Presentation at World PR Forum Melbourne about how junk content is bad for an organisation's health.

1. Content obesity: An
organisation’s silent
killer.
World PR Forum Lightning Talk by Sally Bagshaw
November 2012

2. www.flickr.com/photos/puuikibeach
We are being weighed down by our content

3. We have a fast content lifestyle
• It is cheap to create (but expensive to
maintain)
• Customers are consuming content at
every opportunity (so we create more,
more more)
• New ways to generate content are
constantly being added to the menu (and
the lines between online & offline are
blurry)
© Sally Bagshaw 2012 World PR Forum, Melbourne 20 November 2012

4. www.flickr.com/photos/mikefats
It is easy to be a content production machine

5. Mass produced content is a lot like junk
food In one minute:
• It is cheap to create but expensive to
maintain •- 571 new websites are
• It can dilute our brand
created
•- YouTube users upload
•
48 hours of video
•- Tumblr bloggers publish
27,778 new posts
Source: www.domo.com
© Sally Bagshaw 2012 World PR Forum, Melbourne 20 November 2012

6. www.flickr.com/photos/beggs
And most of it is junk

7. Junk content is bad for your
organisation’s health
• It lacks substance and doesn’t nourish
your customers
• After a while it becomes stale, blanding
your brand
• Operationally, creating junk content is
unsatisfying
© Sally Bagshaw 2012 World PR Forum, Melbourne 20 November 2012

8. Why has this happened?
We have been focusing too
much on the content
components of our
content strategy and
forgetting the people
components.
© Sally Bagshaw 2012 World PR Forum, Melbourne 20 November 2012

9. www.flickr.com/photos/slemmon
People are the messy part

10. To make better content choices, focus on
the input rather than the output
• Support your content authors, ensure it is
easy for them to develop good content
• Look beyond the traditional content
creators in your organisation, get
inspiration from others
• Promote lean content
© Sally Bagshaw 2012 World PR Forum, Melbourne 20 November 2012

11. www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov
Figure out your workflow

12. A good workflow defines the people,
processes and tools needed for healthy
content production
• The right menu: Style guides and editorial
schedules
• The right exercise: Author training and
support
• The right equipment: Technology with a
good author experience
© Sally Bagshaw 2012 World PR Forum, Melbourne 20 November 2012

13. www.flickr.com/photos/lydiashiningbrightly
Sort out your governance

14. Governance identifies the key decision
makers, the people responsible
• Remove temptation: Have a clear vision
for how content supports business goals
• Empower your operations team: Give
them the ability to say ‘no’
• Lead by example: Make content a
strategic tool rather than an operational
output
© Sally Bagshaw 2012 World PR Forum, Melbourne 20 November 2012

15. www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov
Let’s start making smarter content choices

16. In summary
Step away from the junk and focus on lean,
high quality content.
Let’s battle the content bulge together by
supporting our authors to make healthy
content choices.
© Sally Bagshaw 2012 World PR Forum, Melbourne 20 November 2012

17. Thank you!
sally@snappysentences.com
Twitter: @snappysentences
www.snappysentences.com
www.webcontentstrategy.com.au
© Sally Bagshaw 2012 World PR Forum, Melbourne 20 November 2012