1. Web Copy That Works
Create Your Brand-Driven Content Strategy

2. Frank
Marquardt
Director, Content Strategy,
The Barbarian Group
@tralition
20 yrs. exp. as a writer + editor
A capable but unexceptional swimmer

3. The practice of planning
how content will create
awesome user experiences.

4. Simple Objectives
Users Love It

5. Simple Objectives
Organizations Can Use It

6. Sample Deliverables by Project Phase
Discovery Strategy Design Create Manage
Stakeholders Content Content Copydeck Content Audit
Findings Strategy Inventory
Competitive
Competitive Voice/Tone Workflow Audit
Audit
Messaging Governance Metrics Analysis
Audit Content Framework Plan
Data/Metrics Editorial
Analysis Calendar

7. Course Objectives
Know what you’re doing with content, good and bad
Know what your competitors are doing with content
Identify opportunities to improve your content by auditing
it and by auditing your competitors

8. Discovery

10. Behaviors
Analytics
User surveys
Focus groups
User interviews
Best practices
Benchmarking

11. What’s the business
objective?
Examples
Improve usability of checkout process
Benchmark articles against professional publications
Review and improve CTAs
Identify 5 quick wins through improving content
Assess cross-promotional opportunities across site
Assess effectiveness of content in meeting user needs
Redesign a site to make it responsive

12. What does the user need?
Content that’s useful
Content that’s understandable
Content that’s credible, informative, unique
Sharable content
Clear communication about what you do, why you do it,
why it matters, what they can do
Simple, easy ways to accomplish their goals

13. Competitive Audit

14. Lots of uses
Learn about the landscape
Identify best practices
Identify common patterns and approaches
Differentiate your execution
Assess against a set of criteria
Identify weaknesses and strengths
Validate recommendations

15. Learn about the landscape
Clad’s magazine-style
content on Clad lives
in the Damn Good
Advice section.
JCrew’s editorial
features—Jack Knows
Best, The Always List,
and Spotlight—offer
tips, how-tos, and
products for amping
up your style.

16. Identify best practices
Navigation is ambiguous.
The term “Natural Learning” has no tangible correlation to specific types of information.

17. Identify best practices
Navigation labels in category tend to be
direct and obvious.
Implication: Kashi’s navigation labels risk
confusing users.

18. Differentiate your execution

19. Assess against a set of criteria

20. Zoom Hot Spots Video
Not available or very limited Not available or very limited Not available or very
use use limited use
Hot spots on small/medium Tutorial videos or 3rd-
Limited or hard-to-use zoom image, no icons, or static party (e.g. Sell point) info
overview pop-ups
Zoom with some controls and Hero image w/expandable hot High-quality videos for
satisfactory detail spots, detail info on hover flagship products
Hero image w/expandable hot
Full-screen, two-stage zoom, Quality (720p) videos for
spots, detail w/visuals, info on
with hover “loupe” wide product range
hover
World-class execution World-class execution World-class execution

21. Site Zoom Hot Spots Video
LG
Blackberry
Motorola
Apple
‣ Category insight: Best in-category sites deliver robust product detailing and in-situ visuals, including
strong videos, that highlight smart phones’ social capabilities.

22. Motorola uses product
photography and zoom to
highlight the design and
show off the details.
Blackberry offers an extensive list of
videos to help existing or new users
understand exactly how things work.
LG uses video to highlight, the
fun, social experiences the
product makes possible.
Opportunities: Use video content to highlight emotional product qualities that make phones
fun & social. Extend video content to detail how to do everyday activities.

24. Content Audits

25. Many things to audit
Navigation
Product copy
Messaging
Articles
Consistency in language
Calls to action (CTAs)
SEO-optimization
Homepage
Content types

26. Navigation
What does the Cereal Finder, Recyclebank, Tasty Fiber, the REAL Project or any of the other
sections here have to do with “Events”?
Risk: Navigation that doesn’t appropriately reflect the content can prevent users from finding
it.
Opportunity: Renaming the “Events” section so that it the label reflects the content with in it
will let users know what they’re getting and why to click.

27. Messaging
The primary block of text on the page tells what the
organization does, but the message is passive.
Risks: Bureaucratic-level impactzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Opportunities: Show impact through a startling infographic,
provide a pathway for citizens looking to solve a problem, or
use an active headline to encourage engagement.
Objective: Drive engagement
User Goal: Make info useful

28. CTAs
Clear, single use of CTA delivers a defined,
primary action for users come to the
homepage promo.
Multiple CTAs and lots of copy risks confusing users
about what the site wants them to do. What is the
Objective: Increase sign ups or donations
primary communication objective? User Goal: Effective calls to action

29. Homepage
What is priority of donation? Would integrating it as
navigation increase conversion?
Could a CTA like “See how we make a difference” to
learn more help users navigate?
HTML title tags lack metadata and keywords that
could help drive SEO.
Stronger titles that use keywords could increase
clarity for intended audience and SEO on news
items.
Objective: Optimize the home page
User Goal: Accomplish key tasks easily

30. Content types
Sometimes the audit needs to identify how much of
what type of content you have to inform future
planning.

31. Offer actionable recommendations

33. Homework
Do a competitive audit and/or content audit for your
organization. Define a set of criteria and objectives for
your work up front. Look at how competitor sites do
things. Look at how your site does it. Summarize findings
and identify recommendations.
We’ll talk about your work next week!
Meanwhile, see you online.