Simon Nash introduces content strategy and its importance. He explains that content fuels digital experiences and is an increasing priority for marketers. Content strategy helps understand audiences, create engaging content, and publish it effectively to attract, inform and engage audiences. It also helps maintain customer relationships. Content strategy encompasses paid, owned, earned and shared content across various platforms. It is important to plan ahead and get the right team to craft great content that meets business goals and audience needs.

1. An introduction to Content Strategy
25 January 2015
Simon Nash, Planning Director, Reading Room

2. About Reading Room
Reading Room is an international award-winning digital
consultancy. We act as architects of digital change, helping
our clients create new and effective systems suitable for the
challenges of modern business.
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3. About me
• Writer, blogger, Digital
transformation consultant, planner
and content strategist
• Past experience in B2B and B2C
marketing, 10 years agency-side
• Wide range of sector experience
advising small and large
organisations
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4. An introduction to content strategy
• Why is content so important?
• What is content strategy?
• The principles explained
• Key marketing concepts
• Website content strategy
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5. Why is content so important?
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6. Content is not a new thing
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7. But ‘digital’ has become an integral part of life
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8. And content fuels digital experiences
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9. Content is an increasing priority for marketers
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10. It helps you get found
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• Web content
• Google Places for Business
• Wikipedia
• Social media content
• Media articles

11. It helps people find you
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Content is often the first touch point a user has with a company, used
correctly it establishes trust and credibility.
http://www.clipular.com/c/53089322915594
24.png?k=XzXrXdkI8nqIhjLXNdZkoQuq1UI

12. It’s used to get attention
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Podio sell project management apps, so they created an info graphic for the
New Year.

13. It powers a different type of advertising
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Q: When is an advert not an advert?
A: When it is ‘promoted content’
Or
A: When it is shared 3m times

14. It helps people get the information they need
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Gov.uk has transformed the way the
public access information.
Pages have been stripped back to
address user needs.
Content structured for quick
reference and language simplified.
Next steps clearly signposted.

15. And it can help close the deal
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Without bricks and mortar stores
Loaf.com have to convince buyers
online.
Every single aspect of Loaf.com’s
site consistently conveys their light
hearted brand, whilst images and
interactive tools help the user
customise their ideal sofa.
Key messages are emphasised,
key user goals addressed, and
reviews nd user feedback

16. It can help maintain customer relationships
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Customers expect to be talked to, not at!

17. Its not always your content
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18. And lastly…
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19. The principles of content strategy explained
Through the medium of story telling, more on that later.
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20. So what is content strategy?
The art of
• Understanding your audience
• Creating an interesting content offer
that taps into their needs/goals
• Publishing that content in the most
appropriate and effective way
• Using that content to attract, inform
and engage your audience
• Building and maintaining better
relationships
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21. So what is content strategy?
The science of
• Making sure content delivers against your
objectives
• Devising a content plan that conveys your
messages effectively
• Targeting and personalising content to your
different audiences
• Optimising content for visibility / findability
• Using content to convince, capture data
and change behaviour
• Increasing the lifetime value of each and
every customer
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22. And it encompasses all this content...
Paid content
Paid search adverts, display etc
Promoted content
Targeted social ads, . advertorial, sponsored
content, native advertising.
Owned media
Website, blog, social channel, email, apps
Shared
Word of mouth, shared content
Earned
Reviews, recommendations, referrals

23. The principles of content strategy explained
Through the medium of story telling, more on that later.
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24. Just take some content
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25. And set out to reach your objectives
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26. Sadly it’s not that simple
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27. You could chuck it over and hope for the best
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28. But great content takes hard work
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29. And it can take time to get things in place
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30. And it can take time to get things in place
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31. It helps to know the terrain you are facing
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32. The right team helps
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33. Creative thinking is essential
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34. So to recap…
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A content strategy should consider
1. Objectives: what does the business need from content
2. Research: who is the audience, what do they want, how do they behave
3. Strategy: How will content satisfy business goals and audience needs
4. People: A team of people with the right skills to make it happen
5. Ideas: Creative content that will cut through the noise and engage
6. Mechanics: How does it all work, what platforms are involved and when
7. Systems: How will you publish and measure, where are contacts stored

35. Website Content Strategy
Great content is the secret to a successful website but is often the
most overlooked element.
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36. Why do you need a website content strategy?
Content Strategy helps place user needs and business goals at the
heart of website projects and addresses some common issues
• Production overload is one of the most common causes of delay
• Rushing to complete content at the end of the project is stressful
• Stakeholder demands for ‘their’ content can often derail a project
• Failure to anticipate publishing needs can lead to costs later
• Poor quality content undermines the brand and user experience
• Failure to maintain content leaves important sections out of date
• Lack of consideration of marketing priorities undermine performance

37. Audience
Craft
Focus
Alignment
Planning
Team
Process
Key considerations for website content
• Understand your audience
• Craft great content
• Retain a clear focus
• Align with wider activities
• Plan ahead, plan for the future
• Get the right team in place
• Agree and follow a process

38. Understanding your audience
Researching and understanding your audiences is critical. Creating
personas to share with the development team and map typical user
journeys to identify pain points and opportunities.
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39. Craft great content
Great content is a craft, and in recent years we have
seen the rise of the content designer.
A specialist writer with digital skills who is able to
combine writing skills, digital marketing, search
optimisation and UX.
Content for the web should be either written
specifically with digital channels in mind or edited by
someone with an understanding of key principles.
Consistency is also critical, especially when multiple
editors are working on the same site. Style and tone
of voice should be agreed by all parties up front.
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40. Retain a clear focus
Never lose sight of business goals, yes the user is a priority but the site
must serve the needs of the business too. The Core model for content
strategy is helpful tool.
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http://alistapart.com/article/the-core-model-designing-inside-out-for-better-results

41. Align with wider activities
Your website does not exist in isolation and your customer will
undoubtedly move between different channels, often within the same
decision making journey.
Website content must align with other online and offline activities both
in terms of style, tone and consistency but also in terms of customer
services and operational processes.
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42. Plan ahead, and plan for the future
Content strategy thinking should start from the moment you begin a
website project.
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43. Plan ahead, and plan for the future
It should influence over decisions in terms of functionality, design,
content management and technology selection.
Starting early means you break down the tasks of sourcing, producing
and editing content for the web into manageable chunks.
And planning for the future means thinking about how you will maintain
and govern your contact after go live.
From day one you should be beginning a process of continuous
improvement and periodically refreshing and quality checking content.
You’ll need a plan otherwise this is the first task that gets dropped.
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44. Get the right team in place
People should be a key consideration any content strategy, it is
important to understand your digital roadmap. If you are planning to
scale up your ambition then be prepared to scale up your team. And
remember content design is a specialist task.

45. Get the right team in place
Larger organisations tend to find that a central team are unable to cope
with centralised content management over the longer term. They often
have to consider how to distribute responsibility throughout the
organisation

46. Agree and follow a process
As stated previously, it is important to break the content production
process into manageable chunks so that you can focus on crafting
great quality content.
Discovery
Design &
Architecture
HTML +
Specifications
High-Fidelity
Prototype
Build
Content Audit
Capability Review
Insights &
Recommendations
Strategy
Development
Content Strategy
Planning and
Consultation
Content Plan
Editorial Calendar*
Guidance, Training
and Support
Content
Development*
Editing & search
optimisation
Publishing &
Migration*

47. Key marketing concepts
Common techniques that lie behind successful content strategies.
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48. The art of storytelling
Humans have always used stories
to make sense of the world and to
convey complex ideas.
This makes us very receptive to
messages and information
conveyed in story form.
A story can centre on the key
stages of a single experience like
a website visit. But most often it
used as a narrative that emerges
through a series of seemingly
disconnected interactions.
If you have ever owned an iPhone you may recall the
theatre of the box opening experiences, this has
carefully designed to maximise impact. It is just one of
the ways that Apple use storytelling at every stage, from
retail experiences through to product and packaging

49. Thinking like a publisher
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We live in an attention economy, our audiences are bombarded with
content and messaging. To rise above the noise we have to think like
a publisher.

50. Thinking like a publisher
Traditional ‘push’ advertising tended to focus
on short term goals but in the attention
economy our first priority has to be to capture
and maintain attention.
So instead of focusing on what we want them
to believe, we have to focus on creating
content that they find, interesting, helpful or
entertaining.
Our message must be woven into the content
but in such a way as not to impinge on the
value of that content to the user.
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51. Always On Marketing
This shift in thinking, combined with the rise of CRM & social networks,
has led digital marketers to move towards what is known as ‘always on’
marketing.
Ongoing scheduled moderation and publishing according to strategy
2015
Campaign
2016
Campaign
Time
Size of Social
Following
2014
Campaign

52. Always On Marketing
The aim is simple, to move away from the boom and bust of campaigns
toward a more sustainable model of audience engagement which
keeps your brand, product or service and USPs front of mind.
Put simply, campaigns are used to grow the contactable audience
(primarily email & social) and new contacts are then exposed to
ongoing content led communications designed to engage their interest
and attention and to move them from casual interest to active
engagement
.
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53. Thematic Content Calendars
The need to maintain ‘always on’ communications and to tell stories
over prolonged periods has given rise to Thematic Content Calendars.
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54. Thematic Content Calendars
Thematic Content Calendars map out a series of high-level topic areas
designed to work together and convey a coherent message about a
brand.
Thus individual content is produced with the audiences interests firmly
front of mind but with an understanding that it plays a part in a bigger
story theme.
Over time the audience members are exposed to a series of consistent
messages embedded within otherwise seemingly interesting and good
quality content.
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55. Content Marketing
A new way of looking at
(Mostly B2B) Lead
Generation
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56. Content Marketing
Creation of valuable content assets such as
white papers and reports
Promoted and shared via social media using
snippets of quality sharable content
More valuable assets offered in exchange for
contact and interest data
Aim is to capture and qualify inbound leads
which are then fed into the marketing DB and or
passed to sales
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57. Staircasing: from engagement to lead
Engagement on its own is hard to justify by combining these concepts
we have a means to demonstrate a tangible return on investment.
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58. Staircasing: from engagement to lead
• use periodic campaigns to grow your contactable audience then maintain
consistent always on publishing to maintain and develop engagement
• following a thematic content calendar that warms followers and subscribers to
your key brand messages
• periodically run campaigns targeted solely at engaged followers and
subscribers e.g. register for an event
• those who respond to the campaign can be classified as the warmest
prospects on the list and targeted with specific response based promotions
• respondents are then qualified and the hottest leads fed into the sales team
• Over time (in theory) this should provide a steady flow of warm prospects
from your engagement activity that will justify ongoing investment in
engagement
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59. And lastly a note on Viral Spreadable content
Implementing the Content Strategy
To encourage sharing and advocacy we need to understand and
leverage the reasons that people might share our content. If our
content serves our audience’s personal objectives then they have an
incentive to share it.
“If I like your content it’s
not because I like your
brand it’s because I like
my friends.”
Henry Jenkins, ‘
Spreadable Media ‘

60. Thanks
Any questions?
@simonnash, simon.nash@readingroom.com
www.readingroom.com
Recommended further reading:
Elements of Content Strategy
http://www.abookapart.com/products/the-elements-of-content-strategy
Content Strategy for the Web
http://contentstrategy.com/