content strategy in higher ed
Post on 18-Oct-2014
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Content strategy is the web buzzword of 2011, but what does it really mean for the higher ed world of limited budgets, low staffing resources, and multiple stakeholders? Presented at the HighEdWeb conference in Austin, TX, in Oct. 2011.TRANSCRIPT
WHAT CONTENT STRATEGY REALLY MEANS FOR HIGHER ED
Kate JohnsonSenior Web content strategistUniversity of Denver
What do content strategists do?
“When we get really busy, we may not have time for all that strategy
stuff.”
Daniel Eizans, Richard Ingram, ClearPath, Jeremy Lee James
It’s complicated
Dan McCarthy, ViralHousingFix.com
Multiple people involved across departments—administrators and faculty
Content from multiple sources Multiple outlets Ongoing maintenance and updates Measurement
And so on…
Good news!
You’re already doing it.
What content strategy does.
Don’t go crazy:get a process
Write it down
Keep it flexible
Keep it realistic
Process and tools
Prioritizing
Gathering information
Content
Postlaunch & maintenance
Prioritize
Level 1 sites
Map closely to institutional goals
Admission, academic programs
Hands-on process
Level 2 sites
Indirectly tied to goals
Academic advising, recreation
Interact at critical points
Level 3 sites
Internal facing, few pagesPurchasing instructions, ombuds site
Self-serve
Project kickoff
Preliminary information, including:
Purpose of the site
General goal date for launch
Stakeholders
Basic technical requirements
Content/IA kickoffGo through questions verbally
Set specific goals Brainstorm metrics Get branding and key messages Get realistic picture of staff
resources
Content’s role
Collaborate on labels/taxonomy
Check for missing content
Avoid
oneedy content
ounnecessary content
Information architecture
Coaching the content process
Peter Morville
Content workflows vary
We cover o Collecting informationo Writingo Editingo Approvals
We set one content contact.
Map to content inventory
Content inventory. Always & forever.
Content tips for clients
Do one section at a time.
Name files using the page ID.
Collect content via interviews.
Writing for the Web trainingOne of the biggest challenges.
Good content is hard.
Simplified voice goes against academic
culture.
They will always want to paste content
from their current site.
Be a cheerleader. Woot!
Get them passionate.
Solve their problems.
Hamad Al-Mohannna
Content editing
Have to prioritize.
Often can’t line edit all pages
Do a final proof when you can.
Getting to launch
o Design and development
o Content entry
o Prelaunch QA
o LAUNCH!!!
Care and feeding
Postlaunch and maintenance
A lifecycle, not a launch
Set regular update schedule
Instructions on automatic reminders
Stress the need for an annual review
MeasurementSet metrics.
Base them on site goals
Maybe analytics, maybe not
Must be specific and actionable
Toolkit Project kickoff questionnaire Content/IA questions Sample content inventory Page content template Writing for the Web
presentation Web style guide Content models for faculty bios
and degree programs
Get yer tools
www.du.edu/ucomm/highedweb.html
