which metrics should you measure? How do you get your executives to pay more than lip service to the need to understand your customers? *What should you do if your executives support your vision for TechComm but you need to get writers or developers on board?
Transcript of The Future of Tech Comm in the Content Era - Take 2
THE FUTURE OF TECHCOMM IN THE CONTENT ERA – TAKE 2
#acrolinx
Your Panel• Scott Abel, The Content Wrangler• Andrea Ames, Content Experience Strategist, IBM• Anjana Rajan, Innovative Information Strategy Consulting• Chip Gettinger, VP Solutions, SDL
Your Moderator: PG Bartlett, SVP Product Management, Acrolinx
We’ve drawn names to give away 10 copies of Scott Abel’s and Rahel Bailie’s new book.
Last Time We Got Together…
TechComm Impact Expanding• After purchase: “shift from information to interaction”
• Before purchase:• 32% of consumers look at techdocs before they buy• 70% of buying process complete before buyer engages w/sales• 89% consider high-quality techdocs important to buying decision
Impact on TechComm• Mission: cutting costs vs. driving revenue growth
• Place in organization – alignment with marketing
• More emphasis on “Comm” part of TechComm
How will “Marketizing” Technical Content Affect its Credibility?
Content Marketing“Creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/
How Can TechComm & Marketing Learn to Get Along?
How to Analyze & Understand Your Audience?
Metrics to Measure
Link to IBM survey: https://www-950.ibm.com/survey/oid/wsb.dll/s/ag2c1
Other Metrics to Measure• Perceived percentage of product price that covers
documentation• Level of satisfaction with documentation• Percentage of support calls answered by documentation• Percentage who consult documentation before purchase
Specific Approaches• Web-based surveys
• Zoomerang• Survey Monkey• eSurveysPro
• Structured telephone interviews (n=30)• Search for your brand
https://www.helpscout.net/blog/customer-survey/
What if Writers Don’t Support Your Vision for TechComm?
Questions?• Contact info
• [email protected]• [email protected]
• Recording and slides will be posted soon at:• http://www.acrolinx.com/webinars/• www.sdl.com/structuredcontentwebinars > Webinar Archive
http://intercom.stc.org/2013/05/telling-the-right-story-proving-the-business-value-of-content/
