Tight Budget? Don’t Skimp on Content Strategy

Your online presence is complicated – and so is the web content that defines that presence. When you cut corners on your content, the end costs may be higher than you think. Here’s how to change things.

Think about all the places your brand exists online. Website. Facebook. Twitter. Blogs. YouTube. Flickr. No matter who you are or what you do, chances are this list is getting long. Now think about all the content – from meaty website copy down to 140-character tweets – that fills and defines those online presences.

What’s all that stuff saying? Even more important, what’s it doing for your business? That’s the role of content strategy. And right now, you need it more than ever.

Really? I Need it Now?

Yeah, really. Your web presence is probably pretty complicated these days, which makes keeping track of your online content – not just what you have, but also its message, quality and relevance to your goals – is, too. Add in tight budgets and economic pressures, and you’re probably thinking, “There’s no way I can afford to even consider my content strategy right now.”

Sure, letting your content run amok seems cheap. Problem is, it’s going to cost you a lot more than you might think – and give you a lot more headaches down the line. Because when you neglect your web content, you don’t just end up with a mess (though trust me, you will end up with a mess), you also end up wasting time and resources (like, ahem, that oh-so-precious budget) developing content you don’t need.

Have a big website redesign on the horizon? Sales director suggesting a “series of how-to articles”? PR wanting weekly online press releases to “get the word out”? CEO demanding to see a flash intro that looks better than the other guy’s? It’s times like these when we tend to drop everything and crank out new content without thinking about its quality or cost – or your organization’s ability to keep it up to date.

That’s why you see “weekly features” disappear just two months in, or stumble on abandoned YouTube channels featuring one or two never-quite-went-viral videos. It’s also why you see one PR person spending an hour writing a Facebook update with the same information your other PR person just wrote a blog about – and having them tell two different stories.

Wasted time. Wasted resources. And what do you have to show for it? A bunch of stuff that just doesn’t quite add up. Is that how you wanted to spend your budget?

So How Do I Fix It?

You need a content strategy. The bad news is, they don’t come in a box. You can’t download one from iTunes. Instead, you need to roll up your sleeves and stick your hands right down into that big mess that’s clogging up your brand. 

The good news is, you’ve got help. Here are six ways to start:

1. Buy this book: Content Strategy for the Web, by Kristina Halvorson. Hot off the presses, this realistic and useful guide to planning, creating, delivering and managing content is probably the best $25 you can spend on your content. Now read it, too.
2. Stop, drop and audit. Before you spend time and money on creating new content, invest in assessing what you already have – and whether what’s planned truly doesn’t already exist. Even if you can’t do a large-scale audit all at once, even a few hours devoted to assessing existing assets and project goals is time well spent.
3. Have a plan. What are you trying to accomplish with your website content? With your business at large? What’s your content universe look like? Who owns the content? Who edits it, updates it and organizes it? If you don’t know how to answer these questions, you’re not ready to invest in things like hiring a copywriter or developing a new video.
4. Ask “Why?” Just because something is popular or looks cool (see my friend Joseph’s post on the overuse of flash for a great example) doesn’t mean it supports your business goals or is useful for users. Flash intros cost money. Twitter accounts take a daily commitment. If you haven’t asked why you need these things – and what they’ll accomplish – you’re probably throwing money into the content pit.  
5. Consider quality. If you don’t have (or can’t find) the time, resources, knowledge and editing chops to do it right, don’t do it. Period.
6. Give someone the keys. Your content needs an owner – a person empowered to think about and improve your content over the long term. Ideally, this would be a dedicated position held by a person with strategic skills, as well as expertise in communication, writing and editing, organizing information and managing projects. But it doesn’t have to be. More realistically, look for a person with lots of communication skills and a penchant for big-picture thinking who can devote a portion of her time – even a few hours a week – to content strategy.

If this feels like a lot to do – more than you can accomplish right now – it’s OK; taking control of content run amok can be overwhelming. Just dedicate yourself to making progress, however slow you need to move.

Need some help getting started? Let us know and we’ll give you a hand.

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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