A presentation I built for a research paper about Content Strategy for a Theory of Technical Communication course at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

1. Technical
Communication
+
Web
Content
Strategy

2. http://content-strategy.meetup.com/
Content strategy is an emerging discipline, one that technical communicators should
be aware of.

3. WHAT IS
CONTENT STRATEGY?
“Content strategy is about publishing.”
– Erin Kissane
"Content strategy is to copywriting as
information architecture is to design.”
– Rachel Lovinger
"Ultimately the content strategist’s central
question is this: what strategies can I
implement to improve the content?”
– Tom Johnson
Still wondering?

4. WHAT DOES WRITING
HAVE TO DO WITH IT?
“Most of the content on the web is text.
Text instructs, guides, informs, confirms,
communicates, connects. [Text] is the most
complex kind of content to produce, and
it’s the easiest to lose control of.”
Kristina Halvorson
Content Strategy for the Web

5. WE CAN DO BETTER.
“Ever wonder why so many websites feature
dense, unreadable prose? Force you to
navigate through pages of brochure copy
and legalese? Look like they backed up a
truck full of PDFs and dumped them in the
content management system?”
Karen McGrane
"Content Strategy for Everyone (Even You)”, Interactions

6. The existing process is flawed.
Most web projects start with design and functionality,
leaving actual content for subject matter experts to
take care of.
Planning is focused on the launch of a web site, not
on the life of a web site.
Even the most brilliantly written/designed content
can be lost if it does not fit the delivery vehicle.

7. TECHNICAL
JARGON AHEAD!

8. CONTENT MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS
A Web Content Management System (WCMS)
is a software system which provides website
authoring and administration tools designed to
allow users with little knowledge of web
programming languages or markup languages
to create and manage the site's content with
relative ease.
wikipedia.org
Confused? Think of it like this …

9. When things are difficult …

10. … technology makes things easier.

11. Starting a website used to be difficult.
Design
Coding
Hosting Writing

12. “Webmasters” required many tools in
order to design, code, and deploy a site.

13. Content management systems put all these
tasks behind a user-friendly interface.
Hosting Coding
Design Writing
CMS

14. Now anyone can publish on the web.

15. (Anyone.)

16. Businesses quickly adopted the CMS model.
Web teams can package an empty website template
(design + code) and quickly hand it over to subject
matter experts.
The subject matter experts use the simple CMS entry
tools to add content (no code or design skills required).
There was increased site consistency (branding) and
sites could be updated often.
Everyone was happy.

17. Except…

18. mostly
The content was crap.

19. Many web projects
follow this process.
• Layout
• Visual Branding
• Coding (HTML, CSS, Javascript)
• Testing
• Content Management System
• Maintenance & Optimization

20. Experienced web teams
use a more formal process.
• Goals & Requirements
• Audience & Purpose
• Information Architecture
• Site Map
• Layout
• Visual Branding
• Coding (HTML, CSS, Javascript)
• Testing
• Content Management System (CMS)
• Maintenance & Optimization

21. When did we write all this important text?
• Goals & Requirements
Discovery • Audience & Purpose
• Information Architecture
Structure • Site Map
• Layout
Design • Visual Branding
• Coding (HTML, CSS, Javascript)
Development • Testing
• Content Management System (CMS)
Delivery • Maintenance & Optimization
Right before the site launch.

22. A CMS reinforces the existing process.
A CMS with a functional design
template is handed off to the
site owners as a packaged
product.
Discover Design Develop Deliver
All the “work” is focused on
building the tool,
not what goes into the tool.

23. Content strategists suggest a new process.
• Audit existing content, Analyze, and Plan for the
Creation, Delivery, and Governance of content
• Information Architecture
• Site Map
• Content Management System
• Content Creation and Delivery (into CMS)
• Layout
• Visual Branding
• Coding (HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc.)
• Testing
• Maintenance & Optimization
• Content Governance (Lifecycle)

24. WHY WILL TECHNICAL
COMMUNICATORS MAKE GREAT
CONTENT STRATEGISTS?
“Content strategy is clearly gaining
momentum as a discipline alongside other
disciplines related to tech comm, such as
content management, information
architecture, usability, and information
design.”
Tom Johnson
I’d Rather Be Writing (idratherbewriting.com)

25. Web content often uses three
rhetorical modes.
Inform
Engage
Persuade

26. Technical communicators can apply rhetorical
principles to creating web content that is
Clear
Appealing
Actionable

27. This semester,
we surveyed the following topics.
Collaboration with local experts
Discovery of organizational culture
Document design
Analysis of audience and usability
Ethics of persuading readers to action/acceptance
Editing for clarity (“less is often more”)

28. Important abilities of a
content strategist include
Collaborating with stakeholders
Listening to content owners
Auditing existing content
Asking “Who cares?” and “Why?”
Tying content to business objectives and user tasks
Implementing editorial calendars

29. THE BOTTOM LINE.
“We are learning how to be thoughtful
and effective communicators. Becoming a
content strategist would also let us plan
and control the entire lifecycle of any
content we create: how it is used, changed,
and retired.”
daniel spillers

30. DANIEL SPILLERS
writeme@almostdaniel.com
@almostdaniel
almostdaniel.com
University of Arkansas at Little Rock