When you’re asked by your boss, or your boss’ boss (your grandboss!) to explain content strategy, what can you say to make the biggest impact? How can you build advocates for content strategy in people whose pay grades eat pay grades like yours for breakfast? This is the situation Amanda Costello found herself in when her great-grandboss asked her to speak to the dean and college leadership about her work as a content strategist. Spoiler alert: nobody was fired. Featuring a “director’s commentary” on content specifically developed for an audience of high-level academic leadership, this session will give you memorable ways of talking about content strategy that will stick with administrators, even as they navigate their myriad of other duties and responsibilities. Gain a better understanding of the world of academic administrators, learn how to build advocacy for good strategy and best practices, and make sure your voice is heard – even when you’re not in the room.

1. about content strategy
Amanda Costello
College of Education and Human Development
University of Minnesota
@amandaesque
(or anything, really)
Boss & Grandboss
how to talk to your

2. grandboss?

3. Hello
My name is
Amanda

4. I Don’t Have Your Ph.D.
Working with Faculty & the Web

6. what would you say
you do here?

8. A Good Explanation
lowers the cost
of understanding

11. A Good Explanation
lowers the cost
of understanding

13. teaching in japan

14. Lesson Planning 101
1. What do they already know?
2. What do you want them to
know by the end?
3. How will you get them there?
4. How will you know they know it?

15. 1. What did they
already know?

16. Who was I dealing with?

17. Money

18. Enrollment

19. Teaching
Research
Outreach

20. employees

21. time

22. The web?
Source: Flickr user vanz https://www.flickr.com/photos/vanz/2043629633/

23. them to know?
2. What did i want

24. Jessica Hagy, http://thisisindexed.com

25. The internet is real

26. They have a role

27. We’re here to help

28. Content Strategy model

29. 3. How Will I Get
Them There?

30. your setting
KNOW

31. I make sure the
content on our
site is useful
for the people
who need it.
Elevator Speech:

32. Know Thyself

33. 1. make a plan
2. cumberbatch

34. #whatsyourcumberbatch

35. let’s check out
some slides

36. let’s check out
some slides

37. Content Strategy & You
time to get excited!

38. Lots%of%Problems%
! We’re%out%of%money%
! Another%school%got%every%
grant%we%applied%for%
! Students%are%too%sleepy!%
! We’re%not%meeting%our%
having>meetings%quota%as%
set%forth%by%the%board%of%
regents%
! There’s%a%moth%in%my%office%
and%it%won’t%leave%

39. Hi! I’m Amanda
• Lead Content Strategist
• 6 years with CEHD
• UMN alum, past
participant on
JET Programme
• National conference
speaker, content
strategy writer/blogger

40. Web Strategy Team
Jeff Abuzzahab
Web Team Lead
Susan Andre
Design Lead
Dan Sagisser
Information Architect

41. B.A., English Lit
Concentration: Shakespeare
& Dystopian Fiction

42. “Content strategy plans for the
creation, publication,
and governance of
useful, usable content.”
- Kristina Halvorson,
Content Strategy for the Web
“Anything that conveys
meaningful information to
humans is called ‘content’.”
-Erin Kissane,
The Elements of Content Strategy

43. Good Content is
appropriate
useful
user-centered
clear
consistent
concise
supported

47. Questions
#
Icons from Flaticon, users SimpleIcon and Freepik (freepik.com)
What the web does
What people do

49. Faculty
Instructor
Professor
Teacher
lolwut

50. People!

51. www.plainlanguage.gov
• Plain Writing Act of 2010. Law requires
federal agencies to use “clear
Government communication that the
public can understand and use.”
• 3 additional executive orders cover the
use of plain language in regulations
(EO 13563, EO 12866, EO 12988)

52. Medicare Fraud Letter
“Investigators at the contractor will review the facts in your case
and decide the most appropriate course of action. The first step
taken with most Medicare health care providers is to reeducate
them about Medicare regulations and policies. If the practice
continues, the contractor may conduct special audits of the
providers medical records. Often, the contractor recovers
overpayments to health care providers this way. If there is
sufficient evidence to show that the provider is consistently
violating Medicare policies, the contractor will document the
violations and ask the Office of the Inspector General to
prosecute the case. This can lead to expulsion from the Medicare
program, civil monetary penalties, and imprisonment.”

53. Medicare Fraud Letter
“We will take two steps to
look at this matter: we will
find out if it was an error or
fraud, and we will let you
know the result.”

54. Content Strategy model

55. z.umn.edu/csmap

56. Let’s talk about
Social media
Websites
Project pages
Content audits
User experience
Communication plans
Content templates
Usability tests
Taxonomies
!
Web branding
Plain Language
Editorial calendars
Voice and tone
Information architecture
User research
Persona generation
Use scenarios
Web standards
... and so much more!

57. What can you do?
• Bring in your content strategist early in
the conversation about new projects,
initiatives, or ideas in your area.
• Think about audience and your users;
who is your content for, and who is it not
for?
• Collaborate with us; let’s make awesome.

58. 4. How do I know
they know it?

59. What can You do?

60. Weekly MeetingsBoss & Grandboss updates

61. Get In Front of people
Start explaining anything!
Image: Sarah Worthy, http://tendenci.com/photos/1242/in/43/

62. build bridgesbetween silos

63. build bridgesbetween silos

64. Let’s be in touch
amandac@umn.edu
@amandaesque
Thank you!
I can drink lattes forever.