Your organization's content is a connector: A connector of your organization to your audience, and of peers in different disciplines across an organization. Content strategy is the key to making those connections happen in a sustainable fashion, and collaboration is at the very heart of it.

1. Content as Connection
Hilary Marsh
Content Company

3. h"ps://www.flickr.com/photos/olegshpyrko/7275227208/

4. Photo: h"p://www.aikenstandard.com/ar>cle/20160704/AIK0101/160709797

5. Content
producer
Content
Content
consumer
Photo: h"p://www.northbeachmd.org/pages/NorthBeachMD_Special%20Events/market

6. Our organizations are in the
content business

7. We create content all day,
but don’t know it

14. h"p://www.steptwo.com.au/award-winner/lakewood-high-school-crea>ng-the-intranet-experts-of-the-future/

16. h"p://gregoiremichaud.com/2013/07/peach-and-rosemary-roux-buns/

17. 2015 2015 2016 2016 2016 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017
Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2014 2015 2016 2017
U.S. Economy
Annual Growth Rate
Real GDP 2.0 1.4 1.1 2.3 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.4 2.4 1.9 2.2
Nonfarm Payroll Employment 1.9 2.0 1.9 1.3 1.3 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.7 1.9 2.1 1.6 1.8
Consumer Prices 1.4 0.8 -0.3 2.5 3.2 2.8 2.7 2.5 2.5 2.8 1.6 0.1 1.4 2.7
Consumer Confidence 98 96 96 95 102 98 98 100 106 105 87 98 99 102
Percent
Unemployment 5.2 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.9 4.8 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.6 6.2 5.3 4.9 4.7
Interest Rates, Percent
Fed Funds Rate 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.1 0.1 0.4 0.8
3-Month T-Bill Rate 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.1 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.9
Prime Rate 3.3 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.8 3.8 4.0 3.3 3.3 3.5 3.8
Corporate Aaa Bond Yield 4.1 4.0 3.9 3.6 3.4 3.5 3.7 3.9 4.1 4.3 4.2 3.9 3.6 4.0
10-Year Government Bond 2.2 2.2 1.9 1.8 1.7 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.1 1.8 2.3
30-Year Government Bond 3.0 3.0 2.7 2.6 2.4 2.5 2.7 2.9 3.1 3.3 3.3 2.8 2.5 3.0
Mortgage Rates, percent
30-Year Fixed Rate 4.0 3.9 3.7 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.4 4.2 3.9 3.7 4.1
5/1-Year Hyrbrid Adjustable 2.9 3.0 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.9 3.0 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.0 2.9 2.9 3.1
Housing Indicators
Thousands
Existing Home Sales* 5403 5200 5300 5503 5556 5388 5404 5636 5593 5497 4940 5250 5437 5533
New Single-Family Sales 487 508 529 579 540 564 587 615 595 623 437 501 545 604
Housing Starts 1156 1135 1151 1160 1264 1284 1255 1246 1314 1350 1003 1112 1214 1291
Single-Family Units 745 755 790 762 842 838 858 848 900 908 648 715 808 879
Multifamily Units 411 380 361 397 422 445 397 397 414 441 355 397 407 413
Percent Change -- Year Ago
Existing Home Sales 8.2 2.3 5.0 4.2 2.8 3.6 2.0 2.4 0.7 2.0 -2.9 6.3 3.6 1.8
New Single-Family Sales 10.9 7.9 1.6 17.4 11.0 11.0 10.9 6.3 10.2 10.5 1.9 14.6 8.8 10.8
Housing Starts 13.0 7.4 16.8 0.3 9.3 13.2 9.0 7.4 4.0 5.1 8.5 10.8 9.2 6.3
Single-Family Units 14.6 8.0 22.9 7.6 13.1 11.0 8.6 11.2 6.9 8.4 4.9 10.3 13.0 8.8
Multifamily Units 10.3 6.3 5.2 -11.2 2.6 17.2 10.0 -0.1 -1.9 -0.9 15.7 11.8 2.5 1.5
Median Home Prices
Thousands of Dollars
Existing Home Prices 227.3 220.8 215.8 239.2 238.2 230.4 223.7 247.1 245.5 237.3 208.3 222.4 231.1 238.6
New Home Prices 301.3 304.9 304.6 305.2 305.2 300.9 312.1 314.9 297.4 308.4 282.8 296.4 309.5 317.5
Percent Change -- Year Ago
Existing Home Prices 5.1 6.3 6.1 4.9 4.8 4.4 3.7 3.3 3.1 3.0 5.7 6.8 3.9 3.2
New Home Prices 8.4 1.2 3.9 5.3 1.3 -1.3 2.5 3.2 -2.6 2.5 5.2 4.8 4.4 2.6
Housing Affordability Index 159 166 172 164 165 169 173 154 152 155 166 164 167 159
Quarterly figures are seasonally adjusted annual rates
* Existing home sales of single-family homes and condo/coops; ** billion dollars
U.S. Economic Outlook: August 2016
Annual
History Forecast History Forecast

25. Content is the way our work is
manifested in the world

26. Put another way,

27. Content is the way our
organizations connect with our
audiences

31. What does our audience want
that we offer?

32. The consumer owns the
process!

33. Are we delivering it so its value
is obvious?

34. How to make our content
better?

35. Connect with your
audience.

36. © John Lawrence: h"p://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/ar>cle-1222014/Is-wind-wine-turning-alcoholic-like-frazzled-mothers.html

37. h"p://intelligen"ravel.na>onalgeographic.com/2012/11/26/how-to-survive-a-long-flight/ - (Photograph by Jetstar Airways, Flickr)

38. h"p://www.jeremygreen.n
a-li"le-collec>on-of-smart-homehome-automa>o
o-senior-technology-confu

40. It’s never “everyone”

41. What do they watch on TV?
What keeps them up at night?
What do they do for fun?

42. Make sure your
content shows that
you know them

43. Facts
Emotion/Package/Context
Voice and tone

46. Power external connection
with internal connection
h"ps://datafloq.com/read/5-ways-apache-spark-dras>cally-improves-business/1191

50. 50

52. Old thinking
Staff department
Content
Audience
Staff department
Content
Audience
Staff department
Content
Audience
Staff department
Content
Audience

53. Organization: Programs, offerings
Audience
Content
Audience Audience Audience
New thinking

54. Your content
is an
ecosystem

55. Advocacy
effort
Course
Product
Magazine
article
E-newsletter
item
Webinar
Infographic
Event
session
55
Topic

56. Website
E-newsletter
Publications
Conferences
Twitter
Facebook
Blogs
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Community
56
Your
org

57. How to do this
• Complementary skillsets
• Context
• Trust
• Collaboration
• Editorial calendar

59. You can
create
positive
change

60. h"p://www.utdallas.edu/news/2013/10/11-26711_Scenes-from-Oozeball-2013-Students-Make-Memories-i_story-wide.html
It doesn’t
have to be
difficult

61. “Businesses are just a bunch of
humans working together.”
—Adam Menter, Learning Strategist, Autodesk
(from Liminal Thinking by Dave Gray)

62. Breathe.

63. Liste
n.

64. Understand.
#WOCinTech Chat

65. Powerful phrase #1:
You’re right

66. Add
perspective.

67. Changing stories can change
reality

68. Help them
succeed.
h"p://www.success.com/ar>cle/if-you-want-to-win-help-others-win-first

69. Powerful phrase #2:
Let me show you how

71. Learn
Remember
Do

72. Image from Liminal Thinking by Dave Gray

73. Redefine success

74. Invite experimentation

75. Content strategy is an HR issue

76. 76

78. Thank you
@hilarymarsh