A talk I gave at PodCamp Nashville 2012.

1. Content
Strategy 101

2. Content Strategy 101
slideshare.net/lauracreekmore

3. Elements of a Web Project

4. Elements of a Web Project
Business Goal Production
Strategy Operations
Design Analytics
Development Review
Testing Upgrades

5. Elements of a Web Project
!
Business Goal Production
Strategy
E NT
Operations
O
Design
N T Analytics
C Development Review
Testing Upgrades

6. Multi-Channel Landscape

7. Multi-Channel Landscape

8. Multi-Channel Landscape
K K !
C K K
A

9. Content
Strategy Is the
Response

10. Why Content Strategy?
Your content
is a
business asset.
(What if we treat it like one?)

11. But I’m Not in the Content Business: Rebuttal
“Embrace that you are a publisher.”
— Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs
“The one with the most engaging content wins.”
— Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Institute

12. Why Content Strategy?
Content strategy helps you
make decisions based on
your business needs.

13. What Is Content Strategy?
It’s a mindset.

14. What Is Content Strategy?
It’s a mindset.
It’s a toolbox.

15. The Content Strategy Mindset
P

16. The Content Strategy Mindset
Plan
Govern Create
P
Organize

17. P
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skistz/

18. Steps to Content Strategy
•Plan
•Create
•Organize
•Govern

19. Know your business goal
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vizzzual-dot-com/

20. Know your audience
http://www.flickr.com/photos/al_loves_perth/

21. Speak your
customer’s language
http://www.flickr.com/photos/denharsh/

23. Planning
•You’re going to need a spreadsheet.
•List everything you’ve got.
•No, everything.
•Yes, that too.

24. Planning: Sample Content Inventory

25. Planning: Inventory Tips
•For a comprehensive inventory, list content from all
channels.
•Capture process too.
•Site crawlers can be helpful.
•Check your CMS for useful functionality.
•Even on a small project, you’ll start to see issues at this
point.

26. Planning: Analysis
What you’re looking for:
•ROT: Redundant, out-dated, trivial content
•Unclear/inaccurate messaging
•Signs of inefficient process: Creating similar content
repeatedly
•Gaps: What’s missing?

27. Design and Development
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adactio/

28. What Your Developer
Wants From You
http://www.flickr.com/photos/infusionsoft/

29. What Your Developer
Wants From You
R IT Y
C L A
http://www.flickr.com/photos/infusionsoft/

30. Creating: Content Templates
Content templates [page tables] show how content
works on the page.
•Similar to wireframes
•Less about layout, more about the meat
•Benefit: No last minute surprises
Great resource: http://www.alistapart.com/articles/content-templates-to-the-rescue/

31. Creating: Essential Details
•Identify types of content

32. Creating: Essential Details
•Note characteristics Headline [Character limit?]
Copy with links [Char limit?]
Image [Size?]

33. Organization
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melissadion/

34. Organizing: Technology
•Get the technology right
•Simple = Often better
•Metadata and taxonomy are your friends
•Create once, use repeatedly

35. Organizing: Metadata
Information about your content
Title Keywords
Creation Date Section
Creator ID Categories
Character limit Image URL
Body

36. Organizing: Taxonomy
Hierarchy of content
Home
>Business
>>Nashville business
>>Relocating business
>Job Seekers
>Tourists

37. Organizing: Navigation
Labeling content for customers

38. Organizing: Navigation
Labeling content for customers

39. Governing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melissadion/

40. Governing: Identify Your People
Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhysasplundh/

41. Governing: Identify Your People
Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhysasplundh/

42. Governing: Identify Your People
Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhysasplundh/

43. Governing: Identify Your People
Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhysasplundh/

44. Governing: Identify Your People
Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhysasplundh/

45. Governing: Tools
•Style guide for all content creators
•Tone and voice chart
•Editorial calendar
•Defined process
•Plan for approvals
•Review and analyze

46. Governing: Tip
Don’t
over-process.

47. The Content Strategist’s Library
Content Strategy
•Content Strategy for the Web | Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach
•The Elements of Content Strategy | Erin Kissane
•Content Strategy at Work | Margot Bloomstein
•Contents Magazine | http://contentsmagazine.com/
Information Architecture and User Experience [UX] Design
•Don’t Make Me Think | Steve Krug
•The Elements of User Experience | Jesse James Garrett
•A Project Guide to UX Design | Russ Unger and Carolyn Chandler
•Search Patterns: Design for Discovery | Peter Morville and Jeffrey Callender
•Information Architecture for the World Wide Web | Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld
Writing
•Letting Go of the Words | Ginny Redish
•The Yahoo! Style Guide
Content Marketing
•Content Rules | Ann Handley, C.C. Chapman and David Meerman Scott

48. Talk to Me
Laura Creekmore
Creek Content
http://creekcontent.com
@lauracreekmore
laura@creekcontent.com
slideshare.net/lauracreekmore