How to Conquer Content Chaos

1
How To Conquer Content Chaos
Kristina Halvorson
CEO, Brain Traffic
@halvorson
@halvorson • #contentchaos

Document your content marketing mission
Create target audience personas
Plan your content mix
Design the content creation process
Create an editorial calendar
Make a plan for distribution
Measure ROI
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/documenting-content-marketing-strategy

Mah boss says we
need to be makin’
more content but
he cain’t say why.
Ah got a whole ton o’
content but it’s a gosh-
durned mess.
Mah new content
marketing
platform got the
devil in it.
Ah cain’t get nobody
to write no stinkin’
blog posts.
We ain’t gettin’ no decent
engagement from nobody.

what am I doing wrong with content marketing

You haven’t refined your strategy.
You don’t spend enough.
You aren’t promoting enough.
Your content doesn’t provide value.
You’re not competitive in your niche.
Your competitor produces much more content.
You’re impatient.
You need to improve your SEO.
Your expectations are too high.
You’re not having enough fun.
https://neilpatel.com/blog/content-isnt-working-for-you/

how to improve content marketing

https://www.joshtong.io/blog/2018/8/20/improving-a-digital-ecosystem-through-content-strategy

Content
strategy
to the rescue!
neigh! yes also
what do you mean by
“content strategy”

© Brain Traffic 2019
• Who is our audience?
• What informa3on do they
want?
• What do they need?
• What’s our voice and tone?
• How will our content be
designed?
• What are the touchpoints for our
user journeys?
• How will our content appear on
different pla?orms?
• What is our workflow?
• What are the required roles?
• What are our policies and
guidelines?
• What tools will we use?
• How will our content be
organized?
• What taxonomies are being
used?
• How is our structure
affec3ng voice, AI, search
results?

CONTENT STRATEGY
fellers,
let’s back it up

GOAL = The reason we’ll do it
PLAN = What we’ll do

GOAL = Where we’re going
PLAN = How we’ll get there

GOAL = Where we’re going
PLAN = How we’ll get there
DESTINATION
ROADMAP

You have to know where you are now
before you can ﬁgure out
how to get where you want to go.

hQps://slideplayer.com/slide/16775505/
Richard Rumelt’s
“Kernel of Strategy”

hQps://slideplayer.com/slide/16775505/
“A good diagnosis
simplifies the often
overwhelming
complexity of reality
by identifying certain
aspects of the
situation as critical.”

What’s going on here? What’s going on here?
What’s going on here?What’s going on here?

1. Assess your principles
and priorities
2. Map your content
ecosystem
3. Prioritize critical issues
4. Engage the business

“A principle is a fundamental truth or proposi[on
that serves as the founda[on for a system of belief
or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.
- Dictionary.com

Content
marketing is good
and we are going to
invest in it.

We deliver engaging,
valuable content for our
customers!
We want to be the leading
source of trustworthy
informa[on in our industry!
We’re fully invested in
content marke[ng!

The more content we publish,
the more successful we look.
The more followers and clicks
we get, the more successful
we feel.
Our content is mostly for us.

Conversa-on #1: “What’s really going on here?”
1. Hand out the s[cky notes.
2. Ask: “Why do we have a content marke[ng func[on/program?” Post
notes. Discuss.
3. Now ask: “What largely inﬂuences the decisions you make about
content marke[ng?” Post notes. Discuss.

Conversa-on #2: “What principles do we want to act on?”
1. Hand out the s[cky notes.
2. Ask: “When we share content, how should the business beneﬁt?”
3. Ask: “When we share content, how should our audiences beneﬁt?”
4. Ask: “What should drive our day-to-day decision making process?”
5. Post all notes. Discuss.
6. Work in pairs to drad 3-5 principle statements. Then pair up pairs to combine/
edit. Finally, work together to drad your team’s charter.

Principles You Can Steal
Our content will provide known
value to our target audience.
Our content will adhere to our
organization’s values.
Our content marketing activities
will be measured in the context
of functional business goals.

Do a content audit
Do a content audit
Do a content audit
Do a content audit
Do a content audit
gosh durnit

https://www.braintraffic.com/blog/an-introduction-to-content-ecosystem-maps

“Having a picture of your content reality makes it easier
to talk about with others. It’s also a way to stop feeling
so overwhelmed.
At many organiza[ons, the only complete picture of
their content reality exists inside a single person’s
head. That’s a lot of pressure!
– Scott Kubie,
An Introduction to Content Ecosystem Maps

How to Create a Content Ecosystem Map
• Step 1: List out all the stuff in your content ecosystem that
readily comes to mind.
• Step 2: Place a few key concepts on a canvas and draw arrows
between them.
• Step 3: Define rela[onships by labeling the arrows.
• Step 4: Refine and fill in details un[l it looks true and
reasonably comprehensive.

What kind of stuff should you list?
• Channels: social media accounts, email newsleQers, (temporary)
microsites, blogs, in-product no[fica[ons
• Content types: tweets, posts, PDFs, how-to videos, press releases
• Technology: CMS, DAM, tools, media hos[ng plakorms
• Workflows and processes: content produc[on, project intake, editorial,
reviews, opera[onal mee[ngs
• Standards and policies: style guides, content strategy statements,
organiza[onal vision and mission statements, security and privacy
policies
• Products, brands, and services
https://www.braintraffic.com/blog/what-to-include-in-a-content-ecosystem-map

Most importantly: PEOPLE
• Roles: typically internal posi[ons and responsibili[es
• Teams: groups of people with similar interests (e.g. formal teams by
department, or groups like “execu[ve stakeholders” or “faculty
members”)
• Audiences: groups of people—internal or external—who are
interested in a par[cular topic or channel
https://www.braintraffic.com/blog/what-to-include-in-a-content-ecosystem-map

“How you think about and categorize your audiences
can be extremely revealing. As a content strategist, I
prefer the lens of audience as opposed to,
say, customer or persona or market …
Thinking about the audiences for your channels
discretely from the customers for your products tends
to be a more truthful map of your content reality.
– Scott Kubie,
What to Include in a Content Ecosystem Map

Holy crap, now what are we supposed to do?

This map is an ongoing tool for reference, analysis, and planning.
• Get alignment. Use your map as a tool to agree on what to call things, who owns
what, and where there’s ambiguity.
• Brainstorm what’s next. Use your map to inspire a collec[ve brain dump about where
challenges and opportuni[es lie.
• Reinforce reality. Use your map in mee[ngs to remind people of what truly exists (and
how complicated things have become).
• Model upcoming changes. Make a copy and start moving parts and pieces around to
demonstrate where you want to be.

New CS.com look/feel/purpose
New show art/music
New show intro/outro
Unique Twitter cards for each episode
Get podcast on new podcast catchers (Spotify, Pandora, etc.)
Add resources to older episodes
Add tagging structure to episodes
Collect podcast testimonials and add to site
Sound-proof recording room (Scott)
Turn existing community content on site into a BT blog post
Look in to Overcast for promotion
Research options to optimize show ranking
New BT services/workshops
Add KH/SK bios
Add KH/MC/SK books
Add tags/categories and/or IA structure to blog
Beef up blog author tag pages with bios/links
Update quotes on home page
Update photos
Incorporate mailing list CTA throughout site
Incorporate Google conversion tracking in new workshop registration
system
Begin tracking/optimizing conversions
Begin quarterly editorial review meetings
Update marketing calendar with evergreen content (Twitter/LinkedIn)
Segment mailing lists
Workshop promos
BT services
Begin publishing older blogs as posts on LinkedIn
Optimize LinkedIn posts (custom URLs, CTAs)
Research CRM/marketing automation options
Re-optimize top ranking blog posts (for snippets, questions, images,
etc.)
Repackage/repurpose existing content (ecosystem mapping, Confab
talks, podcast transcripts, etc.)
Quarterly webinars
Annual eBook/report
Develop reusable project plan with year-round milestones
Create reusable content inventory for site copy
Incorporate Google conversion tracking in new Confab registration
system
Begin tracking/optimizing conversions
Update sponsorships page with testimonials
Sponsor video – testimonials/logistics
Attendee videos (what’s Confab like, convince your boss, etc.)
Backfill old Confab events into new past events page format
Review Newfangled lead gen resources
Research CRM/marketing automation options
Test LinkedIn advertising
Accessibility/usability health checks on all sites (Scott)
Documented BT/Confab style guides
Clean up/organize Gather tickets
Make a media mentions list for KH/SK
Integrated marketing calendar
Build email lists / rethink lead generation
BT mailing list (Mailchimp)
Confab mailing list (Mailchimp)
Confab attendees (Swoogo)
Workshop attendees (Swoogo)
Client leads
Workshop leads
Research behavioral tracking for websites

It is time to conquer the content chaos.

Meaningful change requires boring analysis.
STEP 1: Categorize challenges and opportuni[es.
STEP 2: Document dependencies.
STEP 3: Priori[ze ac[vi[es.
STEP 4: Set milestones and build your plan.

Importance Very high High Important to some Moderate to low
Time Needed A lot Some Not much Unknown
Cost Expensive Mid-range Cheap Unknown
Feasibility Probably will work 50/50 chance Probably won’t work
Uncertain
Desirability Highly desirable Worth a try Undesirable Unknown
Urgency High Medium Low Unknown
Viability High growth poten[al Can sustain Likely temporary Unknown
SensiEvity Explosive Can work with Neutral Unkown
Step #1: Categorize challenges and opportuni[es
A Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision-Making, Sam Kaner et al

THING TO FIX WHAT WE HAVE WHAT WE’D NEED NOTES
Blog post metadata
• Content inventory with
metadata
• New templates
• Keyword plan
• 80 writing hours
• Keyword plan not due
until Q2
• Move around $ for writer
Analy[cs reports • ALL THE DATA
• 3rd party input on
meaningful metrics
• This is going to upset
some folks, need to
socialize first
Rogue social media
channels
• Content ecosystem map • Identify channel owners
• Need point-of-contact to
manage missing passwords
etc.
Podcast • A terrible boring host • A new host
• What happens if we just
shut this down for now?
Step #2: Document Dependencies

IDEA TO TRY WHAT WE HAVE WHAT WE’D NEED NOTES
Webinars
• Past conference talks
• Workshop material
• Technology platform
• Producer
• Registration system
• Several customer
requests in Q2
• Proposed budget due x/
xx
Repurpose old posts
• Analytics on popular
posts
• Editorial services to
refresh
• Full audit of old posts by
topic, author, timeliness
• New artwork
• Need outside resource to
complete audit
LinkedIn publishing • Four motivated authors
• Editorial calendar and
alignment
• Need to clarify
ownership and
accountability of process
Podcast
• A lot of really interesting
friends and contacts
• Sponsorship packages
• Podcast setup
• Need documented POV
prior to moving forward
with discussion
Step #2: Document Dependencies

75
Non-negotiable Nice to have Someday maybe
Step #3: Priori[ze

EVALUATION RESEARCH ALIGNMENT DELIVERABLES MILESTONES
• Is it working?
• What needs to
improve?
• What questions
do we need to
answer to
succeed?
• Who do we need
to talk to?
• What methods
will we use to
answer our
questions?
• How will we
present our
findings?
• How will we
share out our
findings?
• Who needs to
be on board?
• Who will be
our ongoing
champion?
• How will we
keep people
informed?
• What artifacts
do we need to
help make and
document
decisions?
• What tools will
we use to create
or manage these
artifacts?
• Who will own
and keep these
artifacts
updated?
• What dates are
we targeting for
launch, change,
or completion?
• What happens if
we miss this
milestone?
• What happens
after we reach
it?
• Who is
authorized to
move or change
this milestone?

What goes on your roadmap?
• Key iniEaEves: What do you want to launch, change, or complete?
• Milestones: What events will mark your progress?
• AcEviEes and arEfacts: What do people need to do, make, and
decide to move things along?
• Dependencies: What needs to happen in what order—or what needs
to be acquired—in order for you to succeed?
• Ownership: Who is responsible for required ac[vi[es and outcomes
in your ini[a[ve?

Data
Inspiration
Explanation
Trying harder

Don't just build the case for
content marketing.
Build the case to do it RIGHT.

Before we part…
I couldn’t find another
place for this amazing
photo so here it is.

“
As a discipline, content strategy is new; it’s only become a
focal point inside most enterprise orgs over the last few years.
It’s also been made to seem incredibly complicated.
Go to most analyst conferences, and you’re inundated with
content strategy frameworks that feature 30 different boxes
and arrows, and it all threatens to induce a mild panic attack.
Most teams just give up and say, “Screw it. Let’s just post some
stuff to our blog and social channels and see what happens.”
It’s the biggest problem most content marketing teams face.
And it’s killing the industry.
https://contently.com/2019/07/19/content-strategy-video-course-youve-been-waiting-for/

Content marketing isn’t dying.

Let's discuss
principles.
I'll schedule a series of
working sessions for
ecosystem mapping.
Do a content audit
I’ll let key stakeholders
know we’re starting this
process.
I’ll compile a list of
everything we’ve talked about
doing for months.
AH’M READY!

Thanks, y’all!
Twitter: @havorson
Newsletter: BrainTraffic.com/mailing-list
Workshops: BrainTraffic.com/workshops
• Seattle - November 12
• Atlanta - February 4
• Philadelphia - March 3
Conference: ConfabEvents.com - May 2020

How to Conquer Content Chaos

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