We’re thrilled to announce the first-ever Brain Traffic Content Strategy Conference in Minneapolis, May 9-10, 2011.
And it’s gonna be fuuuuun.
Why?
Because we here at Brain Traffic love content strategy even more than we love cake. Because we’re dizzy with excitement about the way interest in content strategy is exploding. Because we love you and would like to meet you in person.
So! We thought it would be a great idea to host a great big content strategy get-together. Content strategy can radically improve the way our companies plan for, create, deliver, and govern our content. Doesn’t that sound like something worth celebrating?
What?
It’s a conference! Oh. I said that.
You’ll hear from passionate, pragmatic speakers who are recognized for their expertise in the fields of user experience, CMS, marketing, media/publishing, social media, and SEO. We’ll have authors and folks from agencies, small businesses, and enterprise-level organizations.
Both days will feature two keynote speakers and four breakout sessions. We’ll also be throwing a killer party or two. Of course.
Who?
Are you a marketer? Web manager? Publisher? Media strategist? Web strategist? Enterprise content manager? User experience designer? SEO strategist? Social media strategist? CMS consultant? Writer? Editor?
Yes?
Then you should come to this conference. Because everything you do involves a common, critical asset: content. And your content deserves strategic consideration beyond the standard reactive, last-minute, wild west content we usually end up publishing.
Where? When?
The conference will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis, MN on May 9-10, 2011. When there is no snow. Usually.
How?
The conference website will launch sometime this fall. You’ll be able to register right away to take advantage of early-bird rates. We’ll announce the launch on Twitter (just follow @braintraffic); we’ll also announce via Facebook, LinkedIn, and several other locations. Just stay tuned!
What next?
Watch this space in the coming weeks…we’ll reveal more about the conference as the website launch gets closer.
In the meantime, guess what? …
What’s it called?
WE DON’T KNOW YET.
Hahahaha! No, uh, seriously. "Brain Traffic Content Strategy Conference" just kind of lacks that POW! ZAP! ZING! you usually like to see in a conference title. You know?
We'll figure it out soon enough. But, please, feel free to brainstorm below.
Questions? Email us, and we'll do our best to get your questions answered.
After spending some quality time with our pal Jonathan Kahn at Web Content Chicago 2010 in June, we convinced the fellow content strategy evangelist to make a trip to sunny Minneapolis. Jonathan is founder of London-based web design agency Together London, author of the blog Lucid Plot, and an all-around smart cookie. We like him.
Amidst his whirlwind of tourist activities and an intense round of bar trivia (we won third place), Jonathan obligingly sat down with me to talk shop. I can’t wait to revisit the podcast myself: I was too entranced by his charming accent to pay much attention at the time. (Kidding!)
Listen in to hear this brilliant Brit wax poetic on:
How he came to the practice of content strategy
How to fix a broken web development process
Content strategy: A job for one or many?
The best part, though, is where I make him say something Minnesotan. (You won’t be disappointed.)
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Recently, Kristina (our fearless leader) and Joe Pulizzi (author, content marketing evangelist, and self-described “poster boy for content marketing”) met up to discuss some similarities and differences between content marketing and content strategy.
Not only will you be captivated by their insights and insults (ok, no insults), you'll learn how to identify the One Thing that really sets your company apart from the competition. Bonus: find out how content strategists and content marketers can join arm-in-arm to sing "Hands Across America."
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About JoePulizzi
Joe co-authored "Get Content, Get Customers" with Newt Barrett. He is the CEO of Junta 42, where he maintains his blog of the same name. Joe evangelizes content marketing worldwide and maintains the popular content marketing blog Junta42. Follow Joe on Twitter: @juntajoe
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.
So your website is up and running, and your content is in good shape—in English. But when your company decides to enter the Indian or Nigerian markets, what gets lost in translation? Your website can become a cultural minefield, but here are some ways to avoid those “mines.”
Say the right thing, the right way, in the right language
Most people think that globalizing content means hiring a translation firm. But one thing we often miss is localization. It’s the magic spice that ensures your content is culturally acceptable, your brand remains consistent, and what you said in English stays relevant in Hindi or Cantonese.
We’ve all laughed at global companies’ faux pas. For example, KFC’s slogan “Finger Lickin’ Good” was translated literally as “Eat Your Fingers Off” in China. And the American Dairy Association was very successful with its “Got Milk?” campaign, but the literal translation, “Are You Lactating?” didn’t go over well in Mexico. They’re funny, sure. But you can bet those “mines” did some brand damage and cost a lot of time and money to correct.
Who’s doing it right? The most recent McDonald’s campaign featured the slang phrase “I’m lovin’ it.” In French Canada, it’s translated as “C’est ça que j’m,” meaning literally “It’s that which I love.” “J’m” is slang for “J’aime” or “I love,” so it’s not a literal translation. The catchphrase is made meaningful and relevant to the culture, thanks to localization.
A final warning about publishing your site in English in a non-English-speaking country. As a general rule of thumb: don’t do it! Sites that are not at least partially translated into the local language risk being dismissed as irrelevant and ethnocentric. Even in countries where English is a widely spoken second language, users may find it tedious to read a non-native language.
Show and tell (the RIGHT story)
Pictures and graphics can complement your copy and reinforce your message. But, on global websites, they can also be “mines” that can blow up in your face. In Indonesia, Iran, or Malaysia, that shot of a woman in a sundress won’t work. In many Muslim countries, it’s unacceptable for a woman to show skin besides the face and hands. In many areas of the world, it’s not appropriate to use only Caucasian models. It’s better to use models that reflect the ethnicity or diversity of the target culture. To take it one step further, photography using American models may not work for Europe, even if there’s appropriate diversity—certain types of clothing, style, and environments scream “American!” to a Dutch or Danish audience.
Symbols in photography and graphics can also cause problems. A thumbs up gesture might mean “Great!” or “OK!” in Western countries. But in the Middle East? It’s obscene. Animals can be risky, too. Cows are sacred in India and dogs are considered unclean in some parts of Asia. And using an animal that doesn’t live in the target geography, like a walrus in Ethiopia, may result in confusion and frustration.
Your brand’s perception can suffer from cultural missteps or gain from cultural sensitivity. So invest time and thought when selecting pictures for your global audiences.
It’s a Small World After All
Bottom line? Thanks in part to global brands, our world is shrinking. So why not protect your brand by ensuring that foreign language content is done right the first time? Even if your company is a startup entering only one foreign country, translation and localization are a worthy investment. By ensuring your content resonates with your audiences and conveys your brand’s tone accurately, you’re protecting your brand experience. Which if you’re Coca-Cola or Toyota, is worth billions of dollars. And even if yours isn’t, localization shows your customers that you take them seriously. So, say what you mean, and mean what you say … in Farsi, Taiwanese, and Swedish.
True story: We ate walking tacos, we drank margaritas and Mexican beer with lime. We swung at piñatas.
And, oh, we broke a window.
Kristina took it well:
What We Did on Our Summer Vacation, Part II
It was the day after a tornado tore up part of our fair city. The sky was dark. The rain was falling. We would not be deterred. We would not.
For to see our name in lights at Midway Stadium, to get down with Mudonna and Super Fan, to leave the Nerd speechless was our mission. Watch out, St. Paul Saints. Here comes Brain Traffic.
The highlights:
Before the rain. And beer.
Bear says "What? What?"
Eye Love Baseball. And beer.
Slumhog Millionaire. That’s her real name.
The Nerd with Angie 2.0 before Elizabeth stole his funny.
Kristina’s book, Content Strategy for the Web, arrived in the Brain Traffic office this week. (Psst: You can buy it here.) Watch the unveiling:
So, what are we going to do now that Kristina published a book? The same thing we do every day, of course: Try to take over the world! Congratulations, Kristina!
We just scored some sleek new business cards at Brain Traffic. They are totally awesome, or as I like to say, "tawes."
Here’s the thing, though …
We have a ton of old cards. And I simply cannot stomach the idea of throwing them into the recycling bin. So I’m trying to think of creative ways to use them.
