Let’s check with the experts, shall we? According to Kristina Halverson at Brain Traffic, you can choose from any of three definitions of content strategy:
- Content strategy guides the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content.
- Content strategy means getting the right content, to the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
- Content strategy is an integrated set of user-centered, goal-driven choices about content throughout its lifecycle.
Have I lost you yet? That sounds a little like corporate BS, and a lot like something unobtainable for a small business without a massive marketing budget and a dedicated website team. If you’re out there in your field giving new life to the word “scrappy,” content governance is definitely the last thing on your mind. But if you’re just thinking of your website as that thing you have to deal with at the end of a long day doing your real job, you’re missing vital opportunities to: reach your customers, establish yourself as a force to be reckoned with in your industry, and truly put your website to work for your business.
So, what does content strategy look like in the real world? Let’s decode some jargon.
“…the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content.”
With this definition, we’re implementing strategy when it comes to: (1) making the content, (2) putting it out there for people to see, and (3) making decisions about that content on a regular basis. What strategic content looks like will be different for everyone, but useful and usable are great places to start (and they are different things).
- Useful means it’s the content your users want and/or need. What do you wish your customers knew before they contact you or make a purchase? Why isn’t that already on your website? (Maybe it’s because it changes frequently, or you don’t know how to say it, or you just didn’t think of it when you were designing your site.)
- Usable means that the content functions well enough for it to be useful. How does your website look when someone visits it on their phone? Can someone get all the information from your site if they’re using a screen reader, or other assistive technology? (Depending on your type of business, you could get sued if the answer to that question is no.)
“…the right content, to the right people, in the right place, at the right time.”
Based on the previous definition, I think you can see where we’re going here. Again, what this looks like will be different for everyone — but it’s important for you to have answers for the who, what, when, and where of your content.
“…an integrated set of user-centered, goal-driven choices about content throughout its lifecycle.”
The core elements of good content are your users and your business goals. Content strategy is about putting those considerations front and center all the time, not just when you’re first designing your website. It’s integrated into the rest of your business strategy, and it’s continuous.
Content Unity 