Legal services organizations produce a lot of content, and have an opportunity to create and manage it strategically. Having sound content strategy practices, supported with governance, is key to making their content more successful in educating consumers to solve their legal problems.

1. If Content is King,
Why Is
Governance
Needed?
Hilary Marsh, Content Company
ave Pantzer, People’s Law Library of Maryland
Stephanie Villinski, Illinois Legal Aid Online

5. What is
content strategy?

6. oal of content strategy
Get the right content
to the right person
for the right action

9. Effective content
s focused on the reader
Has a goal
Helps the reader do a task
s relevant, timely, useful

10. Reader-Focused Content
fore
ocial security taxes must be paid
onthly
Who must pay taxes?
Passive voice
After
Employers must pay social
security taxes monthly
• Clearly states who must pay
• Active voice

11. fective content
• Uses subheads and bullets
• Is not in PDF format
• Uses fewer words but includes the terms readers
are looking for
• Is written at an appropriate level for the site’s
audience

12. Content goals
NO - We want to increase the views of our page
YES - We want people to do something: Sign up for
the event, download the white paper, subscribe to the
publication
Examples from
the legal services
world?

13. Help the reader do something
• Who am I talking to? (Have a conversation)
• What do they want to achieve?
• What brings those people to my site? What are
their top tasks? Top questions?

14. “Users don’t care about your
org chart.”
--Lou Rosenfeld
Author, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web

15. How people read online
http://www.useit.com/eyetracking/

16. How people read online

17. People scan, they don’t read
• They are pressed for time
• They’ve become “Twitter-ized”
• Screens are reflective and cause eye fatigue

18. Make text scannable
• “Chunk” content into sections
• Break up long passages with subheads
• Present information in short bullet points
• Use reader-focused keywords

19. Writing shorter is not easier
have made this [letter]
onger than usual because I
have not had time to make it
shorter.
-- Blaise Pascal, 1657

24. overnance

26. --Content Strategy, Inc.

28. Content roles
• Subject-matter expert
• Content creator (writer, videographer, etc.)
• Translator
• Reviewer
• Website poster
• User tester
How many of
these roles do
you play?

29. Workflow

30. http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/anniversary/how.things.work/index2.html

32. Dra$ Review Final edits Publish

33. 7 Governance Guideposts
Making sure your organization creates and
sustains effective content
33

34. 1. Know who your
organization is

35. bout the organization
• Values
• Mission
• Business goals
• Products & programs
• Future plans

36. h6ps://www.flickr.com/photos/xoques/3758640007
Strategy Statement

37. To reduce customer service center costs, we
will provide user-facing, task-based support
content that makes our professional customers
feel confident when configuring products for
their clients.

38. We will develop and maintain content that
helps people practice and enjoy the arts.

39. AMI.org will advance the NAMI movement by
ecruiting and motivating supporters and ambassador
o:
• educate themselves and others about mental
illness and recovery
• find and access support
• contribute by donating, walking, engaging, joining
• take action by advocating, participating,
volunteering, and sharing their stories

40. inois Legal Aid Online offers easy to understand,
eliable content that educates and connects people
ith limited resources to local solutions by making
hem feel informed, confident and supported, and
mpowering them to solve their legal matters.

41. inois Legal Aid Online offers easy to understand,
eliable content that educates and connects people
ith limited resources to local solutions by making
hem feel informed, confident and supported, and
mpowering them to solve their legal matters.
What kind
of conten

42. inois Legal Aid Online offers easy to understand,
eliable content that educates and connects people
ith limited resources to local solutions by making
hem feel informed, confident and supported, and
mpowering them to solve their legal matters.
Audie

43. inois Legal Aid Online offers easy to understand,
eliable content that educates and connects people
ith limited resources to local solutions by making
hem feel informed, confident and supported, and
mpowering them to solve their legal matters.
Business
goals

44. inois Legal Aid Online offers easy to understand,
eliable content that educates and connects people
ith limited resources to local solutions by making
hem feel informed, confident and supported, and
mpowering them to solve their legal matters.
User n

46. Content strategy statement
<Organization> offers _______, _______
content that helps them _____________
and_____________ by making ________
feel _______, _______, and _______, and
convincing them to _____________ and
_____________.
adjec&ve
adjec&ve
accomplish goal
accomplish goal
audience
adjec&ve
adjec&ve
adjec&ve
take desired ac&on
take desired ac&on

47. our turn:
Create a strategy statement

48. Content strategy statement
<Organization> offers _______, _______
content that helps them _____________
and_____________ by making ________
feel _______, _______, and _______, and
convincing them to _____________ and
_____________.
adjec&ve
adjec&ve
accomplish goal
accomplish goal
audience
adjec&ve
adjec&ve
adjec&ve
take desired ac&on
take desired ac&on

49. 2. Know what your
audience needs/wants

50. h6p://www.tagheuer.com/int-en/company/ceo-speech
• Shared focus on the audience
• Shared understanding of the audience

51. //www.slideshare.net/est3ban/empathybased-personas-gaining-a-deeper-understanding-of-your-audience-presen

52. //www.slideshare.net/est3ban/empathybased-personas-gaining-a-deeper-understanding-of-your-audience-presen

56. 3. Have sound policies in
place
56

57. olicies
• Voice and tone
• Editorial style
• Content lifecycle
• Review process
• Format
• Information sharing

58. 4. Know when and why to
say no
h6ps://www.flickr.com/photos/planetlight/48112

59. 5. Experiment to learn
what works

60. 6. Use data to get buy-in
and enforce decisions

61. 7. Do what you can, given
organizational will and
ability

62. Where to go from here?
How to start when you’re back in the office

63. esources
Letting Go of the Words, Ginny Redish
Nicely Said, Nicole Fenton and Kate Kiefer Lee
Don’t Make Me Think, Steve Krug
Web Analytics: An Hour A Day, Avinash Kaushik
Hemingway App: www.hemingwayapp.com
LAO style guide: http://bit.ly/ILAOstyleguide
PLL writing guide: https://www.peoples-law.org/writing-guide
Content Company blog: http://contentcompany.biz/blog/
Content Company newsletter: http://contentcompany.biz/newsletter/

64. Thank you!
Hilary Marsh hilary@contentcompany.biz
Dave Pantzer david.pantzer@mdcourts.gov
Stephanie Villinski svillinski@illinoislegalaid.org

65. SESSION
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