Beneath the
Surface
The image below is a quick snapshot of what content strategy
is comprised of. It’s a simple and easy-to-grasp visual which helps content
strategists stay on target with their message to their selected audience.
IBM’s graphic below is an effective summary of the elements
of a content strategy.
The easiest way to describe content strategy is:
Content strategy
plans for the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content.
It's inherently
impossible to design a great user experience for bad content. If you're
passionate about creating better user experiences, you can't help but care
about delivering useful, usable, engaging content. (Content
Strategy and UX: A Modern Love Story, by Kristina
Halvorson)
Honey Comb
“No matter how brilliant your designs, if the
content is bad, the honeycomb crumbles.” (The User
Experience Honeycomb - Peter
Morville, 2004)
Image 1: Square Card Reader
The image below is an effective use of content strategy
because it includes text, photo, video, personal interaction and links to
additional information. I saw a Square
card reader for the first time in November 2011 and thought it was a pretty cool invention. Because I saw it one year ago, when I recently viewed the image below, I knew
immediately what it was and how it worked. For someone who has never seen nor
heard of a Square card reader, upon seeing this image, I think it would pique their
interest because of the finger signature, something that is somewhat new and
intriguing. The video feature is a good UE (user experience) because the reader
doesn’t have to click on an “About” link, rather they can see an option on the main
screen to click to view a video demonstration immediately. It’s important to
grab the reader’s attention and make their query very quick and convenient.
“The Square website (left) explains its
service with visuals. What could be a confusing written description is handled
deftly by text, images, and video…. we often use the term visual content
strategy to emphasize that those visual content assets need strategy, too.”
“Visual Content Strategy, What It Is + Why You Need It” posted by Lisa Clark
The
facebook page for The Bowery Mission using the new facebook Timeline, provides an
eye catching display of what the organization is about. The organization’s logo
is prominently displayed which tells the viewer what the vision is. The four
boxes below the main picture display clear direction of what users can learn within seconds of a
click. This page covers three key aspects of content strategy: the information
is findable, usable and valuable.
The Pinning
feature within facebook allows you to give any Page story more attention by moving any page
story to the top of your facebook Page. When you pin something on your page, it
remains at the top of your timeline for seven days, or until you unpin it, so
it’s a good idea to think about what you want to feature at the top of your
page each week (shown below).
Image 3: Just a ‘busy’ image (to me)
In my research, I
found this image connected to a brief story regarding the aftermath of the
failed plot to blow up a Northwest airlines jet bound for Detroit. The finger-pointing
over what U.S. President Obama called a “systemic failure” centered on an
inability to connect the dots.
I think the image was used to show how complex the
investigation was, however, when I first saw the image, it didn’t entice me to
read the story. I find the image too ‘busy' because it doesn’t tell a story. To me, the image represents a weaker example of content strategy
as it’s not usable, useful or desirable. I have no idea what it relates to, and frankly if I don’t have
the time, I’m probably not going to stop and find out what this image is about
because I feel it’s going to take a few seconds longer than I’d like it to (you
can tell my short attention span has kicked in).
(A Failure to Collate, Michael
Barnwell, January 7, 2010)
I found the following top 10 reasons that content strategy
fails, which is a good check list for a content strategist in planning and maintaining
their, well, content strategy.
"The Content Marketing Blog, 10 Reasons Your Content Strategy is
Failing" by Matt Evans
1)
Nobody knows about it
2)
The wrong
people know about it
3)
Textbroker is your best friend
4)
Spelling and Grammar!!
5)
Your infographics are made in paint
6)
There are no images
7)
You’re completely off topic
8)
You’re making too much content
9)
You’re not making enough content
10)
You’re reading too much
Great post Erin! I particularly found "the top ten list on why your content strategy is failing" as compelling as the photos/images you selected - hmm, maybe words CAN work as well as pictures!
ReplyDeletevery good post. I enjoyed the variety of images you have up there, and the list sure helps
ReplyDeleteHiedeh
Great use and insight of real content strategies and thanks for the list. I agree about the third image. There's no way that image would intice me to click to read the story. It's all about eliminating text with images but images that tell a story without me having to read or search for more information.
ReplyDelete