taming the content beast
TRANSCRIPT
Taming the Content Beast
AICPA & CPA/SEA Interchange 2017
Create smart, sustainable strategies for your content
What we’ll cover today • How content strategy can help your association • Delivering content to meet the needs of your
top-priority audiences • Identifying your organization’s voice and tone • Creating a higher “return on content” • Developing content lifecycles
Your life today… • “I want my latest video on the home page now” • I promised the committee that we would make this
our top priority on the site • But we are required to use the real name of the bill:
HR432B • Why don’t our members use the resources on our
site?
What is content? • Magazine or journal articles • Session descriptions • Product details • Course listings • Executive biographies • Press releases • Newsletters • Program information • Membership details • Advocacy updates • Etc., etc., etc.
Content takes different forms • Web pages • Blog posts • Infographics • Images • PDFs • Video • Audio
What is content strategy?
The right content To the right person At the right time For the right action
Put another way….
Content strategy is the practice of planning for the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content.
Multiple parts • A strategic statement tying content to business
goals
• Guidelines and policies: Who, what, when, where, why, and how of publishing content
• Defining people, roles, and processes
Foundational tenets 1. Content creators & SMEs have a common understanding
of what key audiences want, and how their content helps deliver that.
2. Content creators & SMEs have a common understanding of the org’s goals and how their content contributes to them.
3. Content creators & SMEs share their content in a consistent, effective way.
Principles • The organization creates content that its audiences want • The organization creates content that helps it meet its goals • Content has success metrics and is measured against those • Content that is no longer relevant is no longer available • Content is promoted, surfaced, and cross-linked based on its
topic, not its source • Content is created in the organization’s voice • The organization manages content platforms, tools, and
channels in a way that ensures their effectiveness
Department
Message
Audience
Department
Message
Audience
Department
Message
Audience
Department
Message
Audience
Old thinking
Different views of the audience
http://www.fastcompany.com/3019930/leadership-now/the-5-blind-men-and-other-myths-of-innovation
Opportunities 1. Be the primary source of information 2. Use your content to draw the right people 3. Get people to take the action you want them to take
• Must be a win-win • Without a strategy, it’s just content
Novice Nancy
• Accounting clerk in a medium-size public firm
• 26 years old, 3 years’ experience
• Learn, connect, network
Student Steve • College junior, age 20 • Interest in math and
business, member of the state association
• “Doesn’t know what he doesn’t know:” career options, CPA requirements, volunteering, free stuff
B&I Barbara • 42 years old, 15 years’
experience • Plant controller; worked in
public accounting before • Busy work-life schedule • Stay up-to-date on news &
profession, maintain CPA, network
What do you know about them?
• What are they already experts in? • What don’t they know now? • What keeps them up at night? • How tech-savvy are they? • What do they read? • What do they do outside of work?
What audiences want 1. Give me benefits, not just information
(What’s in it for me?) 2. Approach me as a person, understanding my life stage and
struggles 3. Give me the freedom to use the site as I want 4. Make it peer-centric 5. Simplify! Shorten! Avoid jargon! 6. Don’t waste my time when I’m trying to find what I need
Source: American Medical Association member study
What does it mean to be business sensitive?
• Is created to meet an explicit business goal • Written in the organization’s voice • Crafted in partnership between subject matter
experts and web presentation experts
What don’t we publish??
• Product data • Reports • Press releases • News stories • Customer success stories • Executive bios
• Event information • Course details • Policies • FAQs • Mission statement • Job listings
Because the boss said so Because the committee asked us to Because the committee told us to Because we have this program Because we do this thing Because we created the information Because we have no way to say “no” to the request Because we think we have to Because everyone else is Because Because
Content goals Examples:
– Bring in non-dues revenue – Encourage joining or renewing membership – Raise awareness and perception of the profession – Help practitioners care for clients – Inspire more people to register for an event – Educate lawmakers about an issue important to the
profession
Introducing: the “we we” score
To convert a larger share of your visitors, you must focus more on the visitors than on your organization.
http://www.customerfocuscalculator.com/
How will you know it’s successful?
• Reached the audience in the channel that matched their expectations
• The audience took the action you wanted them to take • They were more satisfied with your organization • They called customer service less • They bought more stuff from you • They talked you up to their colleagues
Turning goals into KPIs 1. Benchmark where you are now
– Content performance – Pain points – Tie back to business
2. What will constitute success? – Envision the desired goal – Make it measurable!
Next steps 1. Learn what works 2. Use that information to develop goals 3. Create an editorial calendar and templates
for review time, roles, and processes 4. Share all with staff 5. Track/measure and evolve
Why define? • Ensure that only current, relevant content
remains online • Improve findability • Clearer promotion rules and paths • Easier governance
Start with general rules defining what should stay online: • Current: Published within the last year • Relevant: More than XX unique page views • Evergreen • Legally required to keep
Adapt from there • Should news releases go away sooner? • When should course announcements go
away? • How long should we keep conference
session descriptions?
When it’s time to go… • Sunset à aka, retire/delete/unpublish • Archive
– online – offline
• Technology is your friend here
Internal communications is a key piece of the workflow
• Keep everyone informed when you remove content, to ensure that you’re not breaking links
• Partnerships
Thank you! • Hilary Marsh • [email protected] • @hilarymarsh • 312-806-7854