Strategizing content for web 10 things you need to know

Introduction When it comes to designing a website, content is often overlooked, but why? Very rarely do users browse the web looking for a good design or decent experience. Users come for the content and not giving them what they want with poorly written content will frustrate users. .

Problem Bad online content Content often a low priority Last minute content creation Users lose interest about the product

Developing a strategy Follow a regime to make the content attractive, updated and a means to create curiosity amongst the readers to make them glued to the screen

Stop the separation Who is really in charge of creating the content? Designers and developers? The client? Marketing and research? Information architects? WE ALL ARE INCHARGE! Bring everyone together to work on the content strategy as a whole and the content will take life.

2. Think “lifecycle” and not “launch” We need to break the “launch” mindset and focus on the “lifecycle” of a website rather than the initial lift off. Plan to have an individual or team in charge of occasionally updating and checking the content. Content Components: Substance – topics, tone, style, what message we need to communicate Structure – how we prioritize and break up the content into building blocks People components: Workflow – the process, tools and resources we need to create and maintain content Governance – consistency, integrity and quality of the content

3. Set Goals Measuring your success can be difficult if you do not set goals. Figure out what you are looking to achieve with your website and exactly how your content can play a role in helping. Outline your goals and use them as motivation moving forward.

4. Remember 5 Ws and 1 H Why – Know the business case and objectives. Why are you embarking on this project? What – What is the message? Who – Who is the audience? Where – Where will the message be read (location, device, context)? When – Timing of the process to create and publish the content. How – How should we present/structure the content?

5. Keep in mind the voice and tone Voice and tone are extremely powerful tools in the content strategist’s toolkit. A brand’s voice reflects its personality and identity. Make the voice consistent across all content. Tone can, and should, adapt according to the context of the content.

6. SEO is the king Every content strategy needs to incorporate SEO best practice to be effective; every SEO needs to embrace SEO content marketing in order to remain on Google's good list.

7. Divide your content in chunks When it comes to implementing content into a content management system (CMS), it is vital to break large pieces of content into smaller “chunks.” By breaking your content into chunks, it can flow into different presentations and be used in flexible ways. Structure content into its smallest building blocks in your CMS so that content can be re-assembled flexibly for use in different contexts and on different devices.

8. Wrap the content in metadata Metadata, in a web development context, is a set of programming guidelines that web developers can use to help search engines (and other applications) better understand content on a webpage.

9. Embrace web standards and HTML5 Web standards are a set of standardized best practices that developers can, and should, use when building websites. The standards have been written by a group consisting of all major browser manufacturers and the big search engines.

10. Allow users to tell their story The most important content on your website should be your users’ content. The most visited websites nowadays exist purely because of their read/write nature. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube allow users to add their own content, as well as view and engage with other users’ content. Blogging and CMS platforms like Drupal empower millions of people every day to create and share their content with relative ease.

Tools refining content strategy A well-planned Content strategy lets you make some informed decisions while you go about setting up a content marketing plan. There are various tools that can be easily integrated with a Drupal based website to steer an effective digital marketing strategy. Marketing Automation softwares like Volacci Automator Content Marketing tools like Curata or Gather Content

Conclusion In order to achieve the ultimate goals of a web content strategy, the finer details need to be considered. Voice and tone strengthen brand image, while our processes build solid brand identity. Keep language clear and concise and you’ll find that users and search engines reward you for it. Structure content correctly and wrap it in metadata and you’ll pave the way for a richer user experience. Find a way for your users to share their stories with you, and you’ve successfully reinforced a solid online content strategy foundation