This document summarizes a presentation about content strategy. It introduces the presenter and defines content strategy as the planned use of content to achieve a goal. The presentation then discusses why content strategy is important, provides examples of effective and ineffective content strategy, and outlines the content strategy process. It also includes two case studies where content strategy was used to increase sales. The document concludes with exercises for attendees to practice content strategy skills and information on how to pursue a career in content strategy.

2. Introductions

3. David Dylan Thomas
Senior Content Strategist,
EPAM
@movie_pundit

4. Who am I?
• Filmmaker at heart
• 2000 – 2004: Online Education
• 2005 – 2012: A content strategist by any other
name
• 2013 – Present: A business card!

5. Ask Early. Ask Often.

6. What We’ll Learn Overall
• What Content Strategy Is
• Why It’s Important
• The kinds of problems a content strategist
solves
• How a content strategist solves those
problems
• How you might become a content strategist

7. Why should you learn about
content strategy?

8. Because LinkedIn

9. Right now Facebook has over 40
content strategists
And they’re hiring more

10. Freelance > Full Time

11. Because Meetup

12. Demand Is High,
Supply Is Low

13. Content strategy is gaining
ground on traditional marketing
and SEO

14. Traditional marketing says, “You
know what’s awesome? Our
shoes!”
Content strategy says, “You know
what’s awesome? Running!”

15. Good content strategy = Good SEO

16. Also, it’s fun!

17. Most content strategists don’t
know they’re content strategists
(Many are ex-journalists)

18. A content strategist’s job is to help a
company think like a newspaper.
A content strategist’s job is to help
you make decisions about content.

19. Exercise: What is content?
• Split up into groups
• Come up with a working definition
• Include 3 examples of what IS content and
why
• Include 3 examples of what is NOT content
and why
• 10 minutes

20. Discussion

21. What Is Content Strategy?

22. significant objects dot

23. Instead of a product description…
…they told a story

24. Original Price: $0.33
Final Price: $71.00

25. Original Price: $2.99
Final Price: $101.00

26. Original Price: $3.00
Final Price: $193.50

27. Content Strategy is the planned
use of content to achieve a
goal.

28. • With Significant Objects, the goal was
to increase the value of ordinary
items.
• The strategy was to replace bland
descriptions with colorful stories (by
good writers).
• The creators used content (stories) to
achieve a goal (added value).

29. Casey Kasem
Turned Financial Reports into
Entertainment

30. “In this hour at #32 in the countdown, a song that’s
been a hit 4 different times in 19 years! And we’re
just one tune away from the singer with the
$10,000 gold hubcaps on his car! Now, on with the
countdown!”

31. What Is Content Strategy?
• Example: Weird Al
– Business Goal: Weird Al wanted his new album to
be successful
– Challenge: He’s been out of the public eye for
decades
– Content: Music
– Content Strategy: #8days8videos

32. Result: #1 on iTunes

33. Nonprofit Goals

35. This Is Content

36. This Is Content Strategy

37. Exercise: Examples of Content Strategy
• In your group, based on the definition, come
up with three examples of content strategy.
• Two should show content strategy done well.
• One should show content strategy done
poorly.
• 5 minutes

38. Discussion

39. All content strategies require two
things:
• Goal
• Audience
The more you know about
both, the better the strategy
will be

40. Most content strategies try to answer three
questions:
• What are the client’s goals?
• What are the user’s goals?
• How can content help the two intersect?

41. The Two Most Common Content Strategy
Problems
• Help, I’ve got too much content!
• Help, Amazon is killing me!

42. What is the most important skill
a content strategist should have?
The ability to listen.

43. The Content Strategy Process
1. Investigate
• Learn about the organization
• Learn about the audience
• Learn about the content

44. The Content Strategy Process
2. Come up with ideas
• Collaborate/Workshop
• Think for yourself

45. The Content Strategy Process
3. Create a Plan
• What are we going to do?
• How are we going to do it?
• Who is going to do what? (Governance)
• Assign Goals to Content

46. The Content Strategy Process
4. Execute the Plan
5. Measure the Results
6. Learn from the Results
7. Wash, Rinse, Repeat

47. Build, Measure, Learn

48. Case Study #1
Legal Software Producer

49. The Challenge
• Lots of content
• No strategy

50. Contextual Inquiry

51. LAWYERS HAVE NO TIME!
What we learned:

52. Why are you showing them all of this?

53. Content Workshop

54. The Solution
• Deliver the right
content at the right
time
• Simplify and make
content more findable

55. Old vs New
• More sales from
fewer visitors
• 200% increase in
orders for this
product
• 100% increase in
related product
• 160% increase in
sales across the
entire site

56. Case Study #2
A big sports retailer

57. “We have a great experience
in-store but that’s not
translating to online.”

58. The oldest content strategy in the
world
• Use content to make it clear you know a
lot about something.
• When people need that something, they’ll
think of you.

59. You’re there to help your
customer achieve a goal.
Selling them shoes is just one
part of that.

61. Governance
• Assignment: Read “Responsive Design
Won’t Fix Your Content Problem” by Karen
McGrane
• http://alistapart.com/column/responsive-
design-wont-fix-your-content-problem

62. Result: Sales up 70%

63. (In the best-cast scenario) you
are part of a team.

64. Building a Content Strategy for Your
Client
• Learn about the client and their goals
• Learn about the audience and their goals
• Explore how content can align those goals

65. Interview Techniques
• Content Deep Dive
– Why is your client creating content?
– What is their capacity to produce content?
– What is their culture?
• Distributed vs. hierarchical
• Open vs. closed (regulated)
• Stakeholder Interviews

66. Exercise: Establishing Business Goals
• One person will represent GDI.
• One person will interview.
• One will take notes
• Answer:
– Is GDI creating content? What kind? How?
– Why does GDI Create Content?
• GDI creates content in order to __________.
• If GDI Content doesn’t achieve __________ , it isn’t worth creating
• GDI members should arrive feeling ________ and leave feeling
__________ .
– Describe the culture of GDI.
• 10 minutes

67. Discussion

68. Audience Interview Techniques
• What are you looking for?
– Consumption habits
• Devices
• Media (video, blogs)
• How are they finding content?
– Social component
– Search component
• Triggers for content
– What do they value?
– What do they want?

69. Exercise: Learn About the Audience
• One person will represent audience.
• One person will interview.
• One will take notes
• Answer:
– Why do they come to GDI?
– What do they hope to get out of it?
– What role did content play in them finding out about it (look for
triggers)?
– What types of content do they consume/share?
• How?
• On what devices?
• When?
• 10 minutes

70. Discussion

71. Content Strategy Format
• Describe the current state
• Describe your idea
• Describe your tactics
• Describe what the client needs to do to get
there
• Bonus: Describe how the client will know if
the strategy is working

72. Exercise: Build a Strategy
• Given what you now know about the client,
their content, and their audience, come up
with a plan that uses content to align business
and user goals.
• Come up with one user story that describes an
example of this plan in action.
• 20 min

73. Presentation of Strategies

74. How to Get a Job

75. Questions?

76. Thank you!
David Dylan Thomas
@movie_pundit
dave@daviddylanthomas.com