UX & Content Marketing: Navigating How Humans Think
Humans are strange, complex, fickle creatures. That said, it's our job as designers, content creators and marketers to deeply understand our audience as humans, not just "users" or "buyers." Why? So we stop making content people don't need, want or care about, and start delivering greater value.
The biggest challenge we face is putting aside our own personal preferences and biases. The best way tackle this challenge is by diving head first into audience research to understand who we're talking to. In essence: We have to think less like marketers and more like our audience.
This presentation given at DMFB explores action-based methods to begin untangling how people think. Throughout the presentation, we explored:
1) How the brain is structured to process information
2) Key questions to ask ourselves during content and design planning to help us think more like our audience
3) User experience (UX) research methods to apply throughout content marketing efforts, such as interviews and contextual inquiries
4) How to synthesize varying depths of customer insights into strategic outputs to guide content creation, and
5) A step-by-step "audience first" content planning guide that serves as a jumpstart tool for building content marketing programs around humans
Uncovering what motivates people, surfacing unknown needs and gathering insights will ultimately help us figure out how we can serve them better. Unpacking the answers to “Why” fuels user experience research. And when applied to content marketing, it paints a clearer picture of our audience and helps us create meaningful content and user-centered experiences that win attention, respect and loyalty.
For more information, please visit http://www.centerline.net or find me on Twitter at @caitvsmith.
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“
As the pace of business quickens
and the number of brands
multiplies, it’s customers, not
companies, who decide which
brands live and which ones die.
-Marty Neumeier, Zag
The State of Things
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Our view of the problem
becomes distorted. Blocked.
Budget
Personal
preferences
Organizational
Restraints
Time
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This is what the challenge becomes through
the lens of our constraints (i.e. baggage).
Hole
Blind spot
Gap
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So what?
We must remove the barriers that narrow
our view of the problem and tarnish it with
our subjectivity.
By entrenching ourselves in the world of
our audience and looking at the world
through their eyes
How?
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We have to think less like
marketers and more like
our audience.
The Challenge Ahead
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To help our brands:
The Challenge Ahead
Treat customers like humans
Act like a human
Think like a human
(Not a robot.)
(Not a sales machine.)
(Not dollar signs.)
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The human sensory system sends the
brain 11 million bits of information
per second.
Source: Leonard Mlodinow, Subliminal
THING 1: Our brain is a filtration system
The actual amount our conscious
mind can handle is approximately
16 - 50 bits per second
This data filter is a survival instinct.
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The mind sifts through an
inventory of data to retain only
what matters to you.
THIS MEANS:
THING 1: Our brain is a filtration system
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A brand becomes memorable
once it becomes meaningful.
TAKEAWAY:
First we have
explore what our
audience finds
meaningful.
THING 1: Our brain is a filtration system
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COGNITIVE EASE COGNITIVE STRAIN
Complicated languageFamiliar language
Cumbersome instructions
Muddled font choiceLegible font choice
Clear instructions
“This is relevant
to me.”
“Is this relevant
to me?”
Familiarity Unfamiliarity
vs.
THING 2: Our brain craves ease
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Design simplicity and ease
across every brand experience
to cultivate trust and credibility.
TAKEAWAY:
First we have to
figure out what our
audience defines as
“simple.”
THING 2: Our brain craves ease
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Our brain is constantly changing
in response to our experience
and behavior, reprograming
itself on the fly.
Sources: Nicholas Carr, The Shallows; James Olds, Institute for Advanced Study
THING 3: Our brain is plastic.
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“
The tools we use to write,
read and otherwise
manipulate information work
on our minds even as our
minds work on them.
-Nicholas Carr, The Shallows
THING 3: Our brain is plastic.
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Adapt your content to fit
seamlessly with constantly
evolving habits and behavior.
TAKEAWAY:
First we have to
understand these habits.
THING 3: Our brain is plastic.
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Our brain is a
filtration system.1 Make content
meaningful.
Our brain
craves ease.2 Make content
simple.
Our brain
is plastic.3 Make content
adaptable.
IN A NUTSHELL: About HumansHow this applies to
CONTENT PLANNING & CREATION
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IN A NUTSHELL: About Humans
What should our content say?
What pain point
should our content address?
IN A NUTSHELL: About HumansReframe this key question during
CONTENT PLANNING:
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๏ What are your main audience segments?
๏ What keeps them up at night?
๏ Who influences them?
๏ What competes for their time and attention?
๏ Which brands have the most influence over them?
๏ What motivates them?
๏ What frustrates them?
๏ Where do they live and work?
๏ What do they value?
๏ Which of your products/services do they use most?
Step 1: Document what you know.
Correction:
What you *think* you know.
Further Reading: Buley, The User Experience Team of One: A research & design survival guide
Rapid Audience Planning
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Rapid Audience Planning
Buley, The User Experience Team of One: A research & design survival guide
Step 3: Group key assumptions for deeper exploration.
Step 2: Separate certainties from assumptions.
Certainties Assumptions
Goals
Challenges
Motivators
This is the stuff for
testing and research.
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Rapid Audience Planning
Embedding wrong
assumptions into your
content alienates people
Source: Erika Hall, Just Enough Research
REMEMBER:
Replace assumptions with insights
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Create an interview
guide to document
questions you’d like to
ask. This is a valuable
preparation tool, not a
script.
Use it as a conversation
starter or gut check to
ensure you stay on topic.
Interview Prep
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Sample Interview Questions
Tell me about your role as _______
Walk me through a typical day.
How do you feel about _______
When and how often are you online?
What information do you look for?
What features do you want?
What information do you wish you had at your fingertips? Why?
The more stories or scenarios interviewees
give you, the more you learn.
What results do you want?
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3
Engage in conversation from a place of
genuine curiosity.
Listen between the lines.
Uncover pressures, motivations and anxieties.
THINGS
TO REMEMBER
Contextual Interviews
1
2
3
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Active listening
Field Visit Breakdown
Introduction and
establishing context
Asking
questions
Observing
Field research helps you get to know
your audience within the context of
their environment.
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Clearly define your purpose/goals for the visit.
Document questions you’d like answered.
List key behaviors/interactions you’re looking for.
Complete the statement, “I want to walk away with a greater
Field Visit Preparation
Be prepared to scratch all your plans and
assumptions as you observe pain points and
opportunities you didn’t even know existed.
understanding of {fill in the blank.}”
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3
Go with the flow.
Refrain from making assumptions while you learn.
Look at greater context.
THINGS
TO REMEMBER
Field Research
1
2
3
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This is not a sales call.
Hunt for truth.
Ask, “Why?”
Contextual Research
If you remember just one thing:
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๏ The comments section of relevant publications
๏ Customer service transcripts
๏ LinkedIn groups
๏ Social listening
๏ Census Bureau
๏ Pew Research Center
๏ Conferences
๏ Job boards
Other Insight Gold Mines
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How can I help this person get promoted at work?
How can I make this person’s day easier?
What does this person talk about during performance reviews?
What is the culture like within their organization or at home?
What does their vision of “success” look like?
What type of people do they admire (career and personal)?
What is the most stressful part of their day?
When they go home at night, what do they complain about?
What keeps them up at night?
Questions to Ask Yourself
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Affinity Diagram: Organizing information, documenting patterns, distilling insights
Further Reading: Hall, Just Enough Research
Observations
Design
Considerations
Insights
Start organizing your notes into groups based on
behavior or topic area
Pull out key insights based on your observations
Write action/recommendations going forward
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Affinity Diagram: Example from food & beverage plant field visit
Further Reading: Hall, Just Enough Research
Observations
Design
Considerations
Insights Safety and efficiency are users’ two key
metrics of success.
Efficiency metrics (% to goal) are prominently
displayed on nearly all screens throughout the
plant.
Everything (from gauge readings, time, temperature,
processes) is meticulously measured, tracked and
documented. All measurements tie back to individuals.
The plant works toward these goals: Maximize uptime/
output, avoid excursions, minimize surcharges.
There’s a lack of centralized knowledge and multiple
interfaces they interact with each day.
Most are Windows-based.
Troubleshooting and knowledge sharing
are key pain points across roles.
“I scribble in the margins of manuals whenever I can.”
-34 yr. employee
The most often referenced documents were technical
drawings and diagrams
There is no method to capture expertise from more
experienced employees... important troubleshooting
knowledge learned on the job.
Customers are in the habit of needing to reference
disparate systems for information: parts, services info,
POs, QC materials.
Make access to measurements
dashboard prominent both in portal and
in sales communication
Document sharing/uploading
functionality needs to be prioritized
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SERVE THEM THROUGH
Show them:
1
BARRIERS & STRESSORS CONTENT OPPORTUNITIES
Content:
Show them:
2
Show them:
3
Show them:
4
“
”
WHAT THEY VALUE
Content:
Content:
Content:
Content:
Content:
Audience Profile Template
62. AUDIENCE MESSAGE CONTENT TYPE DISTRIBUTION MEASUREMENT
Identify &
understand
who you’re
trying to reach.
Craft messages to
demonstrate your
unique
understanding of
audience pain
points.
Identify where
your audience
lives and works
online. Place
content across
channels that
are natural to
your audience,
not intrusive.
Establish
measurement
touchpoints so
you continue
learning about
your audience
and iterate going
forward.
START
HERE
“Audience First” Content Planning
Identify the
most
appropriate
vehicle for your
message based
on audience
propensities.
Segment pulled from Centerline Content Planning Guide, accessible here:
http://www.slideshare.net/Centerline_Digital/content-planning-guidecenterlinedigital100713
@caitvsmith
68. DIG IN
Marty Neumeier, Zag: The #1 Strategy of High Performance Brands
Nicholas Carr, The Shallows
Daniel Kahneman, Thinking Fast and Slow
Leonard Mlodinow, Subliminal
Erika Hall, Just Enough Research
Leah Buley, The User Experience Team of One
Tim Loo, UXSTRAT Workshop: Redesigning business culture & thinking around the customer
http://www.slideshare.net/mrtimothyloo/uxstrat-2013-redesigning-business-culture-and-thinking-around-the-customer-
tim-loo-26341720
Adaptive Path Guide To Experience Mapping
http://www.adaptivepath.com/ideas/our-guide-to-experience-mapping/
Helsinki Design Lab, Enthography Field Guide
http://www.helsinkidesignlab.org/pages/ethnography-fieldguide
Service Design Toolkit
http://www.servicedesigntoolkit.org/
Content Planning Jumpstart Guide
http://www.slideshare.net/Centerline_Digital/content-planning-guidecenterlinedigital100713