an introduction to multi channel content strategy

An introduction to Content Strategy

25 January 2015

Simon Nash, Planning Director, Reading Room

About Reading Room

Reading Room is an international award-winning digital

consultancy. We act as architects of digital change, helping

our clients create new and effective systems suitable for the

challenges of modern business.

25/1/2015 Architects of digital change 2

About me

• Writer, blogger, Digital

transformation consultant, planner

and content strategist

• Past experience in B2B and B2C

marketing, 10 years agency-side

• Wide range of sector experience

advising small and large

organisations


http://www.amazon.com/The-Fundamentals-Digital-Success-Challenges-ebook/dp/B00IYP38U2

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fundamentals-Digital-Success-Challenges-ebook/dp/B00IYP38U2

An introduction to content strategy

• Why is content so important?

• What is content strategy?

• The principles explained

• Key marketing concepts

• Website content strategy


Why is content so important?


Content is not a new thing


But ‘digital’ has become an integral part of life


And content fuels digital experiences


Content is an increasing priority for marketers

25/1/2015 9

It helps you get found


• Web content

• Google Places for Business

• Wikipedia

• Social media content

• Media articles

It helps people find you


Content is often the first touch point a user has with a company, used

correctly it establishes trust and credibility.

http://www.clipular.com/c/53089322915594

24.png?k=XzXrXdkI8nqIhjLXNdZkoQuq1UI

It’s used to get attention


Podio sell project management apps, so they created an info graphic for the

New Year.

It powers a different type of advertising


Q: When is an advert not an advert?

A: When it is ‘promoted content’

Or

A: When it is shared 3m times

It helps people get the information they need


Gov.uk has transformed the way the

public access information.

Pages have been stripped back to

address user needs.

Content structured for quick

reference and language simplified.

Next steps clearly signposted.

And it can help close the deal


Without bricks and mortar stores

Loaf.com have to convince buyers

online.

Every single aspect of Loaf.com’s

site consistently conveys their light

hearted brand, whilst images and

interactive tools help the user

customise their ideal sofa.

Key messages are emphasised,

key user goals addressed, and

reviews nd user feedback

It can help maintain customer relationships


Customers expect to be talked to, not at!

Its not always your content


And lastly…


The principles of content strategy explained

Through the medium of story telling, more on that later.


So what is content strategy?

The art of

• Understanding your audience

• Creating an interesting content offer

that taps into their needs/goals

• Publishing that content in the most

appropriate and effective way

• Using that content to attract, inform

and engage your audience

• Building and maintaining better

relationships


So what is content strategy?

The science of

• Making sure content delivers against your

objectives

• Devising a content plan that conveys your

messages effectively

• Targeting and personalising content to your

different audiences

• Optimising content for visibility / findability

• Using content to convince, capture data

and change behaviour

• Increasing the lifetime value of each and

every customer


And it encompasses all this content...

Paid content

Paid search adverts, display etc

Promoted content

Targeted social ads, . advertorial, sponsored

content, native advertising.

Owned media

Website, blog, social channel, email, apps

Shared

Word of mouth, shared content

Earned

Reviews, recommendations, referrals

The principles of content strategy explained

Through the medium of story telling, more on that later.


Just take some content


And set out to reach your objectives


Sadly it’s not that simple


You could chuck it over and hope for the best


But great content takes hard work


And it can take time to get things in place


It helps to know the terrain you are facing


The right team helps


Creative thinking is essential


So to recap…


A content strategy should consider

1. Objectives: what does the business need from content

2. Research: who is the audience, what do they want, how do they behave

3. Strategy: How will content satisfy business goals and audience needs

4. People: A team of people with the right skills to make it happen

5. Ideas: Creative content that will cut through the noise and engage

6. Mechanics: How does it all work, what platforms are involved and when

7. Systems: How will you publish and measure, where are contacts stored

Website Content Strategy

Great content is the secret to a successful website but is often the

most overlooked element.


Why do you need a website content strategy?

Content Strategy helps place user needs and business goals at the

heart of website projects and addresses some common issues

• Production overload is one of the most common causes of delay

• Rushing to complete content at the end of the project is stressful

• Stakeholder demands for ‘their’ content can often derail a project

• Failure to anticipate publishing needs can lead to costs later

• Poor quality content undermines the brand and user experience

• Failure to maintain content leaves important sections out of date

• Lack of consideration of marketing priorities undermine performance

Audience

Craft

Focus

Alignment

Planning

Team

Process

Key considerations for website content

• Understand your audience

• Craft great content

• Retain a clear focus

• Align with wider activities

• Plan ahead, plan for the future

• Get the right team in place

• Agree and follow a process

Understanding your audience

Researching and understanding your audiences is critical. Creating

personas to share with the development team and map typical user

journeys to identify pain points and opportunities.


Craft great content

Great content is a craft, and in recent years we have

seen the rise of the content designer.

A specialist writer with digital skills who is able to

combine writing skills, digital marketing, search

optimisation and UX.

Content for the web should be either written

specifically with digital channels in mind or edited by

someone with an understanding of key principles.

Consistency is also critical, especially when multiple

editors are working on the same site. Style and tone

of voice should be agreed by all parties up front.


Retain a clear focus

Never lose sight of business goals, yes the user is a priority but the site

must serve the needs of the business too. The Core model for content

strategy is helpful tool.


http://alistapart.com/article/the-core-model-designing-inside-out-for-better-results

Align with wider activities

Your website does not exist in isolation and your customer will

undoubtedly move between different channels, often within the same

decision making journey.

Website content must align with other online and offline activities both

in terms of style, tone and consistency but also in terms of customer

services and operational processes.


Plan ahead, and plan for the future

Content strategy thinking should start from the moment you begin a

website project.


Plan ahead, and plan for the future

It should influence over decisions in terms of functionality, design,

content management and technology selection.

Starting early means you break down the tasks of sourcing, producing

and editing content for the web into manageable chunks.

And planning for the future means thinking about how you will maintain

and govern your contact after go live.

From day one you should be beginning a process of continuous

improvement and periodically refreshing and quality checking content.

You’ll need a plan otherwise this is the first task that gets dropped.


Get the right team in place

People should be a key consideration any content strategy, it is

important to understand your digital roadmap. If you are planning to

scale up your ambition then be prepared to scale up your team. And

remember content design is a specialist task.

Get the right team in place

Larger organisations tend to find that a central team are unable to cope

with centralised content management over the longer term. They often

have to consider how to distribute responsibility throughout the

organisation

Agree and follow a process

As stated previously, it is important to break the content production

process into manageable chunks so that you can focus on crafting

great quality content.

DiscoveryDesign &

Architecture

HTML +

Specifications

High-Fidelity

PrototypeBuild

Content Audit

Capability Review

Insights &

Recommendations

Strategy

Development

Content Strategy

Planning and

Consultation

Content Plan

Editorial Calendar*

Guidance, Training

and Support

Content

Development*

Editing & search

optimisation

Publishing &

Migration*

Key marketing concepts

Common techniques that lie behind successful content strategies.


The art of storytelling

Humans have always used stories

to make sense of the world and to

convey complex ideas.

This makes us very receptive to

messages and information

conveyed in story form.

A story can centre on the key

stages of a single experience like

a website visit. But most often it

used as a narrative that emerges

through a series of seemingly

disconnected interactions.

If you have ever owned an iPhone you may recall the

theatre of the box opening experiences, this has

carefully designed to maximise impact. It is just one of

the ways that Apple use storytelling at every stage, from

retail experiences through to product and packaging

Thinking like a publisher


We live in an attention economy, our audiences are bombarded with

content and messaging. To rise above the noise we have to think like

a publisher.

Thinking like a publisher

Traditional ‘push’ advertising tended to focus

on short term goals but in the attention

economy our first priority has to be to capture

and maintain attention.

So instead of focusing on what we want them

to believe, we have to focus on creating

content that they find, interesting, helpful or

entertaining.

Our message must be woven into the content

but in such a way as not to impinge on the

value of that content to the user.


Always On Marketing

This shift in thinking, combined with the rise of CRM & social networks,

has led digital marketers to move towards what is known as ‘always on’

marketing.

Ongoing scheduled moderation and publishing according to strategy

2015 Campaign

2016Campaign

Time

Size of Social Following

2014 Campaign

Always On Marketing

The aim is simple, to move away from the boom and bust of campaigns

toward a more sustainable model of audience engagement which

keeps your brand, product or service and USPs front of mind.

Put simply, campaigns are used to grow the contactable audience

(primarily email & social) and new contacts are then exposed to

ongoing content led communications designed to engage their interest

and attention and to move them from casual interest to active

engagement

.


Thematic Content Calendars

The need to maintain ‘always on’ communications and to tell stories

over prolonged periods has given rise to Thematic Content Calendars.


Thematic Content Calendars

Thematic Content Calendars map out a series of high-level topic areas

designed to work together and convey a coherent message about a

brand.

Thus individual content is produced with the audiences interests firmly

front of mind but with an understanding that it plays a part in a bigger

story theme.

Over time the audience members are exposed to a series of consistent

messages embedded within otherwise seemingly interesting and good

quality content.


Content Marketing

A new way of looking at

(Mostly B2B) Lead

Generation


Content Marketing

Creation of valuable content assets such as

white papers and reports

Promoted and shared via social media using

snippets of quality sharable content

More valuable assets offered in exchange for

contact and interest data

Aim is to capture and qualify inbound leads

which are then fed into the marketing DB and or

passed to sales


Staircasing: from engagement to lead

Engagement on its own is hard to justify by combining these concepts

we have a means to demonstrate a tangible return on investment.


Staircasing: from engagement to lead

• use periodic campaigns to grow your contactable audience then maintain

consistent always on publishing to maintain and develop engagement

• following a thematic content calendar that warms followers and subscribers to

your key brand messages

• periodically run campaigns targeted solely at engaged followers and

subscribers e.g. register for an event

• those who respond to the campaign can be classified as the warmest

prospects on the list and targeted with specific response based promotions

• respondents are then qualified and the hottest leads fed into the sales team

• Over time (in theory) this should provide a steady flow of warm prospects

from your engagement activity that will justify ongoing investment in

engagement


And lastly a note on Viral Spreadable content

Implementing the Content Strategy

To encourage sharing and advocacy we need to understand and

leverage the reasons that people might share our content. If our

content serves our audience’s personal objectives then they have an

incentive to share it.

“If I like your content it’s

not because I like your

brand it’s because I like

my friends.”

Henry Jenkins, ‘

Spreadable Media ‘

Thanks

Any questions?

@simonnash, [email protected]

www.readingroom.com

Recommended further reading:

Elements of Content Strategy

http://www.abookapart.com/products/the-elements-of-content-strategy

Content Strategy for the Web

http://contentstrategy.com/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.readingroom.com

http://www.abookapart.com/products/the-elements-of-content-strategy

http://contentstrategy.com/

an introduction to multi channel content strategy

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