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CONTENT STRATEGY:Creating Business Value Through Better Content

HI! I’M DANIEL EIZANS

PAST LIFE: I’ve been a journalist, a student of neuroscience, a marketer and strategist at two of the world’s largest advertising agencies.

CLIENT WORK: Automotive (Ford/Chevrolet), Government (EPA, CDC, US Mint), Non-Profits (National Safety Council), Healthcare (Kaiser Permanente) and Consumer Products (Olympic Paint).

TWITTER: @danieleizans

Being Clear

TONIGHT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT …

PeopleValues Content Strategy

CORE VALUES

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CORE VALUES?

COMMUNICATIONRESPECTINTEGRITY EXCELLENCE

A MAJOR COMPANY’S “CORE VALUES”

CORE VALUES IN CONFLICT

Principles aren’t principles until they cost you something. There are times when abiding by them can be awkward, uncomfortable, embarrassing, and expensive.

- Paul Saginaw, Co-Founder Zingermans

Carl Collins: http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlcollins/69912897/

1. Great food2. Great service3. A great place to shop and eat!4. Solid profits5. A great place to work6. Strong relationships7. A place to learn8. An active part of our community

CORE VALUES ARE REFLECTIVE

AND THEY SHOW EVERYWHERE

1. Quality: Pursuit of ever-greater quality in everything we do.

2. Integrity: Relationships built on integrity and respect.

3. Environmentalism: Serve as a catalyst for personal and corporate action.

4. Not Bound by Convention: Our success - and much of the fun lies in developing innovative ways to do things. 

CORE VALUES ARE REFLECTIVE

PATAGONIA IN PRACTICE

IT’S MORE THAN A MISSION STATEMENT

Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.

- Mahatma Gandhi

CORE VALUES ARE CENTRAL TO THE BUSINESS STORY

STARTING WITH STRATEGYIf we want to facilitate

Understanding we have to start

with a strategic foundation. And

while the core values, goals and

objectives of a business are part of

the story that sets that foundation,

it’s only part of the story.

Business Story User Story

Understanding

Let’s talk about people

Most web sites are geared for grabbing attention by focusing on findability factors that make it more useful for machines.

LET’S TALK PEOPLE

http://www.flickr.com/photos/untitlism/22800371/

ELEMENTS OF CONTEXT

Environment

Behavior Situation

PERSONAL-BEHAVIORAL CONTEXT

PERSONAL-SITUATIONAL CONTEXT

SITUATIONAL-BEHAVIORAL CONTEXT

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

LET’S TALKCONTENT STRATEGY

Content Strategy

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WHAT IS “CONTENT STRATEGY?”Content strategy plans for the creation, delivery, and governance of content useful for humans and machines.

From creation to analysis, every content type takes on its own lifecycle.

Stakeholder Goals, User Expectations, and Best Practices become important factors for content’s purpose and how it lives within the daily lives of employees, vendors, and others who are connected.

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ELEMENTS OF CONTENT STRATEGY

People, Processes, and Content

A content strategy enables information architecture by ensuring there is a reason for the content you produce to occupy your site.

The development of a content strategy helps define how people within an organization create and manage content and how the content itself is structured.

Content Components People Components

Planning and Delivery(Goals and Substance)

Workflow and Rules

StructureGovernance and

Measurement

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PLANNING AND DELIVERYPlanning and delivery focus on goals and substance. This element of the content strategy process aligns content needs with the digital strategy for target audiences.

Helps To Define

• Information• Ownership• Support• Publishing Rhythms• Messaging Priorities

Deliverables

• Messaging Architecture• Intended Audiences and Outcomes• Voice and Tone• Editorial Calendars and Schedules

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STRUCTUREFocuses on prioritization, organization, and modeling. It focuses on the content’s parts to make it findable, portable and flexible for multiple sites, applications, and uses.

Helps To Define

• Publishing strategy • Writing methods and guides• Data models• Metadata schemas• Semantic orchestration

(CMS guidelines)

Deliverables

• Content maps• Page tables• Taxonomy• Data models• CMS changes

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WORKFLOW AND RULESFocuses on how people create, manage, edit, and maintain content on a daily basis. These guidelines include the roles, tasks, and tools required for producing content on behalf of an organization.

Helps To Define

• Publishing processes• Editorial workflow• Creation standards• Revision guidelines

Deliverables

• Publishing guidelines and manuals• Org charts• Metadata and taxonomy changes• Human processes• CMS workflow changes

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GOVERNANCE AND MEASUREMENTFocuses on policy, standards, and guidelines that apply to content and its lifecycle. Assists with the sustainment and evolution of content plans and strategy over time.

Helps To Define

• Major and medium changes to site architecture and content strategy

• Expiration/archiving strategy• Metrics and measurement• Refinement guidelines

Deliverables

• Governance council• Policy documents

THE CONTENT STRATEGY PROCESSContent Strategy 101

PLANNING

• What content do we already have? • What kinds of content need to be created?• Who should we be creating for and why?

Planning Sourcing Creation Governance

Content strategy will help answer:

• What messages should be communicated?

• What medium supports the message?• What tone of voice should be used?

SOURCING

• What content currently exists on the site?

• What content is missing? • What content can be repurposed, re-

used, or edited?

Planning Sourcing Creation Governance

Content strategy will help answer:

• What content can we source from a partner or third party?

• How will we migrate existing content?

CREATION

• Who is going to write or produce content?• What guidelines do we provide content

creators?• Who is responsible for reviewing, editing,

and approving content?

Planning Sourcing Creation Governance

Content strategy will help answer:

• What legal or regulatory approvals are needed?

• What quality control measures do we need?

GOVERNANCE

• What happens once content goes live?

• How often do we need to update content?

• How do we handle change requests?

Planning Sourcing Creation Governance

Content strategy will help answer:

• How do we measure success of our content?

• Should ownership/maintenance be centralized or decentralized?

MAKE THE COMPLEXCLEAR

Being Clear

1. Would you keep this value if you weren’t supported or rewarded for it?

2. Would you still care about this if it didn’t help your bottom line?

3. Would you still have this value if you had to start your company tomorrow?

4. Would you fire someone who didn’t uphold these values?

5. Do your customers know your values?

6. Are these values clear in your communications?  

ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS

FOCUS ON STORIES

ALIGN CONTENT STRATEGY WITH CORE VALUES

BE MINDFUL OF VOICE

LOVE WHAT YOU DO

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

- Mya Angelou

THANK YOU