All too often we overlook the things that will help us provide value for our customers. In this presentation I provide an overview of the key components of a stakeholder interview and the importance of qualitative and quantitative content audits.
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The Qualitative Content Audit by Content Insights – Link
How to Perform a Content Audit by Kristina Kledzik – Link
A Checklist for Content Work by Erin Kissane – Link
Audit, Plan, Build, Grow: A Methodology for Content Strategy by Erin Kissane – Link
How to Conduct A Content Audit by Donna Spencer – Link
Content Audits and Inventories by Creek Content – Link
The Content Inventory is Your Friend by Kristina Halvorson – Link
Why Traditional Content Audits Aren’t Enough by Ahava Leibtag – Link
From Content Audit to Design Insight by Christopher Detzi – Link
How to Create a Content Strategy (In Only 652 Steps) by Ian Lurie – Link
Content Inventory by Usability.gov – Link
Organizing Your Website: Taking Stock of Content by Harvard Web Publishing – Link
The Rolling Content Inventory by Louis Rosenfeld– Link
How to Do a Content Inventory and Audit by Erin Everhart – Link
The Argument for a Content Audit Your Marketing Team Never Made by Adria Saracino – Link
What Book Reviewing Taught Me About the Content Audit by Frank Marquardt – Link
A Map-Based Approach to a Content Inventory by Patrick C. Walsh – Link
Audience Analysis by HowTo.gov – Link
Super Awesome Content Strategy Worksheet By Steve Floyd – Link
25. For the last decade I have been
creating digital marketing solutions
for businesses large and small. In
that time I’ve learned a few things
about the governance and creation
of web content and how that
content ties into other marketing
channels. Content is often swept
aside as the last part of a project,
when I believe it should be one of
the very first things addressed
(even before design).
Steve Floyd
Founder / Principle at AXZM
twitter: @nawlready
phone: (214) 272-9109
www.axzm.com
Hinweis der Redaktion
Crouching Stakeholder Hidden Content Pubcon Austin Regional 2014 by Steve Floyd – CEO of AXZM – www.axzm.com/about/steve-floyd
As SEOs, we tend to jump straight into identifying target keywords and trying to understand the competitive landscape. In that process, we miss out on the bigger picture. All too often stakeholder interviews and discovery meetings fall short of capturing the insights needed to produce the kind of content that will resonate with a businesses target audience.
Often we rush out to collect content and conduct competitive research without fully understanding the customer / clients business goals. Here are some key questions you should ask at a stakeholder meeting. Customers1. Define typical buyer.2. What are the pain points of that buyer?3. What content do they need to help them along their purchase decision?Competitors4. Who are top 5 competitors and why / how do they beat you?5. What are your competitors' major strengths and weaknesses? How do you take advantage of their weaknesses?6. Why do customers choose your products over a competitor’s?7. Where are your products weaker or more limited than your competitors’? Marketing8. Describe existing branding / marketing campaigns9. What message do they want to impart on their audience10. What are your major marketing opportunities in the next 1-5 years?Sales11. What does the sales process look like? Can you describe the whole cycle: how a lead comes in, what happens after that, what the lead nurturing and pre-sales process looks like, and what happens next when a customer decides to buy?12. What are your 3 biggest sales challenges? Products / Services13. Why do customers choose your products over a competitor’s?14. Where are your products weaker or more limited than your competitors’? Strategy15. How do you see your market changing in the next 3-5 years?16. If you do it right, what does success look like to you over the next five years?
Often we rush out to collect content and conduct competitive research without fully understanding the customer / clients business goals. Here are some key questions you should ask at a stakeholder meeting. Customers1. Define typical buyer.2. What are the pain points of that buyer?3. What content do they need to help them along their purchase decision?
Competitors4. Who are top 5 competitors and why / how do they beat you?5. What are your competitors' major strengths and weaknesses? How do you take advantage of their weaknesses?6. Why do customers choose your products over a competitor’s?7. Where are your products weaker or more limited than your competitors’?
Marketing8. What existing branding and marketing assets are already in place? (Style Guides, Branding Guides, Etc…) Where are they?9. What are the key messages you are trying to impart on your customers and prospects?10. What are the biggest marketing opportunities on the horizon?
Competitors11. What does the sales process look like? Can you describe the whole cycle: how a lead comes in, what happens after that, what the lead nurturing and pre-sales process looks like, and what happens next when a customer decides to buy?12. What are your 3 biggest sales challenges? 13. What is your sales cycle? What time of the day, month and / or year do sales happen?
Competitors14. What are the pros / cons of your product or service from a buyers perspective?15. Is your product or service competitively priced?16. What makes you different?
Competitors17. How do you see your market changing in the next 3-5 years?18. If you do it right, what does success look like to you over the next five years?19. Key Performance Indicators?
The Bruce Lee Guide to Strategic Content (Remix) Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 by Steve Floyd – CEO of AXZM – www.axzm.com/about/steve-floyd
The Bruce Lee Guide to Strategic Content (Remix) Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 by Steve Floyd – CEO of AXZM – www.axzm.com/about/steve-floyd
The Bruce Lee Guide to Strategic Content (Remix) Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 by Steve Floyd – CEO of AXZM – www.axzm.com/about/steve-floyd
The Bruce Lee Guide to Strategic Content (Remix) Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 by Steve Floyd – CEO of AXZM – www.axzm.com/about/steve-floyd
The Bruce Lee Guide to Strategic Content (Remix) Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 by Steve Floyd – CEO of AXZM – www.axzm.com/about/steve-floyd
The Bruce Lee Guide to Strategic Content (Remix) Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 by Steve Floyd – CEO of AXZM – www.axzm.com/about/steve-floyd
You can use XPATH in Google Drive
The Bruce Lee Guide to Strategic Content (Remix) Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 by Steve Floyd – CEO of AXZM – www.axzm.com/about/steve-floyd
The Bruce Lee Guide to Strategic Content (Remix) Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 by Steve Floyd – CEO of AXZM – www.axzm.com/about/steve-floyd
TRACK ALL THE THINGSSocial SharesBacklinksDate PublishedDependenciesTaxonomyOwnerStatus OUCH status O = Out-of-date. Content that is still useful and will move to the new site, but should be updated. U = Unnecessary. Content that is not needed at all. It should not be moved to the new site. C = Current. Content that is fine as is, up-to-date, and just needs to be moved to the new site.H = Have to write. H will not be used on your first pass of the content inventory, so nothing on the inventory of the current site should be marked H. H will be used for the gap analysis part of the exercise below.
The Bruce Lee Guide to Strategic Content (Remix) Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 by Steve Floyd – CEO of AXZM – www.axzm.com/about/steve-floyd
The Bruce Lee Guide to Strategic Content (Remix) Pubcon Las Vegas 2013 by Steve Floyd – CEO of AXZM – www.axzm.com/about/steve-floyd
Resources:Content Strategy For The Web by Kristina HalvorsonElements of Content Strategy by Erin KissaneContent Strategy at Work by Margot BloomsteinManaging Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy by Ann RockleyThe Epic List of Content Strategy Resources by JonathonColmanMetadata Workshop by Rachel LovingerComplete Beginner’s Guide to Content Strategy by Andrew MaierContent Templates to the Rescue by Erin KissaneBuilding Your Content Strategy with a Message Architecture by Margot BloomsteinDifference Between Content Strategy & Content Marketing? by Colleen JonesPsychographics Deconstructed: What We Look Like to… by Marty WeintraubSocial Media Can Generate Strong Story Ideas by Kylie Jane Wakefield11 Savvy Ways to Use Buyer Personas… by Rebecca CorlissFusing Content Strategy with Design by David GillisAn Introduction to User Journeys by Jason HobbsDoing a Content Inventory by Jeffrey VeenSuper Awesome Content Strategy Worksheet by Steve Floyd
About MeFor the last decade I have been creating digital marketing solutions for businesses large and small. In that time I’ve learned a few things about the governance and creation of web content and how that content ties into other marketing channels. Content is often swept aside as the last part of a project, when I believe it should be one of the very first things addressed (even before design).