Photo content strategy

!Hello I’m @chudders and I’m on a

mission to try and improve the effectiveness of online photos.

!I was wondering whether if we

applied content strategy thinking to photos we might end up

with some more effective photos….

@chudders

A content strategy guides your plans for the creation, delivery & governance of content’

‘ ‘!

In case you were wondering what content strategy is all about here’s a

definition. Generally the word ‘content’ means words but I think we can apply this thinking to photos too.

@chudders

We define content quite broadly as ‘the stuff in your website’.

‘ ‘Content strategists seem to just talk about text

!The IA bible also gives a broad

definition so let’s consider photos as the ‘stuff’ we’re going to focus on.

@chudders

There is more to the web than just text

!Photos play a HUGE part in our online lives but no one seems to be thinking about them particularly strategically,

strange isn’t it?

@chudders

We need to act NOW and FAST

!Poorly chosen stock photos have a

detrimental effect on trust and credibility. Users can’t relate to the

people within these photos. Just how do they get their teeth so white?…

@chudders

1. Huge, complex site redesign

5. Death, decay and neglect of content

2. CMS makes it easy to publish.

4. Production is fun, maintenance

is boring

Good content management is hard

6. What happened to

our conversion

rate?!!!

!Managing content is really, really hard.

That’s why there is so much poor content online. This represents a typical lifecycle of web content.

3. Lack of publishing rules

@chudders

The opportunity

Impact on UX & conversion

Consideration

!Photos can have a huge impact upon conversion but are given

proportionately little consideration during the design process. !

@chudders

Client questions that UX’ers can answer

What effect are my photos having on the performance of my product?

Which are my most effective photos?

What do my customers need my photos to communicate?

How can my photos help me to achieve my business goals?

What messages do my photos communicate to my customers?

etc...

!These are all really important questions. Do you know the answers for your product?

@chudders

What kinds of photos do we need? (topics, types, sources etc.) !What messages do the photos need to communicate to our audience?

WHATPhoto content strategy

!Let’s see if we can apply the content

strategy framework from “Content Strategy for the Web” (Halvorson & Rach) to photos

and see if it helps…

!The ‘What’ questions are important ones to ask to determine just what

you need in the first place.

@chudders

How are the photos prioritised, organised, formatted and displayed? (IA, metadata, linking strategies etc)

HOWPhoto content strategy

!These are all important questions from

the point of view of managing the photos within your product.

@chudders

What processes, tools and human resources are required to launch successfully and maintain ongoing quality?

CREATION, APPROVAL, MAINTENANCE & REMOVALPhoto

content strategy

!Workflow is really important for photos as well as ongoing review

and evaluation.

@chudders

How is quality maintained and governed? Who makes the decisions? When do photos get removed and updated?

QUALITYPhoto content strategy

!Governance is critical to determining

the guidelines that control what sort of photos are suitable for a particular brand and experience.

@chudders

1. Define business requirements - Commercial objectives

‘We make our money from selling holidays to young families’

!Take a more strategic approach to

choosing the most effective photos for your digital products. Start with working out what the photos need

to deliver for ‘the business’.

@chudders

So how could it work?

2. Evaluate photos with users & audit - Benchmark current

‘I can’t see if there is space in the hotel room for a cot!’

!…then gather user requirements to

determine what your photos need to communicate to your users..

@chudders

So how could it work?

3. Document user needs and gaps - Understand situation now

!Use customer experience map

techniques to visualise the user experience and to identify user and business requirements that photos

could help to support.

@chudders

So how could it work?

4. Map ideal journey with ideal photos - Vision

e.g. Photos required to communicate key moments for a car repair centre website

2. Menu board of services

3. Consultation 4. Goodbye 5. Driving away happy

1. Meet and greet

The photo MUST...

Convey a job well done

Show a happy customer

Show a professional person in a relevant environment

Map out your ideal user journey and determine what the role of the photos are for the user and

the business at each step.

@chudders

So how could it work?

5. Create shot list & styleguide - Roadmap & Governance

Shot 3 - ‘Consultation’

Shot 1. ‘Interior reception, talking through the service wallet’

Shot 2. ‘Exterior shot with car’

Shot 3. ‘Exterior shot discussing requirements’

!Your journey mapping work will have generated your shot list, and also will have helped you to think about a style

guide of the sorts of shots that are appropriate for your business.

@chudders

So how could it work?

6. Commission photo shoot/ evaluate existing assets

‘Show interaction with experts’

‘Solve people’s problems’ ‘Dispel customer preconceptions’ ‘Health & Safety compliant’

‘Show people what we do’

‘Look realistic’ ‘Show motion to add dynamism’

‘Show women looking reassured’

!Wouldn’t it be cool if photographers shot lists were actually grounded in

user and business needs?

@chudders

So how could it work?

7. Measure impact against KPI’s - Measurement

!Once live measure the impact of the new photos to see if they are

being perceived as you hoped. Don’t forget, you’ll never be finished.

You’ll need to continually build, measure and learn.

@chudders

So how could it work?

A photo content strategy results in photos that...

Help to sell the product Address customer needs Reflect the brand Work across all view ports Are searchable Are appropriate Lightweight Communicate the right message Fulfil their intended purpose etc...

!By taking a more strategic approach

to the selection of photos you are taking control of a key asset within your product, and not leaving the

effectiveness of your web photos to chance!

@chudders

You want more?!

http://www.fivesimplesteps.com/products/usability-of-web-photos

My book covers more related to this topic. Also check out my blog at www.photoUX.co.uk

Thanks!

@chudders

James Chudley UX Director !

james.chudley@cxpartners.co.uk