Presented at Now What? conference in Sioux Falls, SD in April 2013.

1. The Content Evolution
How content can change your business for the better
Melissa Rach | @melissarach

2. “The information superhighway!”

3. 3
The goal

4. 4
The result

5. Common comments
• “Our website is embarrassing”
• “We’re so far behind”
• “We don’t get any traffic/ROI”
• “Nobody’s updated this content since Clinton was in office”
• “What are we going to do about mobile?”
• “We’ve built dozens of microsites to avoid the CMS”
• “This website is a garbage dump”
• “The CEO is hot on Facebook”
• “Legal is being ridiculous on approvals”
• “We have so many PDFs”
• “There’s so much to do, I just can’t keep up”
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6. 6
Web content is hard
flickr user: cometstarmoon

7. Nobody was prepared for this …
7

8. Or this …
8
© 2013 Visual News

9. 9
What a mess

10. 10
We are in a transition from an
economy based on material goods
to one based on knowledge.
—Peter Drucker,
The Landmarks of Tomorrow (1959)

11. 11
Things have changed

12. Industrial economy
• Strategy as planning
• One-way communication
• Brand consistency
• Hierarchy
• Profit (quarterly)
12

13. Today’s communities
• Distrust in authority
• Unlimited information access
• Participatory communication channels
• Multi-channel use
• Culture of research
13

14. 14
In today's environment,
traditional marketing and sales
doesn't make sense.
— Bill Lee, Harvard Business Review
(paraphrased)

15. 15
We are clearly entering a period
where the extinction of the slow,
the inflexible, and the
bureaucratic is about to happen
in record numbers.
—Chris Zook, Harvard Business Review

16. 16
Extinction!?!

17. It’s time to break
all the old rules.

18. Rethink Strategy

19. 19
Focus on the long-term vision

20. Strategy vs. planning
20
STRATEGY
Strategy
Planning
Day-to-day work

21. 21
[Employees] want to be part of
something larger than themselves.
They want to be part of something
they're really proud of, that they'll
fight for, sacrifice for.
—Howard Schulz, Starbucks

22. Strategic intent
• Constant
• Flexible
• Repeatable
• Aspirational
• Inspiring
• Believable
Hamel and Prahalad, “Strategic Intent”
Harvard Business Review
22

23. Examples
• Apple: Think different
• Coke: Put a bottle within arms reach of every
possible customer
• Honda: Be the second Ford
• Amazon: Start with the customer and work
backwards
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24. 24
They might think you’re nuts

25. 25
We are willing to be
misunderstood for long
periods of time.
—Jeff Bezos, Amazon

26. Rethink Communications

27. 27
Goal: A true relationship

28. 28
[People] learn what they care about,
From people they care about
and who, they know, cares about them.
—Barbara Harrell Carson,
Thirty Years of Stories

29. 29
Reciprocal, respectful conversations

30. Let conversation lead content
• Listen
• Speak with customers (not to customers)
• Give consistently, take once in awhile
• Make channel/format a secondary
consideration
30

31. 31
Go beyond product specs

32. Map the entire customer journey
Not just online tasks, not just your “jurisdiction”
• What’s the “big task”?
• Where are the conversation points?
• What kinds of content do they need at each
point?
• What content exists?Where are the gaps?
32

33. 33
Brands that simplify customer
decision-making are 115% more
likely to be recommended.
—Corporate Executive Board (2012)

34. Examples
34
Images from Dove,
Amazon, and Patagonia

35. 35
For all the American people
everywhere… they need
something like this.
—Fred Smith,
Creator, Wisconsin Concrete Park

36. 36
Why?
Wisconsin Concrete Park
Phillips, WI
flickr user: dakota kingfisher

37. Every piece of content needs to:
• Support a your vision/strategy
• Fulfill a customer need
• Have a person assigned to maintain it
(maintainable content only)
37

38. Rethink Consistency

39. 39
They’re on to us

40. The old brand rules
Build the brand over time
• Speak B2B or B2C
• Use repeatable messages
• Require militant consistency
• Control information
• Be polished and perfect at all times
40

41. The new rules
Build relationships over time by:
• Speak P2P
• Create adaptable messages
• Develop organic consistency
• Allow radical transparency
41

42. Example: Fluevog
42

43. 43
It’s bit scary

44. 44
But, not this scary

45. 45
Consumers don’t expect brands to be
flawless; they will even embrace brands
that are FLAWSOME…
Brands that are honest about their flaws,
that show some empathy, generosity,
humility, flexibility, maturity, humor, and
dare we say it, some character and
humanity.
—Trendwatching.com

46. Examples
46
Images from Miracle Whip, Johnson & Johnson, and American Red Cross via Trendwatching.com

47. 47
‘Established' is now often just
another word for tired if not tainted.
—Trendwatching.com

48. Rethink Hierarchy

49. 49
Nobody’s smarter than everybody

50. 50
Don’t plan your future, plan your
people. Outstanding people who fit
your broad vision will tend to make
the right decisions along the way;
not by following a plan but by
using their skill.
—Harry Beckwith
Selling the Invisible

51. Chaos theory
Enough structure to allow for pattern
development, but flexible enough to allow for
creativity.
51

52. Strategic routines
• Strategic routines, not rules
• Support instead of strictness
• Encourage innovation
• Invite participation
52

53. 53
Don’t stay tied to old habits

54. 54
To reach our [strategic] goals, we must
first change our lifestyle and our daily
habits now.
Then we must summon the courage to
keep up the new habits and not yield to all
the old familiar temptations. Then, and
only then, we get the benefits later.
—David Maister
Strategy and the Fat Smoker

55. Redefine Success

56. 56
Success metrics are a bit fishy

57. Long-term success
• Make budgets customer-centric, not product
or channel centric
• Not always immediate
• Not always exact
57

58. Measurements that matter
Traditional
• Short timeframes
• Isolated pieces of
content
• Easily accessible
analytics
• Measuring what exists
Try instead
• Longer timeframes
• Content systems
• Mix of measurement
techniques
• Predictive monitoring
58

59. 59
Research shows companies who
invest in communications are
more profitable and keep
executives longer.
—Paul A. Argenti,
Dartmouth

60. Summary

61. 61
Remember…
You can redefine:
• Strategy
• Communications
• Consistency
• Hierarchy
• Success

62. 62
When we look at the present
through a rear-view mirror. We
march backwards into the future.
—Marshall McLuhan

63. Thanks!
Melissa Rach
@melissarach
melissa@dialogstudios.com
www.dialogstudios.com
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