Don’t be a Tool: Content Management Strategy

July 24th, 2011

John Eckmanjeckman@isitedesign.com@jeckman

http://www.openparenthesis.org/

Hemingway’s Typewriter

“I’ve said this a lot lately, so I wanted to blog it: No one ever asked Hemingway which pencils he used to write his books.

The tools aren’t the thing. The effort and the content and the promotion and the connection and the networking and the building value are the thing.”

- Chris Brogan

http://www.chrisbrogan.com/hemingways-pencils/

Hemingway’s Typewriter

This typewriter was the source of some of the greatest pieces in American literary history. The typewriter, a Halda, was made in Sweden and is in excellent condition with the ribbon and keys intact. It is fully functional, in its original leather case with somewhat tattered transportation stickers from both the American Export Line and the French Line. Both have crucial identification in another hand signed " Hemingway ", . . .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NVi0C4pHRM

WordPress is a Powerful Tool

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajc1/4663140532/in/photostream/

Getting Even More Powerful

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesse_sneed/2383953694/in/photostream/

But Tools are Not Strategy , and . . .

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ben_watson/5491287034/in/photostream/

Your Digital Presence is Not a Project

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyohm/2729474646/in/photostream/

The old CMS: Content Management System

http://www.isitedesign.com/insight-blog/10_11/cms-pain-assessment

The New CMS

Content ManagementSystemStrategy

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vissago/476068574/in/photostream/

What is Content Management Strategy?

Business Strategy

Technology Strategy

Engagement Strategy

Optimization Strategy

Content Strategy

Business Strategy

• Mission Statement / Value Proposition• Audiences / Markets• User and business goals for each audience• Acquisition strategy

“What are we trying to make happen?”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyohm/2729474646/in/photostream/

Business Strategy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomes_(South_Park)

Technology Strategy

• Open Source / Proprietary / Custom• In house / outsourced / mixed• Skillset, Budget, Cost

“Which tools will best serve our business strategy over the long run?”

http://just-thinkin.net/2010/07/i-need-a-flying-car/

“Free as in Puppies”

Free / Open Source Software is:A. Free as in BeerB. Free as in Speech (or Free as in Freedom)C. Free as in PuppiesD. All of the above

The “free as in puppies” meme captures accurately that open source software still requires “care and feeding” – but so do proprietary platforms!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/96447062@N00/3802609079

Content Strategy

• What is our brand promise, message hierarchy? What is our voice?

• How will we create and/or curate content in a way that serves both our audience’s needs and our goals?

“How will content help us deliver on our mission?”

http://icanhascheezburger.com/2011/06/28/funny-pictures-you-realize-its-just-the-same/

Content Strategy

http://www.ted.com/

Engagement Strategy

• How will we engage with our audiences?• What platforms will we invest time and money

in? Where will we hold back?

“How do we acquire and maintain the interest of the audiences we want to engage with us?”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/findyoursearch/4838567687/in/photostream/

Engage!

http://iruntheinternet.com/0809

Optimization Strategy

• How do we plan to continuously improve our digital platform?

• What measurements / KPIs can we baseline and test against to ensure we’re making real progress? http://www.flickr.com/photos/allspaw/2095439645/in/photostream/

Optimization

http://52weeksofux.com/post/694598769/the-local-maximum

What Generally Drives Platform Selection

• Agency preference• Technology team experience• Random:

– My cousin said WordPress is only good for blogs– My last company used Sharepoint and we liked it– This one is used by _____ and we like their site– I’ve always wanted to do a project in ___.

Long, complex RFP process– Feature Matrices– TCO/ ROI calculations– Multiple vendors– Selection committees

representing all stakeholders

– “Blind” submission of Q&A shared with all participants

– Look, Squirrel!

What Drives “Enterprise” Platform Selection

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sompops/166288241/in/photostream/

What should drive platform selection?

• Business strategy• Technology strategy• Content strategy• Engagement strategy• Optimization strategy

Content ManagementStrategy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/senoranderson/5135232752/

Planning for the Long Haul

• Governance model– Content creation & curation– Social media policies

• Support model– Authors, editors– New page templates– New content types

• Measurement– Goals & Metrics– Ongoing

http://www.flickr.com/photos/buro9/298998542/in/photostream/

Bad strategy trumps good execution, just as poor execution can trump

good strategy

Don’t be a tool!

http://www.ehow.com/how_6019260_use-boring-tool.html

Thanks

John Eckmanjeckman@isitedesign.comhttp://www.openparenthesis.org/http://www.cmsmyth.com/ @jeckman