Content strategy: beyond the wireframe - a workshop for UX designers and researchers.. Have you ever experienced that sinking feeling at the end of a project when you realise the content that’s been loaded onto the site is nothing like what you were thinking of when you created the wireframes? Or revisited a site you built a while ago and found that additions and changes made over the years have altered it beyond recognition? Content strategy can help you plan for great content right from the start of a project. This workshop demystifies the content production workflow – how it’s commissioned, created, measured and maintained – talks a bit about governance, and provides some practical tips and tools to help plan and manage content, whether you’re from an agency or in-house. Sophie Dennis Sophie is a freelance consultant. She is a freelance consultant specialising in UX and content strategy. She started her career in publishing before being enticed away by the bright lights of web design, where she has spent 15 years trying to get clients to take their content as seriously as they do design. She recently collaborated with Juliet on the content strategy for a major UK charity, and is currently working as a User Experience Director at cxpartners. Juliet Richardson Juliet is currently Principal UX Consultant at Nomensa in Bristol. She has been working in the field of UX for longer than she cares to remember and has worked on some great projects with some fabulous clients along the way, including a recent collaboration with Sophie to create a content strategy for a large national charity.

1. @we_are_Nomensa
@sophiedennis
SOPHIE DENNIS
UX & Content Strategy Consultant
Cayenne
@sophiedennis
Content Strategy:
Beyond the Wireframe
JULIET RICHARDSON
Principal UX Consultant
Nomensa
@we_are_Nomensa

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@sophiedennis
Very funny picture goes here
Why go beyond the
wireframe?
Hilarious slogan goes here

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@sophiedennis
• What is content strategy
• The 8 essentials of great content
• How to plan for the time and effort needed to
create great content
• The activities, people and roles involved
• Take away some practical tools and techniques
What we’ll cover

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What is content
strategy?
There are lots of definitions…

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“Planning for the creation, delivery, and
governance of useful, usable content” !
Kristina Halvorson

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“Planning for the creation, delivery, and
governance of useful, usable content” !
Kristina Halvorson

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“Planning for the creation, aggregation,
delivery, and governance of useful, usable,
and appropriate content in an experience” !
Margot Bloomstein

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“Content strategy is to copywriting as
information architecture is to design” !
Rachel Lovinger

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“A plan for adding unique, expert,
and indexable content to your site
on a regular basis” !
Mark O’Brien

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“Content marketing strategy [must come] first
and this requires goals, different forms of content
for different customer touchpoints, mapping the
needs of people, the channels they prefer and the
content or stories, etc” !
Joe Pulizzi

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A broad church
Different specialisms
Different backgrounds
Different perspectives
Let’s bring it all together…

12. Adapted by Sophie Dennis sophiedennis.co.uk
from original © Brain Traffic 2011 blog.braintraffic.com/2011/03/brain_traffic_lands_quad
People & Culture – the ‘how’
Content – the ‘what’
Creation,
delivery
and
governance
Useful,
usable
content
Governance Workflow
StructureSubstance
The elements of
Content
Strategy
What kind of content do
we need (topics, types,
sources, etc…), and what
messages does content
need to communicate to our
audience?
How is content prioritized,
organized, formatted, and
displayed? IA, metadata,
data modelling, distribution
channel, linking strategies,
etc
How are key decisions about
content and content
strategy made? How are
changes initiated and
communicated?
What processes, tools, and
human resources are
required for content
initiatives to launch
successfully and
maintain ongoing
quality?

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What is
great content?

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Appropriate for the organisation
– and for its customers
Contributes to both the organisation’s
objectives, and the customer’s goal.
On brand
A consistent tone of voice
communicates an organisation’s values
through every piece of content.
Necessary and needed
Do not treat the web as a store
cupboard with infinite stuffing space —
your users’ brains certainly aren’t.
Useful, usable and user-centred
Appropriate to the user’s goals and
context, accessible, readable and
understandable.
Clear, consistent and concise
Content that is clear and concise takes
less time to read and understand. But it
also takes time, effort and skill to create.
Right for the distribution channel
Websites, print, social media: different
content works better on different
channels. Adapt, remix and reuse.
Discoverable
There is no point going to the expense
of commissioning, creating and
publishing content if no one can find it.
Sustainable
Publishing is just the start. Make sure you
have a plan to manage and monitor
content throughout its lifecycle.
The 8 qualities of great content
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

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Sustainable
throughout its
lifecycle…

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The Content Lifecycle

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Activity:
Content lifecycle
• Work in pairs
• Map the activities onto the broad “plan,
create, manage” lifecycle

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activity
activity
activity
activity
activity
activity
activity
activity
activity
activity

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Marketing
Who does what?
Copywriter Editor
Subject
Matter
Expert

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Activity:
Who’s involved
• Work in groups of four
• Each take one of the four roles
• Put a yellow dot next to each stage you
think you would be involved in

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Brainstorm ideas
Create editorial
calendar
…
Cal Eddie Sam Mo
Copywriter Editor Subject Expert Marketing
Write first draft

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Activity:
Who’s in charge?
• As a group, discuss who should take the
lead at each stage of the production
process
• Put a red dot in the box under their name
• Only one red dot per row!

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Brainstorm ideas
Create editorial
calendar
…
Cal Eddie Sam Mo
Copywriter Editor Subject Expert Marketing
Write first draft

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Activity:
Who does what
• Pick one or two activities
• Discuss what each of you would be
doing at that stage
• Write a short summary for each role on a
post-it and stick it under their name

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Brainstorm ideas
Create editorial
calendar
…
Cal Eddie Sam Mo
Copywriter Editor Subject Expert Marketing
Write first draft
Bring
doughnuts
Be
Interviewed
nit pick
Find cat
pictures
Interview
Expert
Write
stuff

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Responsible
The person who does the work: responsible for completing
the action
Accountable
Oversees the work: accountable for its completion and quality
Consulted
Influences the work: consulted parties have input into the
action
Informed
Knows what’s happening: informed parties need to know
action has been taken
RACI Matrix
R
A
C
I

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Responsible
Does the work
Accountable
Oversees the work
Consulted
Influences the work
Informed
Knows what’s happening
Brainstorm ideas Senior Editor Marketing Manager Subject Matter Experts Copywriter
Create editorial
calendar
Senior Editor Marketing Manager
Copywriter, Subject
Matter Expert
Write first draft Copywriter Senior Editor Subject Matter Expert
Review, edit & proof-
read
2nd Senior Editor Copywriter
Find photos Designer Senior Editor Subject Matter Expert Copywriter
Upload, approve &
publish
Senior Editor Marketing Manager Subject Matter Expert Copywriter
Promote on social
media
Marketing Assistant Marketing Manager Senior Editor
Monitor & report Marketing Assistant Marketing Manager Senior Editor
Review: Update?
Retire? Archive?
Copywriter Senior Editor Marketing Manager Subject Matter Expert
RACI MatrixMore examples at racichart.org

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The practicalities
• Create a process that fits
• Define and communicate roles clearly
• Be realistic!
(Don’t forget the multiplication sign)

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Useful Tools
Automate your
content audits
Collate and review content
from multiple contributors
Manage your ongoing
editorial calendar
gathercontent.com
content-insight.com
divvyhq.com

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Recommended Books
Content Production
Planning for Agencies
Gather Content
!
FREE ebook download from
gathercontent.com/content-
production-planning-for-agencies/
Content Strategy
for the Web
Kristina Halvorson & Melissa Rach
2nd Edition, New Riders, 2013
contentstrategy.com
amazon.co.uk/Content-Strategy-Voices-
That-Matter/dp/0321808304
The Elements of
Content Strategy
Erin Kissane
A Book Apart, 2011
abookapart.com/products/the-
elements-of-content-strategy

32. SOPHIE DENNIS
UX & Content Strategy Consultant
Cayenne
@sophiedennis
!
GO BEYOND THE WIREFRAME!
JULIET RICHARDSON
Principal UX Consultant
Nomensa
@we_are_Nomensa