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Photo credit, all photos: Rahel Anne Bailie

What’s Your (Business) Problem?Selling content strategy into organisations

Rahel Anne BailieChief Knowledge Officer, Scroll

15+ years content strategy

10+ years tech communication5+ years business communication

Consulting / Instruction / Author

@ScrollUK @rahelab

WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?

Selling content strategy into an organisation

• Frame the pitch• Refine the pitch• Segment the strategy• Avoid blockers and busters

FRAME THE NEED

Frame the need for a content strategy

• Speak their language• Show them the money• Be clear and decisive

Speak their language

Speak their language

People trust other people “in the know”• Show that you understand the business goals• Use the vocabulary of the organisation• Teach them your jargon

MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT

specialising in

CONTENT TURN-AROUNDS

Show them the money

Show them the money

Ultimately, there must be business impact• Work through the aspects of business value• Sit down with finance to run the numbers• Be prepared to defend your position

Representative business drivers

Be clear and decisive

Be clear and decisive

Ultimately, there must be business impact• Work through the aspects of business value• Sit down with finance to run the numbers• Be prepared to defend your position

WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU

is

SYSTEMATISE YOUR CONTENT

REFINE THE PITCH

Have the right conversation with the right audience

• Pitch to the right audience• Have the right conversation• Make your success their success

Pitch to the right audience

Pitch to the right audience

Content strategy is cross-functionalPotentially has far-reaching implications• Budget holders• Executive sponsors• Heads of functional areas• Technologists

Have the right conversation

wah wah wah XML wah wah wah CMS wah wah wah content strategy wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah content

curation wah wah wah wah

,, ..

Have the right conversation

Transportation

Sports

Their business

Walk the talk of getting “the right content to the right people at the right time”• Inform, educate, persuade• Emphasise the benefits, hard and soft• Use metaphors and examples

the audience understands

Make your success their success

Make it collaborative

It takes a corporate village to manage content• Take hold of the process, not the credit• Educate, inform, persuade• Their success is your success• Have a project, a budget, and clear governance

The thing about governance

A content strategy has lots of moving parts and affects many departments, and needs:• Buy-in from multiple teams• Teams to work together for end-to-end results• To get systems working together• To establish ownership and responsibility• To enforce the work that comes with responsibility

SEGMENT THE STRATEGY

Position the strategy for success

• Break the strategy down into digestible chunks• Expect many stages of Yes• Position the project for quick wins

Break the strategy into digestible chunks

Break the strategy down into digestible chunks

Photo credit: Stephan Schuster lab, Penn State

A content strategy can seem too big and scary• Find a manageable starting point• Fence it as a pilot project• Determine how to scale it• Agree on check-in points

Expect many stages of yes

Expect many stages of yes

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Easier to get buy-in for immediate effort• Remind them where you’re at• Remind them what they’d

agreed to• Discuss the next stage• Repeat as needed

Position the project for quick wins

Position the project for quick wins

Everyone loves a winner• Find small ways to win• Show how the win corrects a pain point• Connect the dots to future work and wins

AVOID BLOCKERS AND BUSTERS

Avoid blocks and busters

• Governasties• Technologists• Controllers

Governasties

Governasties

Governance can go awry with:• Entrenchment (“just say no”)• Death by silo• Benign neglect• Willing but unable (Dunning-Kruger effect)• Misunderstood goalposts

Technologists

Technologists

Technology groups can be formidable blockers:• Expediency over efficacy (minimum viable product)• Obfuscation by diversion of attention• Inappropriately placed authority• Limited themselves to their own sphere

(“we don’t know what the question is, but the answer is always what we know how to do”)

Controllers

Controllers

Control issues show themselves in several ways:• Gatekeepers (passive-aggressive form of sabotage)• Objectives and solutions don’t mesh• Leaving project at business unit or department level• Each department trying to solve problems in isolation

• Do your research – gather all the facts you can• Be confident in your presentation – know your

arguments thoroughly• Be generous with your coaching: prepare to bring the

organisation along with you

By email:info@scroll.co.ukrahel.bailie@scroll.co.ukBy telephone:UK +44 (0)203 318 1828 (office)UK +44 (0)7869 643 685 (mobile)

Social:Twitter: @ScrollUKLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/scroll-llpTwitter: @rahelabLinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rahelannebailie

Services:www.scroll.co.ukTraining:www.digitalcontent.academy

SCROLLLondon, UK