photo content strategy (james chudley, cxpartners)
DESCRIPTION
If we apply content strategy thinking to online photos, will we end up with more effective photos?TRANSCRIPT
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 !