web directions south 2012 GETTING
UNSTUCK content strategy for the future Sara Wachter-Boettcher www.flickr.com/photos/spanner/1591803996/ @sara_ann_marie

‘‘ Every client, in my
experience, has a content problem. Mark Boulton, just before lunch

Suddenly, everybody’s talking ‘bout it.

‘‘ In traditional media, canvas
dimensions are a known constraint. With digital, however, the canvas is an unknown... We need to build on what we do know: content. Chris Armstrong, “The Infinite Grid”

But do we actually know
our content?

Good news! That’s what content
strategy is all about.

‘‘ ✦ Defines how you’re
going to use content to meet your business (or project) goals and satisfy your users’ needs ✦ Guides decisions about content throughout its lifecycle, from discovery to deletion ✦ Sets benchmarks against which to measure the success of your content Kristina Halvorson & Melissa Rach

We’re auditing what we already
have...

And figuring out what we
want to say... Message architecture example from Margot Bloomstein

And making more realistic plans
for getting it done... Page table example from Relly Annett-Baker

and yet: IT’S STILL SO
DAMN HARD, ISN’T IT?

Inaccessible.

Broken.

Missing.

Useless.

Even launching a new homepage
is hard.

‘‘ The Microsoft.com team built
tools, guidelines, and processes to help localize everything from responsive images to responsive content into approximately 100 different markets... They adapted their CMS to allow Content Strategists to program content on the site. Nishant Kothary, “The Story of the New Microsoft.com”

Why is content such a
problem?

we’re moving forward, BUT OUR
CONTENT’S STILL STUCK.

“just stick it up on
the website” www.flickr.com/photos/wordridden/6125516150/

We create content like this.

We create content like this.
CONTENT GOES HERE.

So we can do this.
www.flickr.com/photos/76029035@N02/6829344565

So we can do this.
CONTENT GOES HERE. www.flickr.com/photos/76029035@N02/6829344565

But we end up with
this.

But we end up with
this. CONTENT GOES HERE.

it’ll only get worse By
Eva-Lotta Lamm

We can’t make more content
for every new device and channel.

It’s time we make our
content do more.

COPE: Create Once, Publish Everywhere
Websites NPR’s Mobile Sites Central Storage API Apps CMS Third Parties

content like
water
www.flickr.com/photos/briangaid/2909765394/

Of course, content doesn’t just
magically flow.

It takes infrastructure.

Which starts with content.

Less like this.

Less like this.

And a little more like
this.

And a little more like
this.

then modeling how it all
connects

Some of you have probably
been making data models forever. From Web Database Applications with PHP & MySQL by Hugh E. Williams and David Lane (O’Reilly, 2003)

But it’s easy to forget
that data is also content. what? huh? no idea!

structure can’t
be arbitrary
www.melissaanddoug.com

it needs to be human
By Eva-Lotta Lamm

This means revisiting our content...

and finding
patterns
www.flickr.com/photos/darkfoxprime/4348506299/

not just “pages”
www.flickr.com/photos/peroshenka/408997641

!=

Finding patterns gives you content
types.

Event Listings Shows Blog Posts
Articles Profiles Bios Help Modules Press Releases Directories Recipes Shows Product Listings News Briefs Research Papers ...etc. etc. etc.

Content types help you create
a content system.

Start with a single type
of content, like a recipe. What is it? What makes it a recipe?

Then, how do our different
content types fit together?

systems give us options By
Eva-Lotta Lamm

We can’t manually manage how
each bit of content looks.

But every bit of structure
gives you the option to make a rule.

P