As content becomes a bigger part of marketing your organization, learning to write and create content for the web and mobile experiences is a valuable skill.
2. Hi there!
Who I am:
● Current: Copy Director @ OOHology
● Past:
o Digital Marketing Manager, CafePress
o Operations Manager, Social Media Explorer
o Digital Marketing Manager, Doe Anderson
o Copywriter, LEAP
3. Who you are:
● Webmasters
● Marketers
● Social Media Managers
● Graphic Designers
● Web Developers
4. Learning Goals
Strategies and tactics for writing for today’s digital media,
including:
● Websites (Content Strategy)
● Social media channels (Content Marketing)
● Email marketing (Customer Relationship Management)
● Digital Marketing (Tactics & Tools)
5. Things we’ll discuss
● Why content strategy matters (and why it’s hard).
● How to write compelling website content.
● Mastering short-form content.
● Making room for multimedia.
● Optimizing content for a digital audience.
● Responsive content & mobile considerations.
● Channel-specific strategies for social media.
● Repurposing traditional content for the web.
● Elements of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
6. The Digital World in 2015
The digital world demands mobility
● In 2014, mobile internet usage overtook desktop.
● This month, Google begins penalizing sites which don’t
offer a good mobile experience.
The digital world demands agility
● After years of relative stability, social media is seeing
disruption from Periscope, Meerkat, Snapchat, etc.
Digital content must be clear, concise and consistent.
11. Obstacles to Content Clarity
● Multiple stakeholders
● Conflicting priorities & approaches
● Outdated or redundant content
● Poorly-repurposed print copy
● 1000 words instead of a picture (or video)
12. Too Many Cooks Spoil the Content?
“When all you have is a
hammer, everything
looks like a nail.”
Integration is vital.
Everyone’s POV has value.
Either you have a process, or
you have chaos.
Marketing Technology
Design Editorial
13. The Path to Content ClarityContent is
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14. Your Home Page = Your Fridge
“Everything can’t be in the
front.” - Your mom.
Prioritization is key.
Timeliness matters.
15. Know what your audience wants
… and then
deliver it.
● UX
● Surveys
● Audits
16. Surviving a Content Audit
aka “Learn to love spreadsheets”
Look for unmet needs, but be aware:
Most of your work will be eliminating,
combining or optimizing existing content.
17. Keep, Combine, Update or Archive?
aka “Should it stay or should it go?”
● Review/rate by criteria:
o Timely, timeless or dated?
o Local, global, internal, external?
o Concise, clear and scannable?
o Mobile, searchable and sharable?
18. Timely, Timeless or Dated
Timely - “I need this now.”
Timeless - “I’ll need this always.”
Dated - “Could an update make this timely
or timeless? If not, archive or omit.”
19. Who is your audience?
Where is the logical place for this info?
What is the appropriate voice & messaging?
Local, Global, Internal or External?
20. If it passed the relevance tests, is it
optimized?
Could this be expressed in half the words?
Could a reader take in the main ideas in
under a minute?
Concise, Clear and Scannable?
21. Are images sized to load quickly?
Can PDFs and images be read by search
engines?
Is sharing easy and encouraged?
Mobile, Searchable and Sharable?
22. Writing compelling website content
● Understand & master your brand voice
o Voice & Tone
● Create character, speak like a human
being.
● Build a narrative with reader as hero.
● Ask “what’s in it for me?”
● Balance timeliness with timelessness
23. Structuring content for digital
“Writing is a credit system” - Catherynne
Valente
● Headlines, subheads, and pull quotes
quickly grab attention
● Inverted pyramid - most important stuff
comes first.
● Utilize short paragraphs, bullets, graphics
24. Mastering Short Copy
● Mastery of short copy is vital
o To create “Tweet-worthy” pull quotes.
o To create “Upworthy” headlines.
o To create “must click” subjects for email.
o To sell your message to a shrinking attention span.
● Create curiosity but don’t be opaque
o Think cozy mystery
o Make the audience feel smart
o Suggest, don’t give it all away
25. Repurposing Content for the Web
● If it passes the
copy-and-paste
test, it should be
simple to tailor for
the web.
● If it fails, it’s not
mobile or search
engine friendly.
28. Content != Copy
But editorial still takes the lead. Because...
● Video + Podcasts are growing, demand
scripts
● Text on image = Huge impact
● Infographics start with “info”
● Like traditional advertising, a great
concept needs a good hook.
29. Brand Character + Voice
● Review the brand guidelines.
● Pause before you post.
● Character or representative?
30. Grammar vs. Brevity
● Set a line in the sand.
● Discuss it beforehand.
● & is your friend.
● Hashtags are almost always expendable
31. Get a reaction in <140 characters
● Being controversial is easy. Not sustainable.
● Never go with your first take.
● Be Desi -- your audience is Luci.
● “Somebody had to say it.” Be somebody.
● Set it up in text. Pay it off in a picture.
● Bait a sneezer.
● Improv classes.
32. Know your audience - Case Study
● CafePress - 6 distinct audiences
● Top 3 personas for each platform
● Separate content strategy
o By persona
o By platform
● Required flexible brand voice
33. Know our Audience
“Assurance Seeker”
Skews male and older. Looking for content that affirms their
traditional, set-in-my-ways values.
Products: apparel, drinkware.
Keywords: military, conservative/political, sports, vintage,
retro
36. Know Your Audience
“Creative DIYer”
Skews female, but with a more funky or eclectic style.
Concerned with showing their unique personality and
interests, including causes.
● Products: apparel, keepsakes, accessories, drinkware,
kids & baby.
● Keywords: unique, creative, funky, artistic, knit, craft
53. Email Marketing Opportunities
Email still has a strong impact.
● Newsletters (segmented!)
o By lifecycle (prospect, parent, student,
alumni)
o By campus
o By academic program
● Surveys
o Great source of information
54. Email Marketing Opportunities
Email still has a strong impact.
● Transactional emails (optimized!)
o Biggest missed opportunity
o Write like a human
o Cross-promote social (it’s where millennials
want to look for information anyway.)
55. Tactics for Effective Email Content
● 81% view on mobile device
o Avoid image-intense designs
● Weekends get higher CTR
o Also, more links = higher CTR, so it’s okay to repeat
● Watch your frequency
o It’s the most common reason for unsubs
● Edit ruthlessly
o Boring content is next common reason for unsub
56. Don’t get flagged as spam
● Avoid “Free” “Urgent” or Call Now” in subject
line.
o OR ANYTHING IN ALL CAPS.
o Also more than one exclamation point!!!
● Practice safe sending
o Scrub your list frequently.
o Drop questionable contacts with low/no opens
57. How important is that headline?
Drop metrics from Norton Nativo resultsHeadline
Impressi
on
Clicks CTR
CTA
Rate
Avg Time
Spent on
Content
You won’t believe what one hospital promised women
patients 569,594 5,305
0.93% 2.24%
1:29
Why this hospital offers pedicures to new moms 60,009 359 0.60% 3.90% 1:02
Women make most health care decisions. What one
hospital did to earn their trust 45,962 282
0.61% 1.06%
1:24
Top things to look for in a women’s and children’s
hospital 17,928 104
0.58% 1.92%
1:21
Get better care: How one hospital caters to women and
families 13,482 71
0.53% 2.82%
1:31
Do you want more from a women’s hospital? 10,707 52 0.49% 0.00% 1:55
59. ● Semantic Code
o One H1 per page
o H2s fall after H1
● Include, but don’t stuff, keywords
o Proximity & frequency matters (early & often)
● Good 503 accessibility = good SEO
o Use Alt-Text for images
● Strive for at least 250 words / page
Basics of On-Page SEO
60. Native Advertising
● The modern “advertorial”
o High engagement / click through rates
o Works best if it feels organic
● Platforms
o Outbrain
o Taboola
o Nativo
61. ● Google’s “Mobile Test”
o google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/
● Do you need an app?
o entrepreneur.com/article/243482
● SEO Tools & Tips
o SEMrush.com
o SEOmoz.com
Mobile & Other Tools