Words, Words Everywhere and Not a Content Strategy

Content strategy. It just doesn’t sound sexy, does it?

It’s not. At least, most of the web content you see out there isn’t. Instead, in the words of Kristina Halvorson – the genius behind Minneapolis-based Brain Traffic – content is messy. It’s complicated. It’s time-consuming. And it’s not going to win you the oohs and ahhs that unveiling a stunning visual design will.

Sexy or not, content matters. And that’s why I went to see Kristina speak today at An Event Apart Seattle, a conference from A List Apart. Because in the world of web design and development, content is usually considered an afterthought – if it’s considered at all. And that’s causing serious problems for, well, anyone with an interest in the interwebs (that means you).

What is Content Strategy – and While We’re at it, What’s Content?

Your web content is exactly that: all the content on your website, as well as on outposts like Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc. It’s your copy – whether that’s promotional messaging on a “buy now” button or information about your company or a sea of downloadable white papers or a series of informational articles. It’s all content.

But that’s not all. Content doesn’t have to be copy – it can also be diagrams, visuals, videos, podcasts. It’s metadata. It’s press release archives.

It’s a lot of stuff.

That’s why it’s messy, complicated and – frequently – overwhelming. Which is where content strategy comes into play. In short, content strategy is the process of planning for website content that’s useful, relevant and usable – as well as developing a process and tempo for developing that content and keeping it up to date. It’s a lot of other things, too, but let’s be honest: Kristina really says them better, so if you’re curious, check out some of her presentations on SlideShare.

At Off Madison Ave, we’ve been working to incorporate web content strategy into all our clients’ website projects for some time now, but it’s not easy. After all, it’s not a discipline many people have heard about yet – and who wants to invest time and resources into something new, especially something so…unsexy?

It’s time to change that.

You Need Content Strategy. For Reals.

Creating web content has never been easier. And that’s great for a lot of reasons (like giving consumers direct access to corporations, or spreading news quickly, or a lot of other things I won’t go into here). But what it’s not great for is ensuring the content we have on our websites is any good. Or that it serves a purpose.

But think of it this way: Your site has a goal (or several). You’re selling a product, encouraging donations, driving leads, informing the public, whatever. Have you ever stopped to think about whether the words on the page actually serve that goal? And if they could be doing a better job? And if they fit with the design? And if they form a cohesive message? And if they make sense when you move from one page to the next? And who’s going to update it? And why? And when? And how you’ll know if you’re successful?

It’s a lot to ponder. Which means it’s rarely pondered, and instead we build sites without the answers to these questions. When it comes to content, we say “oh, the client’s taking care of that,” or “we’ll just Greek it in for now and figure it out later.”

If you want your web content to work for you – not against you – there is no later. You need to deal with it right now. Otherwise, all the beautiful design and clever marketing plans can’t help you, because your visitors won’t know what to do when they get to your site.

Content strategy is also essential for the long term. Your site will morph and change, and if you don’t have a plan that allows you to keep your content top-notch as changes occur, you’ll find that beautiful little gem of a site has become a hideous Frankenstein faster than I can write a tweet about what I ate for dinner. You don’t want that. I don’t want that. And most importantly, your users certainly don’t want that.

You have the power to fix it, but it’s an investment. It takes nurturing. And it probably takes some help.

It’ll be so worth it, I promise.

About the Author: Sara Wachter-Boettcher

As Off Madison Ave's content strategy lead, Sara helps clients plan, create and maintain compelling online content. She leads the content team on all web writing, SEO and editorial efforts, and works closely with web development, information architecture and design to develop engaging, content-focused user experiences. Sara graduated from the University of Oregon with a bachelor's degree in journalism and German, a mouth like a sailor, and a penchant for ridiculous self-descriptions.

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