Presented to the American Chamber of Commerce in Prague, October 2013

1. This is not
a content
marketing
workshop.

2. About me.
Elizabeth McGuane
@emcguane on Twitter
Director of Content Strategy
FleishmanHillard London

3. My old life.

4. My new life.

5. What is this thing called
content strategy?

6. ASSESSING
current content for
quality, volume,
format and
appropriateness
!
COMPARING
content against
competitors and
comparators in the
market
ANALYSING
current content
situation vs.
business
objectives &
audience/user
needs
!
VISION
for content in the
immediate and
longer term
ANALYSING
the structure and
purpose of
current content
types for devices
& channels
!
PLANNING
for what content
needs to get
created or
reworked
CREATING
templates, rules
and glossaries
for authors to
follow, in line
with usability and
accessibility best
practice
CREATING and
SUPPORTING
content
production with
briefs, the
content itself,
and editorial
functions
DESIGNING
customised
editorial
workflow and
role/
responsibility
definitions for
clients to ensure
content quality
over time
Audits Strategy
Planning &
IA
Guidelines
Briefing,
creating &
editing
Workflow &
governance

7. ‘...anything that
conveys
meaningful
information to
humans is called
“content.”

8. ‘but ...[organisations] with hundreds
or thousands of pieces of online
content need
someone who can stand back and
figure out
what all that content should
communicate.’
!
- Erin Kissane

9. This
is your
organisation
Image: Tang Yau Hoong

10. Communications and
marketing, traditionally
= what we see above the line

11. Content
involves the entire
organisation

12. Content exists in how
you perform customer
service
Photo: Greg Peverill-Conti

13. It comes out of your
internal publishing
processes

14. It comes from your
audience

15. Content’s how you tell
the story of your brand.

16. I t ’s h o w w e s e e
y o u r b r a n d
- a n d i t ’s t h e m e c h a n i s m s
t h a t e x p r e s s y o u r b r a n d .

17. Co n t e n t s t ra t e g y
c o v e r s t h e
whole big mess

18. A n d i t ’s a l l
g e t t i n g m e s s i e r
a l l t h e t i m e

19. But new channels and
formats are only one side
of the mess

20. Why is this a
problem now?

21. P e o p l e a r e
m e s s y

22. Business problems
are people problems.
Photo: Greg Peverill-Conti

23. Content problems
are people problems.
Photo: Greg Peverill-Conti

24. As brands,we
fear
losing
control

26. But really,
t h e t y p e o f c o n t r o l
we need to exert
is just changing

27. What you can do.

28. As a company, choosing &
planning effective content
requires you to know
your user’s context.

30. But it’s not just about device
And devices will
continue to
diversify – mobile is
just the beginning

31. We all make
assumptions
Assumptions about reader context -
however well researched - will never
be perfect.
Quit thinking you can just guess what subset of
content a “mobile user” wants. You’re going to
guess wrong.
!
- Karen McGrane

32. So how do you start
to get insight?

33. Re m e m b e r t h e s e
g u y s ?

34. W h at ’s a n
a u d i e n c e w i t h o u t
a s t o r y ?

35. G o o d s t o r i e s a re h o w
y o u g e t t h e m t o l i s t e n -
a n d ke e p l i s t e n i n g .
( A n d t h at ’s h a rd ) .
“If your idea ends with “and
then we drive traffic to it,”
you’ve failed.”
Whatconsumesme.com

36. Th at m ea n s y o u
n e e d t o l i s t e n t o
t h e m , t o o

37. I t ’s h a rd t o l i s t e n
w h e n t h e re ’s s o
m u c h n o i s e .

38. I n s i g h t = d e c i d i n g
w h at t o l i s t e n t o.

39. •Set goals
•Learn from your content competitors - not just those
in your market
•Adapt your content to the user, don’t expect them to
come to you
•Illustrate your integrity with service that matches
your content promise
•Be supportive - get to the point when you need to
Rules to guide that insight:

40. A n d re m e m b e r,
y o u ’ re n e v e r
c o m p l e t e l y i n
c o n t ro l .

41. All content is inert until
it is useful to someone.

42. Online, the content that works inspires
engagement and imagination.
That makes it useful.

43. HOWEVER.

44. Understanding all of that
also requires you to know
your authors’ context.

45. W h i c h m ea n s
u n d e r s t a n d i n g w h at g o e s
o n b e h i n d t h e s c e n e s .

46. W e o f t e n p r o d u c e c o n t e n t
w i t h o u t t h i n k i n g a b o u t
t h e s e t h r e e t h i n g s :
c o n t e x t
r e u s e
& s c a l e

47. This is why content
strategy
is an end-to-end process

48. We’re all publishers
now
- which means our
business model has to
change.

49. If that’s true - who
defines the content
strategy?

50. Every business is
different.
Brand Digital Marketing

51. But it’s a key decision,
because content
doesn’t stop.

52. Audit
Plan
Create
Measure
Adapt

53. First, audit thy content
•The key first step - don’t try to skirt it
•It will debunk the deepest beliefs you
have about your web content (or any
content you produce)
•Watch out for things like inconsistent
tone of voice, and poor content
structure

54. There are tools out
there to help

55. Then create a plan
•People will not just come and tell you what
their plans are
•Everyone thinks their content is top priority
•If you don’t have a company-wide editorial
calendar or plan, you can’t show them
where they fit in the hierarchy of needs

56. Plan inclusively
•Get stakeholders to provide real goals and KPIs for their
requests
!
•Give marketing and business teams clear deadlines
!
•Set time aside for scoping and prioritising requests
!
•Establish clear review and upgrade milestones
!
•Factor in activities like asset gathering and regulatory
review
!
•Look at upcoming events and schedule in new content and
distribution mechanisms to align

57. Before you create,
think beyond web
•Your story is not just happening on the
web, or on mobile or tablet - where could
your assets be going? How much could
you be saving?
•This goes two ways as well - get data to
inform content planning from in store
publications, from call centres, from online
forums

58. And especially:
think
beyond
campaigns

59. Measure and analyse
•Get to know Google Analytics - or
whatever tool you use
•But remember, it’s not really about the
numbers
•It’s the insights they reveal
•And above all, the changes you make
as a result

60. Test and adapt
•Do this as lightly as you have to (A/B tests)
or as thoroughly as you can (constant MVTs)
•Use testing during design to define your
users - and develop personas, if you like
•Try to set personas for each organisational
area so you have something external to
measure content against

61. And listen
•Still using social media just for PR?
(Your audience can tell)
•Use it to talk directly people, to find out
where & how they’re talking to each
other
•Monitor the conversations you want to
lead

62. What this boils down to
•Figure out what you have
•Plan ahead
•Listen to the public
•Talk to your users
•Analyse their responses
•Write for them, not at them

63. Let’s get planning.

64. Three groups. Three tasks.
•Publishing a piece of web content
•Creating a company-wide editorial
calendar
•Sourcing or commissioning new
images