Are you ready to dig into content strategy? Let's gain some practical, hands-on experience together. Take a few example healthcare organizations through the paces in a website redesign engagement. First, we'll discuss how to prioritize communication goals and develop a message architecture with a hands-on exercise--ideal whether you're designing for the web, a mobile app, social media, or an offline experience. Then we'll discuss how you can use this foundation to conduct a content audit, and work together to do just that. Finally, we’ll ask "so what?" We'll uncover the implications of a content audit through a gap analysis that points to content needs and next steps for our sample organizations. You'll leave with the confidence and savvy to bring content strategy techniques and thinking back to your own organization. Presented at the Healthcare Experience Design Conference, #HXDconf, March 27, 2012.

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© 2012© 2012
KICKING OFF YOUR
CONTENT STRATEGY
Margot Bloomstein
HXD March 27, 2012
@mbloomstein
#hxdconf

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What is content strategy?
Planning for the creation, aggregation,
delivery, and governance of useful,
usable, and appropriate content in an
experience.

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Steps along the way…
Message architecture
Content audit/inventory
Prescriptive content matrix
Content model
Editorial style guidelines
Metadata guidelines
Governance guidelines

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Steps along the way…
Message architecture
Content audit/inventory
Prescriptive content matrix
Content model
Editorial style guidelines
Metadata guidelines
Governance guidelines

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Deliverables are
merely punctuation in
the conversation.
Don’t let them replace
the conversation.

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Why content strategy?

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Why content strategy?
Because we all want the same thing,
but content keeps getting in the way.

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Deliver on time, on budget

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Maintain a consistent vision

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Support a holistic user experience

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Keep the voice in microcopy

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Ensure cross-channel consistency

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Ensure cross-channel consistency
…among multiple bloggers

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Ensure cross-channel consistency
…among print
and web
and phone

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Ensure cross-channel consistency
…between Twitter and Facebook

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Ensure cross-platform consistency
(and contextual relevance)

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First things first.
What do you need to communicate?

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First things first.
Why even do this…

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First things first.
Why even do this…redesign this website,

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First things first.
Why even do this…redesign this website,
let the CEO start blogging,

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First things first.
Why even do this…redesign this website,
let the CEO start blogging, audit the
content,

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First things first.
Why even do this…redesign this website,
let the CEO start blogging, audit the
content, start engaging on Twitter,

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First things first.
Why even do this…redesign this website,
let the CEO start blogging, audit the
content, start engaging on Twitter,
consolidate the current site architecture,

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First things first.
Why even do this…redesign this website,
let the CEO start blogging, audit the
content, start engaging on Twitter,
consolidate the current site architecture,
add video testimonials,

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First things first.
Why even do this…redesign this website,
let the CEO start blogging, audit the
content, start engaging on Twitter,
consolidate the current site architecture,
add video testimonials, incorporate user
reviews,

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First things first.
Why even do this…redesign this website,
let the CEO start blogging, audit the
content, start engaging on Twitter,
consolidate the current site architecture,
add video testimonials, incorporate user
reviews, develop new brand guidelines…

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First things first.
Why even do this…redesign this website,
let the CEO start blogging, audit the
content, start engaging on Twitter,
consolidate the current site architecture,
add video testimonials, incorporate user
reviews, develop new brand guidelines…
if you don’t know what you need to
communicate?

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If you don’t know what
you need to communicate,
how will you know if you
succeed?

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What’s a message architecture?
A hierarchy of communication goals
that reflects a common vocabulary.

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A little thing with big impact.

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A little thing with big impact.
How could we prove this is a car not like
anything else out there? It’s a small car,
but it’s premium. You get a Porsche 911
ride for a fifth of the cost. It’s got history…
but in Europe.
You need to give people content to give
them history.”
“

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A little thing with big impact.

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Message architecture
Premium technology
• Assertive; ready to perform as a driver’s car
• Proactive and supportive of spontaneity
Classic design
• Experienced and savvy
Cheekiness
• Smart,“punny,” hip
• Fun, gleeful

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If these emails are boring you
and you don’t mind missing out
on all the lip-smackin’ stuff
we’ll be sending in the future,
simply send a message to owner-
unsubscribe@insiders.miniusa.com
and include “Unsubscribe” and
your favorite fruit in the
subject field.

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Message architecture drives
the user experience

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Nomenclature
Calls to action
Instructional content
Sentence structure
Diction
…in content

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Photographic angles
Dark backgrounds
Bold headlines
Thick stroke weights
…and in design

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…and in the choice of features
and content types

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What’s a message architecture?
A hierarchy of communication goals
that reflects a common vocabulary.

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What’s a message architecture?
Concrete, shared terminology,
not abstract concepts.

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Make us look
innovative,
but not risky.

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It should say
traditional,
but edgy.

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©Warby Parker

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Words are valuable,
but meaningless without
context and priority.

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Words are valuable,
but meaningless without
context and priority.
(In a few minutes, we’ll
give them context.)

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Why do this?
Words are cheaper than comps.

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Why do this?
Let creative colleagues refine the concept,
rather than confirm the purpose.

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How?
• Engage in a tangible, hands-on way
• Encourage debate and conversation
• Identify points of disagreement
• Prevent seagulling
• Force prioritization
• Encourage ownership & investment

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Cardsorting
• Groups of 6
• Pick 1 or 2 people to represent a brand
• Everyone else: put on your content
strategy hats!

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Cardsorting
Step one:
• Who we are
• Who we’re not
• Who we’d like to be
Go with your gut for about 20 minutes.

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Coffee break!
See you at 10:30.

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Cardsorting
Step two:
• Who we are  Who we’d like to be
Think aspirational.
What needs to change?
~10 minutes

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Cardsorting
Step three:
• Form groups: what goes together?
• Prioritize the goals or groups
• Tell the story of those aspirations
~10 minutes

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Why do this?
Gain standards by which to conduct
a qualitative audit.
(What is “good” anyway?)

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So where to from here?
Content audit: measure quality against
the aspirational attributes in the message
architecture.

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Why do this?
Choose new content types to manifest the
message architecture—not just because
they’re trendy.

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So where to from here?
New content types: prioritize features
against the new communication goals.
Trust and responsiveness? Testimonials.
Thought leadership? “In the news” section.

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Audit time!

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Message architecture
Passionate about strategic discovery
• Creative, spirited, inspired
• Visionary, innovative thought leader and industry leader
• Flexible
Tactical and hands-on
• In the trenches, in touch
• Detail-oriented and methodical
Pioneering
• Groundbreaking, trend-setting
• Modern and savvy
People-focused and market-driven
• Trusted by medical professionals, researchers, and media
• Industry news source

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© 2012Passionate? Creative? Hands-on? Pioneering and modern? Trusted?

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Audit to understand what you
have and what you need.
Don’t just do it for fun.
Before you can start, you need
to know why.
What are you trying to learn?

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Each section gets its own tab…

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Every tab tracks the same data
Quantitative:
• Head count: what do we have?
• Is it consistent?
• Are similar content types
consistent in size and structure?
• Is there parity of length, level of
detail, and tone?

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Every tab tracks the same data
Qualitative: is it any good?
• ROT analysis: redundant, outdated, trivial
• Current, relevant, and appropriate
to the message architecture
• Does it serve the communication goals?
• Does it speak to the target audience?

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Each piece of content gets a row
Set up dropdowns to constrain data
• Data  Data validation  List  Sources

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What will you learn?
• What do we have?
• Is it any good?
• Do people even like it? (Check analytics!)
• What do we need to update?
• What do we need to translate?
• Where do we need more?

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Steps along the way…
Message architecture
Content audit/inventory
Prescriptive content matrix
Content model
Editorial style guidelines
Metadata guidelines
Governance guidelines

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© 2012
Steps along the way…
Message architecture
Content audit/inventory
Prescriptive content matrix
Content model
Editorial style guidelines
Metadata guidelines
Governance guidelines
Gap analysis

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Steps along the way…
Message architecture
Content audit/inventory
Prescriptive content matrix
Content model
Editorial style guidelines
Metadata guidelines
Governance guidelines
Gap analysis
How

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Steps along the way…
Message architecture
Content audit/inventory
Prescriptive content matrix
Content model
Editorial style guidelines
Metadata guidelines
Governance guidelines
Gap analysis
How
By whom & when

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But first things first:
What are you trying to
communicate?
What content do you have and
what do you need to do that?

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Thank you!
Margot Bloomstein
@mbloomstein
margot@appropriateinc.com
slideshare.net/mbloomstein
http://amzn.to/CSatWork
Title image: http://flickr.com/KandyJaxx
All other images property of their respective owners or public domain.