Content problems. We all have them: Your clients can't get your copy on time. Marketing's massive paragraphs break your tidy designs. Or maybe your site's overflowing with stuff, and no one's responsible for keeping track of where things are and why they're there. Content strategy to the rescue, right? Well, sorta. It'd be nice if a few well-placed deliverables could solve the problem. But editorial plans and style guides won't change things. Neither will structured content and a custom CMS. We can't mastermind solutions and expect them to stick in organizations full of complex people, histories, and challenges. When it comes to improving content, it's not about fixing. It's about facilitating—helping organizations adapt, so their content can adapt with them. If you're used to designing and building, this is a big shift—and one that'll take some getting used to. In this talk, you'll learn: •Where you fit into the content strategy process, regardless of your role •How to facilitate tough conversations and get people talking about content early and often •How to empower people to work together across departments, disciplines, and teams Presenter: Sara Wachter-Boettcher

1. CONTENT CONTROL&
www.flickr.com/photos/hectoralejandro/4533858235
sara wachter-boettcher / stc philly metro / april 23, 2014

2. content
problems.
www.flickr.com/photos/barkbud/4772858837

3. WE’VE
ALL HAD
THEM.
www.flickr.com/photos/toaireisdivine/9415848926

4. www.flickr.com/photos/puuikibeach/8564682770
it’ll just be a
simple content
migration!

5. www.flickr.com/photos/amatuerphotographer/8133278472
our mobile site
has everything on-
the-go users need!

6. From NBC Miami
our authors are
pretty good at
publishing!

7. www.flickr.com/photos/bevgoodwin/9482142313/
i’m important!
put me on the
homepage!

8. www.flickr.com/photos/bevgoodwin/9482142313/
i’m important!
put me on the
homepage!
me too!
no, me!

9. www.flickr.com/photos/dsifry/2205839462/
THIS IS WHY
WE CAN’T HAVE
NICE THINGS!

10. GOOD NEWS!
I’M A CONTENT
STRATEGIST.

11. SO OF COURSE
CONTENT STRATEGY
WILL FIX THIS!

12. www.flickr.com/photos/merlym/3512356738/

14. Blah
Blah
Blah
Blah
BlahBlah

15. we got this,
you guys!
www.flickr.com/photos/nickwebb/3904325807/

16. ‘‘‘‘You know exactly what to do, but not
everyone here is ready for that. You’re
jumping to the answers, but they don’t
understand the questions.
— My client

17. www.flickr.com/photos/familymwr/5084724949

18. HE WAS RIGHT.

19. i saw content
as an input.

20. BUT CONTENT
IS ALSO WHAT
COMES OUT OF
ORGANIZATIONS.

21. it reveals our
values and beliefs.
www.flickr.com/photos/patchworkharmony/8206364973

22. www.flickr.com/photos/seabamirum/2848715801
our ownership
issues.

23. our fear of
change.
www.flickr.com/photos/paulvaarkamp/481912299

24. WE USED TO JUST
MAKE WEBSITES.

25. NOW THE WEB IS
EVERYTHING.

26. NOW THE WEB IS
EVERYONE.

27. ‘‘‘‘Content is easy, people are messy.
—Sally Bagshaw,
@snappysentences

28. DELIVERABLES
WON’T FIX THIS.

29. we have to bring
them with us.
www.flickr.com/photos/justsketchy/6639463877

34. GSD

35. what’s happening
over there?
www.flickr.com/photos/paulmannix/261313412

36. can’t do this all
day, every day.
www.flickr.com/photos/departmentofed/7894648550

37. www.flickr.com/photos/west_point/5357124683
parallel
processes.

38. content is a
team sport.
www.flickr.com/photos/clam113/2666711074

39. WORKSHOPS: NOT
JUST FOR KICKOFF.

40. MESSAGING
EDITORIAL STYLE
CONTENT AUDITING
CONTENT MODELING

41. MESSAGING
EDITORIAL STYLE
CONTENT AUDITING
CONTENT MODELING

42. who are we?
what’s important?

43. MESSAGING
EDITORIAL STYLE
CONTENT AUDITING
CONTENT MODELING

44. do we sound
like that?

45. MESSAGING
EDITORIAL STYLE
CONTENT AUDITING
CONTENT MODELING

46. go through
it, together.

47. look for shared
traits as you go.

48. MESSAGING
EDITORIAL STYLE
CONTENT AUDITING
CONTENT MODELING

49. CONTENT
EMAIL
INTRANET
SOCIAL
MEDIA
MICROSITES
MOBILE
WEBWEBSITE
PRINT
TABLET
APPS
MOBILE
APPS
BLOGS
Karen McGrane, Adapting
Ourselves to Adaptive Content
this can be
hard to explain.

50. and this
definitely is.
NPR’s COPE model

51. 1 2
THINKING
(FRAMING)
HEARING
RELATIONSHIPS PLACETIME
DEVICE
FEELING
(MOTIVATIONS)
DOING
(BEHAVIOR)
SEEING
(CONTEXT)
1 2
this might
be easier.
Adaptive Path Guide to
Experience Mapping

52. what’s a user’s
path really like?
Paul Kahn and
Christophe Tallec

53. WHICH CONTENT
DO THEY NEED
ALONG THE WAY?

54. what would make
that possible?

55. specialized,
not special.
www.flickr.com/photos/darrensnow/2566687702

56. frustration
won’t help.
www.flickr.com/photos/merlym/3512356738/

57. www.flickr.com/photos/bluryee/2850257762/
finding what
fits will.

58. www.flickr.com/photos/scott1723/6290094282
but we’ll have
to let go first.

59. thank you.
@sara_ann_marie
sarawb.com