Content Strategy

Planning a Content Strategy A content strategy should define the themes and goals of a site’s content, and then define the processes in place to help realise those goals Content Strategy Work Flow Strategy Identify all content types Categorise content Create categories, tags, and metadata types to identify content Define how content types relate to each other Focus on the path of the content as it moves through the CMS Create a tracking document that lists all the steps the content takes Editing, versioning, archiving & re-use Identify team member requirements

What are the sites goals? Inform Educate Sell a product Generate interest

Developing a Framework Creating guidelines around your content’s message, themes, and voice Use this focus to create a content strategy framework Frameworks can include: Writing style guides Publishing policies Metadata structure and terms Defining article relations Defining SEO terms, phrases, and policies Guidelines on the types of authors needed

Style Guidelines Brand Values Voice & Tone guidelines Correct word usage (SEO, Controlled vocabularies) Product trademark usage Web writing considerations (links, labelling, metadata) Global style guidelines Web writing best practices

Story Structure Primary Message Secondary Messages Details The single most important thing you want the user to learn This message supports all your business objectives Secondary Messages A group of key messages that extrapolate the primary message Details All the facts, data, anecdotes & philosophies that prove your messages Call(s) to action What you want the users to do after they “get” your messages

Story Structure Hierachy Primary Message Secondary message 1 Secondary message 2 Secondary message 3 Supporting fact Call to Action

Using Content Strategy to Guide Process Content strategy should also be used to guide the content’s lifecycle Content lifecycle guides content collection, placement, lifespan and archiving Other processes, like distribution channels, marketing campaigns, and repurposing content should be driven by content strategy as well

Content Lifecycle Analyse What are my content’s needs? Content Creation What steps do I take when creating content? Editing What is the best editing workflow for my content? Publishing What distribution channels do I use? Archiving What end of life policies do I need for my content? Analysis Content Creation Editing Publishing Archiving

Content Governance Content policies that guide the content lifecycle These policies should clearly define things like: Content Ownership When content is transferred Workflow processes Policy reviews End-of-life terms for content

Content Analysis Stage Take a content inventory to identify all the different types of content you have Which content will need to be archived? Which can be removed? Will you need to track multiple versions of the content over it’s life? Do you need to track each user that interacts with the content? Analysis Content Creation Editing Publishing Archiving

Content Sources Content Sources Description Example Owned Content Content produced by the company Customer Magazine, Whitepapers, Technical Papers, Check lists Aggregated Content Automatically aggregate content from other websites RSS Feed Aggregation Curate Content Aggregate content by appointing someone/a team to curate it. Research of content relating to a specific subject Media Partnership Co-creating content with notable media partners & other entities who are already in the business of creating content Round-tables, Webinars, Video, Guest bloggers, Reports Syndicating Content Licence content from reputable brands relevant to your audience Publishing content pre-released or archived content (articles, features etc) User Generated Content Invite users to create content for you Polls, Comments, Forums, Q&A

Content Creation Stage Meta tagging, categorising, and applying rules will help guide content Content will likely be created through uploads or through a content editor Use the tools within the CMS to apply attributes when the content is created. Analysis Content Creation Editing Publishing Archiving

Content Classification Category Subject Topic Key Word Type Target Audience Job Function Industry Source Format

Editing Stage Content lifecycle rules will influence editing workflow Audit trails allow you to track users and tasks through the content lifecycle These trails can be used to enforce reviews and content removal Versioning allows you to store multiple versions of content and compare later versions to earlier ones Analysis Content Creation Editing Publishing Archiving

Publishing Stage Make sure distribution channels have been clearly defined Can other departments reuse published content for marketing or others purposes? How will content be represented to mobile devices? Make sure policies are in place to analyse the effectiveness of published content Analysis Content Creation Editing Publishing Archiving

Archiving Stage Archiving policies control how long content stays live or within the system What types of things should trigger the removal of content? These policies will also control how content is archived and categorised Will older content be used to create knowledge bases or FAQs? Analysis Content Creation Editing Publishing Archiving

Roles & Responsibilities Requestors submit requests for web content to be created, updated, or removed. Providers are subject matter experts who own and manage source content – or who have that information in their head. Creators are responsible for actually developing the content (text, graphics, audio & video) Reviewer/Approver must be consulted about some or all of the content prior to its publication online Publisher get the content online via CMS

Defining Users and their Roles Identify user types and roles early in the process This will allow you to understand what roles and permissions your Content Management System should support Take time to consider how these individuals will need to interact with the CMS Before selecting a CMS, you should have clearly defined roles and permissions

Content Creators Often referred to as Authors Anyone who writes articles, posts blog posts, adds content, or updates content is an author The permission necessary for authors will vary based on: Whether the authors are internal or external to the organisation Whether they are in a single department, or spread out Should the author be able to access only their content?

Editors Anyone who reviews, edits, approves, or marks-up content for revision Depending upon the workflow, editors may need to be able to publish content Look for permissions that you can give editors to reduce bottlenecks Communication capability between editors and content creators is important

Publishers Anyone who has the ability to publish content to the lives site In smaller workflows, this role is often shared by other users Permissions for publishers will depend on: Whether or not the publishers will act as project managers Whether or not they will act as traffic managers Will they need the ability to assemble content?

Other User Types Asset Manager Legal Advisor Brand Manager Responsible for collecting and managing digital assets and documents that support your content. Legal Advisor Brand Manager Continuity Manager Translator