Content, I'll make no bones about it as a Digital Marketeer should be filling almost all of your thinking right now. Content just like the sites they live on are exactly that; living, evolving things.When good Digiteers know they need to improve the quality of the content of their websites, some (not all) follow a process which is laid out in the graph below, created by Rahel Bailie
Strategists figure out what kind of content they're dealing with.
Ask questions about content, right from the start. If you're any kind of good Marketeer you should be looking at all of your user research, you know those personas you worked so hard to create, are they gathering dust? If so get your act together, get them revalidated and USE THEM. This will aid your decisions regarding what content is needed, and if you only ever ask yourself one question regarding the content please let it be, “who cares?”
I'd strongly recommend carrying out carrying out a content audit, and a gap analysis. Identify the key communities across your digital eco-verse look for the commonalities across your website’s content.
Now get down to work, write a plan for creating and commissioning content. Insist that the client (internal or external) plans for content production over time, often the best way to achieve this is to work collaboratively and get an understanding of their personal and commercial objectives. Produce and an editorial calendar I IMPLORE YOU.
- To aid the non-Marketeers (everyone but us) in this space, create annotated wireframes and sitemaps to explain how both interaction and content will work.I promise the effort in producing these will ensure so much time saved as you see 'light bulbs' illuminating above people's heads.
- Be demanding about your CMS features like content modules, metadata, and workflows based on the content strategy.
- and write, write, write, and write some more. The aggregate your killer content.
After we've published content, it’s time to look back, see what worked, and plan for the future. One of the best ways I've found is to write comprehensive copy decks, base them on common templates as you'll be sharing a visual language your "client" is already accustomed to. I've recently come to the belief that for SEO to be truly effective you need to ensure there is a written and published 'style guide' for tone of voice, what is your linking policy (don't buy links please) and ensure you have comprehensive community policies in place fort the content you will be delivering across social platforms.
Imagine a world where content is beautiful. It’s clear, consistent, useful, and usable. You know where it lives and exactly what it says. Your users are delighted. Your business reaps the benefits. Your process is efficient. And you're happy.