A content strategy helps associations transform everything they do into relevant, meaningful, and useful tools and resources for their members. Content strategy is a disciplined way to bring out the value of the association's work, leading to more member participation, higher renewal rate, and greater understanding of the association's value to members. Presentation at the 2014 ESSAE Annual Meeting for NY State association executives

1. Creating &
Executing a
Great Content
Strategy
ESSAE Annual Meeting 2014

2. About Me
Helping
organizations
communicate online
more effectively
since 1996
Hilary
Marsh,
Content
Company
Confab,
June
5
2013

3. LOGO LOGO LOGO LOGO
LOGOLOGO LOGO

4. Why do people
visit your website?
Design?
Graphics?
Widgets?
The carousel on your homepage?
http://shouldiuseacarousel.com/

6. Content lets users do
what they need to do
• Take advantage of what you offer
• Find out why they should join or stay
• Learn how your association helps them in
their profession
• Not need to call you to answer a question

7. Content lets you
achieve your goals
• Attract prospective members
• Retain and engage current members
• Increase use of programs, resources,
tools, and information
• Increase awareness of and participation in
political advocacy efforts
• Increase non-dues revenue

8. Content problems?
• Language/jargon
• Prioritized promotion
• Content hoarding
• Bad editorial processes
• New content missing
• Different content on different channels

9. Yes, content problems
• Hard to find information
• Too many publishers
• Who’s in charge of the home page?
• “4002.pdf”
• Website is based on our org chart
• Not accessible from a mobile device
• “We should be on YouTube”

14. Content exercise
What’s in the bag?

15. Content lessons
• You are not your member
• You are not your audience

16. h<p://xkcd.com/773/

17. Who
What
When of publishing
Where content online
WHY
How
What is content strategy?

19. Myths your members think
about digital
• It’s free, instant, and you can do it in your spare
time
• Search engines will find your information instantly
and display it at the top of the first page of what
anyone searches for
• Any video they make will go viral
• Every member wants to share information about
the board’s latest initiative
• Your home page and social media posts should be
primarily about your association

20. The real facts
• Every digital channel needs a strategy and the
right identity. The more channels, the more time
and complexity.
• Page views are not a goal – the goal is the goal.
• You can’t succeed in your goals unless your users
succeed in theirs
• Success builds over time
• Think > plan > do – all three steps are required

21. Quality Takes Time
Good web writing is
• Short
• Active
• Scannable: uses bullets and subheads
• Leads with the most important information
• Readable – aim for 9th grade
– test at read-able.com
• Free of jargon
• Has compelling headlines that will make sense even out
of context

22. I
have
made
this
[le.er]
longer
than
usual
because
I
have
not
had
7me
to
make
it
shorter.
Blaise Pascal, 1657"

26. Content Lifecycle
Conceive
Create
Publish
Promote
Maintain
ReHre

27. Conceive and create
• Conceive
• Set goals
– Business: make or save money
– User: increase satisfaction/encourage use or decrease
dissatisfaction/reduce customer service needs & costs
• Create
• Optimize
– On-site
– Search engines
– Other outlets

28. Publish and promote
• Publish
– Review process: quality, facts
– Content Management System (Wordpress)
• Promote
– On-site: home page, landing pages, topics
– Off-site: e-newsletters, social media, advertising

29. Maintain and retire
• Maintain
• Measure
– Test and tweak
– Refine
• Retire
– Archive/Delete/”Unpublish”
– Renew

30. Who’s involved?
• Staff
– Technology
– Marketing
– Communications
– Membership
– Programming
• Committees
– All of the above

31. Associations are complicated

32. Everything is content
• Programs
• Products
• Services
• Publications
• Webinars
• Reports
• Events

33. Similar topics – are
they connected?
• Programs
• Products
• Services
• Publications
• Webinars
• Reports
• Events

34. Be a “deejay” for your
content
• Save time
• Save $$
• Help members help themselves

35. Content strategy for
membership
• User goals
• Business needs
• Promotion timeline/calendar
• Testing and tweaking
• Content reuse

36. Content strategy for
events
• User goals
• Business needs
• Promotion timeline/calendar
• Testing and tweaking
• Content reuse

37. Content exercise
• Create a page table

38. h<p://loremoopsum.tumblr.com/post/37034901905/tweeted-­‐by-­‐my-­‐friend-­‐and-­‐fellow-­‐content-­‐strategist

43. Content exercise
• Start filling in a calendar

44. Hilary
Marsh,
Content
Company
Confab,
June
5
2013
h<p://www.lightboxcollaboraHve.com/2014-­‐editorial-­‐calendar

45. Thank you
hilary@hilarymarsh.com @hilarymarsh
www.hilarymarsh.com