Content Strategy:A road map to success
Laura NovichTechnical Writer, Red HatFeb. 26, 2015
Content Strategy – Laura Novich2
Topics for Today
● What is content?
● What is content strategy?
● How to create a content strategy?
● What experience has taught me
● Tips and tricks
● Resources
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Red Hat is...
● Committed to its customers
● Dedicated to its employees
● Passionate about doing things the open source way
● Filled with creative individuals with unique interests
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What is Content Strategy?
“Content is the reason search began in the first place” ~Lee Odden
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What is Content?
● Content is all information you publicly release that is consumed by visitors or customers
● No matter what the medium, genre or register is, content should be:
● Credible● Trustworthy● Transparent● Goal-Oriented
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What is Content Strategy?
● Content Strategy is:
● A carefully crafted vision and definition for your content and its direction
● A plan that dictates who your content is for, how it will be created, and how, when, and where it will be published
● What should a content strategy definition include?
● What should the content strategy plan include?
● What makes content strategy successful?
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Basic Steps to Creating your Content Strategy
● Collect data from your customers’ online behavior and interactions with your company
● Collect information from all interested parties
● Create a plan of action, content policy, and vision statement
● Create new documentation (optional)
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Content Strategy vs Content Marketing
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Style Guide vs Content Strategy
Style Guide
● Concentrates on the small parts
● Addresses the words writing, sentence structure, and templates
● Documentation cookbook
● Focuses on the leaves
Content Strategy
● Concentrates on the documentation process
● Addresses the work flow
● Documentation road map
● Focuses on the forest
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Content Strategybelow the surface
“Quality, relevant content can't be spotted by an algorithm. You can't subscribe to it. You need people - actual human beings - to create or curate it. ”
~ Kristina Halvorson, Content Strategy for the Web
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Content strategy shows your customers you
● Collect information and craft CS policy and new documentation
● Audit documentation and assess what it needs
● Refine new/old documents, re-write, and release
● Evaluate and elicit new feedback
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What are Good Sources for Data Collection?
Informal Data Sources
Formal DataSources
Analytics
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Formal Data Sources
● Feature requests and bug reports● Formal customer surveys● Sales Activity including:
● PoCs● Tenders and benchmark testing
● Develop a relationship with customer support
● Customer contact or site visit- DO IT!
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Informal Data Sources
● User Forums
● Mailing lists
● Informal surveys
● Third party surveys
● Conferences and meetups
● Social Media
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Analytic Sources
● Analytics give you:● Customer demographics● Time spent on
topics/pages● Click analysis● Download history● Activity history● Ability to create customer
cohorts and discover data patterns quickly
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Create a Customer Persona
● Give them a name that makes it easy to remember who they are and what they want:
● Technical Tina● Newbie Nina● Connected Carol
● These personas are a bit generic
● RH has crafted specific user personas
● Imagine what content they would find valuable
● Decide how to deliver content to each persona
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Would your docs inspire Technical Tina?
BasicsName: Tina Novak*Location: Brno, CzAge: 35Occupation: SW Engineer
Tina’s StoryTina was just promoted to team leader of the SW development team of her company. Tina has a high level of technical knowledge and is a very experienced user. She doesn’t like to use the GUI and loves to write her own scripts to automate processes. Tina loves to use pre-release software and test new products. She is not impressed with gadgets unless they get the job done faster.
What types of documents would Tina most likely read?
* This is actually Dita a Rails Girl, who attended a Rails Girls workshop held in Brno and wrote her first Ruby on Rails application
Goals- To have a deep understanding of things- To be able to automate procedures- To not waste time looking for content not available on a CLI
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Would your docs scare Newbie Nina?
BasicsName: Nina RossiLocation: Rome, ItalyAge: 22Occupation: Student
Nina’s StoryNina has limited technical knowledge and is a very inexperienced user. She likes to use the GUI and loves it when there are Wizards and tooltips. Nina is reluctant to try anything new but is impressed with gadgets.
Should you limit Nina’s access to certain documents?
Goals- To get the job done easily- To not have to remember any steps- To learn the basics - To not have to feel naive about technology
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Would your UX impress Connected Carol?
BasicsName: Carol Smith*Location: Los Angeles, USAAge: 42Occupation: Blogger
Carol’s StoryCarol is from the connected generation. Everything she does is from her cell phone, tablet or some other kind of wearable device. Carol is tech savvy, but doesn’t use anything if it isn’t an app. Carol needs information yesterday and has no problem telling her friends on social media just how bad your customer service or product is.
What should Carol be recommended to try?
* This is actually Megan Smith, former Google Rep. who is now serving the Obama administration as CTO.
Goals- Fast accurate information- Device integration- Application management
Red Hat’s Content Strategy Vision Statement
“Create compelling content experiences for Red Hat customers by integrating customer feedback, usability requirements, and
business intelligence into our knowledge engine.”
Create your Content Strategy Vision Statement
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Create the Content Strategy Document
● Create the content strategy documents● Remember it is a roadmap ● Keep your customer persona and data you collected in
mind.● Create / publish new content (optional)
● Align the content to● Message● Format, and structure● Vision● Persona
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Audit those docs!
● Examine everything
● If it hasn’t been used, and doesn’t fit your vision just like clothes in the closet – Note to let them go!
● If it doesn’t suit the customer’s needs – Note to change what can be changed and purge the rest
● Don’t forget to “reward yourself” for things that are good in the docs!
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Refining your Documentation
● You know who your audience is, what they need, and what they want
● You know what the state of your documentation is
● You need to decide how to fix what needs to be fixed
● Decide if you need to change:● Your current work flow● Your current tool set● Your publication channels● Your content
● Write and publish your aligned content
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Evaluating your New Docs
● You have created documents catered to your customer persona and to their wants and needs and values
● Now turn to them and get their feedback. This can be done through a button / field on your doc page, or by sending your customers surveys
● Create a dialogue where you can get their opinion and use their suggestions, answer their questions,and make them feel that they are important
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Final thoughts
“It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become” - The Lorax
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✔Collect Information
✔Audit the documentation
✔Refine the documentation
✔Evaluate the documentation
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Project Fedora
● International project with a small group of very motivated technical writers
● All volunteer work
● Just starting the content strategy process● Content strategy in progress● Persona creation in progress
● We need your help!
● Talk to me if interested
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Before I Go...
● Keep in mind that creating a content strategy takes time to develop and it can and will change over time
● Use CARE when creating a content strategy
● Keep your eyes on the customer and don’t be afraid to make drastic changes
● Make sure that all documents, articles, collateral, and even social media blasts are all aligned and speak the same voice, message, purpose, and style and are crafted with a persona in mind
● Don’t panic when things go wrong, adjust and change as needed
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Questions?
“So be sure when you step, step with care and great tact. and remember that life’s a great balancing act. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) Kid, you’ll move mountains.”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
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Content strategy “plots an achievable road map for individuals and organizations to create and maintain content that audiences will actually care about. It provides specific, well-informed recommendations about how we’re going to get from where we are today (no content, or bad content, or too much content) to where we want to be (useful, usable content people will actually care about).”
Kristina Halvorson, Content Strategy for the Web.
Resources
● Content Strategy for the Web - http://contentstrategy.com/
● http://www.jonathoncolman.org/2013/02/04/content-strategy-resources/
● https://www.coursera.org/course/contentstrategy
● http://joepulizzi.com/
● http://beyondphilosophy.com/customer-experience/customer-loyalty/
● http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/index.html
● https://getfedora.org/
● http://meetbot.fedoraproject.org/fedora-meeting/2015-02-23/fedora_docs.2015-02-23-14.01.html
● https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Marketing
● https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Marketing#Projects and https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User_stories
● The customer stories/personas, when done will go here https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Docs_Project_Focus
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