Our Blog
Archive for April, 2010
Yes. Hello.
So, I had a super great post written for you with all these detailed, inspired thoughts about the traveling I've done and the people I've met, but when I tried to do a final save, WordPress ate it. No, my dog did. No, WordPress did. Wait, what?
(You type it in Notes/Word/Notepad, the formatting is wonky when you cut/paste. You type it in WordPress, it eats it. Blogging is dumb.)
Anyhow. Let me get to the point. But before I do, please ignore everything you just read. Because YOU NEED TO BLOG.
Everywhere I go, I'm hammering on people to go after public speaking gigs. Now I'm hammering on you to start writing (or, writing more) about content strategy.
You don't need to have all the answers. You don't even need to have a single answer. Here's a list of what you need:
- An interest in content strategy
(That's it. There is no "2".)
So that I may straightaway crush all of your brilliantly-crafted excuses, here's a long list of questions to get you started. I collected these from my Content Strategy Forum workshop participants. The questions range from the tactical to the philosophical. Pick one, and get busy.
I'll do the same.
• How do you see the relationship between a creative director and a content strategist?
• "Content strategy" is such a broad term. Do you think we would be better served by breaking it down further, e.g. "editorial strategy" and so on?
• What's my elevator speech when someone asks me what a content strategist is?
• How can we partner with global colleagues to create consistent content?
• Is editorial strategy a subset of content strategy? Or are they the same thing? If not, what's the difference?
• What are some talking points when building a business case for taking a more strategic approach to content planning?
• What should we be thinking about when working to implement a content strategy in a multilingual environment?
• What are some of the most important methods, tools, and templates to know about when developing and executing a content strategy?
• How can we convince stakeholders to invest in the audit and analysis phases?
• How can content strategy begin to resolve ownership issues between print content creators and web content editors?
• How can we sell content strategy as an integral part of the project planning process?
Posted in Uncategorized
So, you’ve done your research. You know what content is important to your users. You put that information on your website and pat yourself on the back for providing useful, useable content.
But wait. Don’t congratulate yourself just yet. Because simply putting content on a page doesn't guarantee users will find it. It could be hidden in a "content blind spot."
What’s a content blind spot?
Content blind spots occur when the information is there, but users can’t see it. In general, users scan and skip content, looking for clues before committing to read. But if the clues are missing, users won’t find the content.
Problems that prevent users from finding content include:
- Information is not where users expect to find it, based on past experiences on that website or the web in general
- Links do not look like links (e.g., link text not underlined or not blue)
- Copy is “hidden” inside a graphic element or photograph
- Page titles and links do not use relevant keywords or common user terms
Just like those little Smart Cars that hide in your Prius’s blind spot on the freeway, content stays unseen until someone changes their position. While driving, that means you or the Smart Car needs to speed up, slow down, or change lanes. Likewise, content stays hidden in a blind spot until either the user changes their approach to accessing the information, or you change the way it’s displayed.
What it’s like to experience the content blind spot
While doing our taxes, my husband asked me how much interest I paid on my student loan in 2009. I went to WellsFargo.com to find out.
I get all my bank-related documents electronically, so I knew right where to find that sort of information—or so I thought. I logged in to my student loan and went to the Statements & Documents tab. Once there, I saw a link called “Available Tax Documents.” Bingo.
“Hey! I’m looking for information to help me file taxes. The 'Available Tax Documents’ link will give me what I need.” (Click image to enlarge.)
Wrong. I went from feeling triumphant to confused within seconds—or however long it took a “Tax document not available online” error message to load.
After a few more failed attempts, I called customer service. A friendly representative walked me through the exact same process I had just gone through. I got the same error message. She was confused. I was confused. She transferred me to another department. The call was disconnected mid-Muzak stream. I was fuming.
I gave up. But my husband was convinced the information had to be online. I handed him my laptop, and wished him luck.
He found the information in two seconds.
“Oh. The information I was looking for was there along. Now I’m mad at Wells Fargo for making me feel stupid.” (Click image to enlarge.)
How the content snuck into my blind spot
I totally missed seeing my 2009 tax info because I had expected to find it in the Statements & Documents tab. Then, the tab rewarded my incorrect assumption by providing an “Available Tax Documents” link.
I didn’t even look for the information on the Account Activity page. Why? Because I was used to looking at a similar page for my checking account, and there is no “interest paid” information there. It’s just a summary of my balance. So why would I look on that page for interest information on my student loan account?
How to avoid the content blind spot
My experience is just one example of how content can “hide” from your user. To avoid this type of content blind spot:
- Be consistent in where you put similar pieces of content throughout the site
- Use relevant keywords and user terminology—especially when labeling links and navigation
- Don’t mislead users with links that don’t deliver what they promise
If you put content in your users’ blind spot, they’ll leave your website feeling angry, confused, and frustrated. And without the information they needed. Not everyone has a husband with eagle eyes, you know?
Posted in Content Strategy, Uncategorized, User Experience, Web Content
While digging through my box of cassettes the other day, I had a minor epiphany. Content strategy and the creation of mixtapes are shockingly similar.
As it has been said, content strategy plans for the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content. For a website, certainly. But for the creation of a mixtape?
For those unfamiliar, a mixtape:
- Is a compilation of songs (just as websites are collections of content)
- Created for a specific someone (consider your audience)
- Communicates a specific message (in service of business objectives)
- Should elicit a particular response (meet user needs/assist in task completion)
Although they can now be a collection of downloads, “mixtape” is a throwback to their heyday in the 1980s when they were cassettes. Later, they took the form of burned CDs, then mp3 playlists.
For those unfamiliar, a review of some basic tenets of content strategy:
- Analysis: Objectives defined, assumptions and risks noted, success metrics established. Account for internal and external forces that might influence them.
- Audit: A quantitative or qualitative review of your current content landscape.
- Strategy: Actionable, achievable recommendations. Includes editorial workflows, calendars, messaging hierarchy, content types, formats, plus much more!
First is analysis. "What do I want to do with this website (or mixtape)?" Surely you've a recipient in mind. Otherwise, you wouldn't be making a website (or mixtape), right? This goes hand in hand with the objectives and message. All websites (and mixtapes) need clear objectives. They can both do many, many things, but a focused approach will make their creation and delivery much easier.
The objective of creating a mixtape might be to musically convince the recipient that you are indeed cool, or in love, or sorry, or over them (or in rare cases, all of the above). Focus on a theme and/or purpose for the mixtape, give it a title, and dig in.
To put together a website (or mixtape), you'll need source content (songs, in this case). Now would be a good time to perform a qualitative content audit. The audit should note what content (here, your music collection) is currently available, and if it is usable.
Websites brimming with content that is redundant, outdated, and trivial are frustrating and often impossible to use. Broken links, five year old “news” articles, and duplicative pages get in the way of achieving objectives. An audit helps to determine what can stay and what gets the boot.
The same applies for the content for your mixtape. For example, your Bee Gees 8-tracks won't make it onto a mixtape if you don't have an 8-track player. Is that vinyl LP copy of "Thriller" too scratched to use? Did the tape deck in your friend's Camaro eat your copy of Bon Jovi's "Slippery When Wet," rendering "Wanted Dead or Alive" more dead than alive? Perhaps your computer hard drive crashed, corrupting all of your Justin Bieber downloads.
On this mixtape, you might choose to include some content (songs) you don’t actually have in your collection. How will you decide where to get it? The provider of that content will be selected on the basis of what best suits your needs. For instance, you may already have an ongoing relationship with a content provider. Is it the funny-smelling record store down the street? Amazon.com or iTunes? You might also pick a place all your friends are raving about. Or you might avoid one your parents happen to frequent.
With source content in hand, selecting the songs from the pool begins the mixtape editorial workflow. These questions will help you get started:
- Does this content (or song) support the overall message?
- Does it make sense in this context? (Not everyone will “get” your raga references.)
- Does its place next to other selections make for a pleasing experience?
- Will it fit in the remaining time on side B of the cassette?
Make sure that the content (song selection) is relevant to the lucky recipient/user. Putting punk songs and opera and hip-hop tracks one right after the next might be jarring for some, but not for others.
Remember: Stay true to the focus of the theme, consider the recipient, and assert your coolness.
A few additional tips:
- Create your mix with the end user in mind (be aware of their pop culture knowledge).
- Clearly state the title.
- Write the title and track list in a language they can read (as opposed to Esperanto. Or Klingon.)
- If you are making a cassette, make sure they have a cassette player.
The associated “metadata” (in this case, title, track list, and any totally sweet, custom artwork) completes the package. The tone and voice of the title and artwork are all additional opportunities to continue the theme and message of the mixtape. The track list rounds out the experience by providing a reference to the greatness you've compiled. If you follow these important rules, your final product will be so much more than the consumable tape or CD alone.
Just like creating a mixtape is more than slapping a couple of songs together haphazardly on a cassette, creating websites with useful, usable content is more than just slapping words on a page. Taking the time and effort to carefully go through these processes will produce an end result that will make your website users happy (or your mixtape listeners happy).
Posted in Content Strategy, Editorial Strategy, Uncategorized, Web Content
The account services team at Brain Traffic gets asked a TON of questions from prospects and clients. After a little Brain(Traffic)storming, our team has selected a few of our top questions.
“Hi. What do you do at Brain Traffic?”
Short answer: Content strategy and implementation.
In more detail: Content strategists advocate for content that is useful and purposeful. Strategists create the big picture plan from which all other content decisions are based, including messaging, structure, workflow and governance.
Writers and editors craft smart communication. They carefully select labels and language. They plan for what and how things are said. They are mindful of what doesn’t need to be said.
"Can you tell me a little more about how you work?"
First, we want to get to know you and your content. The more we know, the more informed our recommendations are. It might feel like an interrogation, but it’s for your own good. For example:
· What do you like about your website?
· What don’t you like about your site? Why?
· What works well?
· What other websites do you like?
· How will success be measured?
· Do you like long walks on the beach?
Okay, so maybe not that last one, but you get the idea.
The goal is to take a very detailed look at the “what-is” so we can help develop the “to-be.” This way, you’ll get recommendations tailored and designed specifically for you and your site.
That’s the thing – our recommendations come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s information architecture, or a style guide, or an editorial calendar, or brand-spanking new copy for your site. Sometimes it’s all of the above. Whatever it is, our process is designed to help you see it all come together and say, “Whoa. Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
“Why on earth do you need all this documentation to work on our project?”
When we initially engage with a client, we request a lot of documentation, including style guides, metrics, competitive analyses, SEO data, org charts, workflow diagrams, etc. All of these documents have a direct impact on content. As our team begins our assessment phase on a project, it’s critical for us to get a grip on any content impact factors.
We provide more usable and realistic recommendations when we can fully understand the current state of your content. Although we are the content experts, we rely on you to be the expert on your business. The more information you share with us, the better we’ll be able to address your content pain points in our recommendations.
Have something a bit more specific you’d like to discuss? Give us a ring (or any other gift that seems appropriate). Kidding! Just kidding. But seriously,
we’re here to help.
Posted in Project Management, Uncategorized
Recently, someone asked if I could help him understand when it makes sense to outsource content work vs. handle it with an internal team.
At first, this question surprised me – it’s not one I hear often. Or ever, for that matter. But it got me thinking that perhaps it is asked (or silently considered) more than I realize.
Before diving into the details – here are some familiar situations that prompt the question: Who is going to do this content work?
• We have a giant pile of messy content.
• Nobody really “owns” our content, so everyone avoids it.
• We have content all over the place, and none of it is consistent when it comes to voice, tone, style or message.
• Our content isn’t useful, usable, relevant, or accurate.
• We are thinking about implementing a new content management solution.
OK. Yep. You have content work to be done. Now what? There are two common scenarios when it comes to the content requests we get:
• We have/are building an internal team that will take care of our content. Can you teach us some best practices and/or help us get started?
• There’s nobody/no time to take care of our content. Can you do it for us?
A shameless, yet good-humored, plug
Of course, it really wouldn’t hurt to consider hiring a content strategy consultancy (preferably based in Minneapolis) either way – to jumpstart your effort or to just take care of it. Content professionals (like the awesome staff at Brain Traffic) are standing by to help answer questions, develop a plan, increase confidence and dole out general content happiness.
Posted in Brain Traffic, Content Strategy, Resources
