Content strategy as a way of doing business
Have you ever told to a newspaper salesperson that content is king? I’m quite sure I’ve never been that direct or even agree 100 percent with the statement, but I’ve certainly advocated for it, but likely armed only with half-truths.
Have you ever mapped a content strategy for your tweets as an organization? After thinking about it more I, embarrassingly, have to say no, and I should have.
Whether real or perceived, I’m been labeled as a web content guy and more often than not I’ve taken that as a quazi insult. It seemed too limiting. I’ve sold web advertising. I’ve been a newspaper reporter. I study digital audience trends and pursue tactics to reach and engage more. I’ve helped run two news websites. I’ve introduced new tools. I embrace technology, incomplete ideas and take risks.
But the more I get into it, the more I’m convinced that, yes, I’m a web content guy and damn proud to be one. I also have a lot to learn.
Kristina Halvorson, who leads the conversation on content strategy for the web, keeps saying – and I’m buying it – that content strategy is the next big thing.
It’s a way of thinking that has direct impact on the way we do business. And the way we do business must include a clear focus on how we create, deliver, and govern our content.
My role is content planning for digital products at a media company in Iowa – the delivery part mentioned above. I have a basic philosophy and implemented tactics that have lead to developing content plans for products such as a parenting niche and a news site.
Six pages into Halvorson’s book and it’s clear I’ve missed two important factors in content planning: identifying the key business objective and user goal for each piece of content.
Let’s not gloss over content strategy by focusing solely on what we should be doing; let’s also focus on the why and how. – Halvorson
I’m not through with my research to form more conclusions yet. But I’m now taking part in the conversation. It’s already opened me to a new way of thinking which will mean new tasks for me to perform on the next content plan I build, which will lead to a better content strategy.
What’s clear is that media companies can be better overall, especially given societies trends in consumption and attention, not to mention the new business opportunities that arise via smarter choices in content streams and resource allocation.
Content strategy demands that you stop considering content as a product you can create, launch, and forget about. Content isn’t something you can just ‘go get.’ It forces us to consider content a business asset, not a commodity. It also means changing who/what typically drives the bus on our web projects: today, it’s UX and/or design. A great web project team includes a content strategist from day one. Everyone knows where the “content buck” stops! – Halvorson
As a content guy I’ve likely taken a too narrow approach to decisions. Tactics weren’t really strategies but rather short-term solutions with no real communication as to the how and why. That too changes right now.
What’s the intersection between your expertise (as it relates to your products) and the informational/entertainment needs of your customers? – Joe Pulizzi
Worth reading
Lords of strategy – Sarah Cliffe
Building The Ultimate Website Content Map Pt.1 – Scott Ellis
Brands as Publishers – Where’s Your Content Strategy? – Joe Pulizzi
[...] But that’s only one piece, I admit. We ultimately want to have fun and make money, right? So we must look from the enterprise level at content as a way of doing business. [...]