Given at ATTW 2019 in Pittsburgh, PA

1. Approaches for Teaching Content Strategy
Or Lessons from @MoonPie
@LizaPotts @GonzLaur
Reporting on our
forthcoming chapter

2. Mission Statement for Content Strategy

3. Teaching Content Strategy
Course aimed at Professional Writing and Experience Architecture majors
with the following goals in mind:
● learn and practice genres and tools for content management
● deploy research methods for assessing communication needs of
organizations to recommend effective/sustainable content strategies
● situate content strategy as a component of user-centered design
● frame content strategy as a rhetorical practice and professional craft
Update course content with industry experts // New book every 2-3 yrs

4. What kinds of
content do we
need? What kinds
of messages are
we trying to send?
What tools will
we use? What
process will we
use? Who do we
need on our
team to help?
How we will
prioritize the
content? Organize
it? Format it?
Display it?
How are key
decisions made?
How are these
changes initiated?
How are they
communicated to
the rest of the
team?

5. ThreeAssignments

6. Three Example Assignments
P1: Landscape / Competitive Analysis
P2: Tone / Style Guide
P3: Content Strategy Document
(And, of course, Reflections)

7. Landscape / Competitive Analysis
Purpose: Learn how to conduct a landscape / competitive analysis and report findings
Process: Analyze website, compare to 2 competitors/partners, write up findings,
focusing on three specific attributes (navigation, tone, style, search, about page, etc.)
Deliverable: Analysis of site delivered as a “stand alone” slidedeck

8. Tone and Style Guide
Purpose: Gain experience building a Style Guide and Content Models/Templates
Process: Research organization and competitors/partners, meet with stakeholders to
learn about biz needs, meet with clients/customers/public to learn about user needs,
sketch out style guide, models, and templates
Deliverable: Style Guide (7-10 pages) and Content Models and/or Templates (3/3)

9. Content Strategy Document: TOC
Purpose: Develop a robust content strategy that the org can implement and maintain
Process: Review content assets, conduct inventory and content analysis, meet with
users / stakeholders, iterate and test models/templates, consider primary/secondary
messaging, annotate templates, develop good/bad examples, research governance
Deliverable: Robust living document (35+ pages), presentation for organization

10. Content Strategy Document: Workflows
Purpose: Develop a robust content strategy that the org can implement and maintain
Process: Review content assets, conduct inventory and content analysis, meet with
users / stakeholders, iterate and test models/templates, consider primary/secondary
messaging, annotate templates, develop good/bad examples, research governance
Deliverable: Robust living document (35+ pages), presentation for organization

11. Content Strategy Document: Calendars
Purpose: Develop a robust content strategy that the org can implement and maintain
Process: Review content assets, conduct inventory and content analysis, meet with
users / stakeholders, iterate and test models/templates, consider primary/secondary
messaging, annotate templates, develop good/bad examples, research governance
Deliverable: Robust living document (35+ pages), presentation for organization

12. Reflections after P1 and after P3
Purpose: Reflection aims for self-improvement and self-confidence (value of work)
Process: Consider your work on P1/3 and across the semester: teamwork, individual
Deliverable: 1-2 page document written in first person that examines your own
contribution, issues and how they were resolved, learnings gained, value added
“Self-reflection can aid in self-improvement and in the ability to articulate your own skill set and value. This latter
part is of particular importance when working to support, encourage, and prepare a diverse student population
for a workplace that has historically erased the expertise of non-Western communities. The goal of the
reflection document in a XA/PW program that values and purposely includes non-Western knowledge practices
is not only to help students complete projects, but to also articulate the importance of students’ unique
perspectives in their current and future workplaces.” (From our forthcoming chapter)

13. Thank you!
Want to see the syllabus, project descriptions, rubrics, etc.?
Send us a tweet @LizaPotts @GonzLaur
Or an email LPotts@msu.edu