This document provides an introduction and overview of content strategy. It discusses how content strategy has evolved from a body of knowledge to a full methodology. It outlines the typical components of a content strategy, including auditing existing content, developing a content plan and strategy, building content specifications and templates, and growing content over time through an editorial calendar, style guide, and ongoing development. The document emphasizes that content strategy is about planning for the effective creation, publication, and governance of content. It is meant to help organizations better manage their content and publishing efforts.

2. Capabilities AND
CONTENT STRATEGY
PRIMER
Jeffrey MacIntyre v8.0
Predicate, LLC

3. Introductions
I’m an independent content strategist in
NYC. My background: editorial
and management consulting.
‣ Jeff MacIntyre, Principal
@jeffmacintyre

4. (Publishing is Pivotal)
‣ Everything I know
about content
strategy I learned
from being a web
editor.

5. (We’re All
Management
Consultants Now)
Will you still respect us?
Credit: Kunstverein, ffffound!

6. Predicate ...
‣ Works independently and directs
project teams with clients;
‣ Partners with agencies; and
‣ Advises organizations on growing CS
capabilities internally.

7. My Year of Content Strategy, 2008

8. Napkin Knol Notes on Content
From body of knowledge to methodology.

9. The
Rise
of CONTENT STRATEGY

10. Remember the Good Old Days?

11. “Tragedy = comedy + time”
Woody Allen

12. How the Content Strategist
Still Sees (a Lot of) the Web.

13. “Design
without
content is
decoration.”
Jeffrey
Zeldman

14. Louis Rosenfeld:
Kill Redesign
‣ “Redesign must die”
‣ “Every large website
is a complex Credit: “Redesign Must Die “, louisrosenfeld.com
adaptive system.”

15. The
Rationale
for
CONTENT STRATEGY

16. “Kill the ‘content
phase’ and help
the web grow up.”
--Margot Bloomstein,
Appropriate Inc.

17. Why? Part I
A generation into
the web, we still
don’t do content
right.
It’s our open secret.
And it shows. Credit: Blogger.com circa 1999

18. Why? Part II
Old problems. No ownership or expertise.
CMS. Archive. Postlaunch erosion. Lack of
standards.
New problems. Deeper and wider
inventories. Richer offerings. Revenue
models. SEO. Social. Multichannel. Partners.
UGC. Technologies galore.

19. Introducing Content Strategy
‣ What? Product
development for content.
‣ How? CSes, like product
developers, sit between
“product” and “plumbing”.

20. Big Need,
Few Practitioners
RFPs are requiring it.
But content strategists are only ~1% of UX
community.
Courtesy A List Apart Web Design Survey 2009.

21. The CONTENT STRATEGY
Body of
Knowledge

22. Getting Oriented:
CS is Multidisciplinary
Credit: Richard Ingram
At minimum, it’s adjacent
to interaction design,
development,
copywriting, information
architecture, business
analysis and content
management.

23. Getting Oriented:
CS is a Lifecycle
“Content Strategy plans for the
creation, publication, and
governance of useful, usable content.”
--Kristina Halvorson
“If information architecture is the spatial design of
information, I see content strategy as the temporal side
of that same coin.” --Louis Rosenfeld

24. Old Testament
‣ The web is a publishing medium.
‣ Content is integral (to experience).
‣ Content producers = de facto publishers.
‣ To users, the web is awash in content.
Site owners feel the floodwaters, too.
So, sink or swim. Filter or be flooded.

25. New Testament
‣ Why? Because
publishing is hard. Credit: Jessica Hagy
Consider the masthead.
‣ Curation is king. The filter on the firehose
as an editorial function.

26. “The Day 2 Problem”
Postlaunch is a
project phase.
Nothing shines a light on the good
faith agreement between client and
consultant than thoughtful aftercare.
Editorial strategy is about caring for
content after launch day. Credit: Flickr Commons

27. “[G]etting better at
publishing is the only way
you’re going to get better at
content.” Gerry McGovern
Content Critical

28. “Content strategy is
about publishing.”
Erin Kissane,
incisive.nu

29. Your website
isn’t a magazine.
But it should be.

30. Scoping
A
CONTENT STRATEGY

31. Start Simply:
Cover the Bases
‣ Product
‣ Platform
‣ People

32. A Simple Content
Strategy Philosophy
‣ Product (content)
‣ Platform (publishing)
‣ People (organization)

33. Our Methodology
1. Audit 2. Plan 3. Build 4. Grow
content content editorial
content audit
strategy specification calendar
content
migration plan copy deck style guide
inventory
metadata content
gap analysis
schema development

34. The Tool Kit of
a Content Strategy

35. Our Methodology
1. Audit
content audit Discovery and diagnostics
content to effectively scope
inventory for a content strategy.
gap analysis

36. Content Audit
‣ What: Qualitative analysis of existing offering.
‣ Why: Sets early direction.
‣ How: Like a creative brief, it begins to indicate
your position on the offering--its constraints
and potential.
‣ FYI: Your best scope tool. You can already be
prioritizing your recommendations here.

37. Content Inventory
‣ What: Detailed quantitative analysis of existing
offering, AKA the ultimate discovery and
budgeting tool.
‣ How: Be as exhaustive as resources allow.
‣ Why: Comprehensive understanding of offering’s
potential. Sift gems from trash. Let the data do the
talking. Pivot tables are great insurance for later.
‣ FYI: Don’t do manually. Use SiteOrbiter or DIY
crawlers to index.

38. Gap/Competitive Analysis
‣ What: Highly targeted competitive analysis of
specific digital properties or products/services.
‣ Why: It enables close study of brand/market
competitors. Good for scope.
‣ How: Like a spreadsheet version of an audit. Can be
very difficult to gather competitor data.
‣ FYI: Start studying veritcals of interest. These are
rare today but will become commonplace as content
strategy benchmarking grows.

39. Our Methodology
2. Plan
content
strategy Strategy development:
migration plan the heart of a content strategy.
metadata
schema

40. Content Strategy
!
‣ What: The strategies and tactics to
realize a new content offering at launch
and beyond.
‣ How: Think “product strategy.” Develop
lifecycles for every content type.
From objectives to operations.
‣ Why: The indisputable
centerpiece of any content
strategy. Establishes terms of success.

41. Migration Plan
‣ What: A “plan for a plan.” A strategic
framework and guidelines for migration.
Rarely a workplan.
‣ Why: Scope! Schedule! Budget! Iceberg!
‣ How: Use your inventory and apply mix
of bulk and manual workflows.
‣ FYI: David Hobbs’ Migration Handbook
(http://migrationhandbook.com/).

42. Metadata Schema
‣ What: A technical plan for
supporting project objectives with
metadata.
‣ Why: Because technical resources
overlook nuances of the content
requirements. And you’re the expert.
‣ How: Specify key content attributes + relationships.
‣ FYI: Critical to any dynamic content experience.

43. Our Methodology
3. Build
content
specification Detailed implementation,
copy deck technical development
and integration.

44. Content Specification
‣ What: An index of all content
elements and their editorial and
technical function.
‣ How: Cousin document to the
Copy Deck. Map content reqs
from wireframes and sitemap.
‣ FYI: Also a production plan to
line-item associated at-launch
inventory of content required by
this doc.

45. Copy Deck
‣ What: Documents all
user-facing content
requirements.
‣ Why: Self explanatory
(messaging strategy).
‣ How: Smartly sequenced.
‣ FYI: The standard issue
web writing deliverable.

46. Our Methodology
4. Grow
editorial
calendar Editorial product development
style guide and postlaunch content delivery.
content
development

47. Editorial Calendar
‣ What: All content activities (e.g.,
production and curation)
documented and scheduled. !
‣ Potential: The CMS of CS! A dashboard tool for
planning, trafficking and measuring editorial flow.
Great for generating metrics.
‣ How: Think web databases, forms, spreadsheets.
‣ FYI: A “Basecamp for editorial calendars” is
inevitable. (dlvr.it: a social curation approach?)

48. Style Guide
‣ What: Editorial conventions
documented.
‣ Potential: Detailed production
guide for all content modules,
intended for owners/authors.
‣ Why: Because your metadata
strategy is nothing without
execution. Governance is real here.
‣ FYI: Entirely unmerited bad rap.
Not a “writers’ thing.” Think training!

49. Content Development Credit: Webbmedia Group
‣ What: Actual content
production, limited time or
ongoing.
‣ Why: If you do traditional
editorial or branded content,
you live here.
‣ FYI: Tread carefully. Content production is expensive,
but it’s an easy mistake. (UGC might be cheap, but glut is
glut.) ROI is tricky but key, requires an editorial strategy.

50. Content Strategy FYI
‣ CS, the Knol
‣ CS, the Google Group
‣ #contentstrategy on Twitter
‣ @jeffmacintyre and @PredicateLLC

51. Cui Bono?

52. The Big Idea: Ubiquitous Publishing
Credit: Denis Pelli & Charles Bigelow, seedmagazine.com.

53. Questions?
predicate-llc.com
Additional imagery courtesy Flickr Commons.

55. Appendix:
The Payoff
of Content Strategy

56. What’s In It for You?
Content strategy is meaningful when...
‣ The potential of your deliverables is marred
by poor execution, inconsistency & inaction
‣ New tools require process & org. change
‣ Measurement matters
‣ You need the big picture
‣ Governance & standards are incomplete
‣ It’s time to tune, not redesign

57. Where It Will Take You
Instilling a new postlaunch pride:
‣ bolder measures of success
‣ enduring results for your clientele;
lasting influence for your vision
‣ vanguard case studies