Deconstructing the Content Matrix for Content Strategy Applied 2014

THE CONTENT MATRIX:
DECONSTRUCTED
Marlowe Sarah Beckley
Content Strategy Applied 2014

Marlowe Sarah Beckley
 Manager, Content Strategy at SapientNitro
 8 years in Content Strategy
 5 years tech/web/print publishing
 Specialize in hospitality, financial services,
online applications, content matrix development
 Previous clients include Fortune 50 financial services
firms and some of the world’s largest companies.
 @marlowebeckley
The Content Matrix: Deconstructed | CSA2014 3

SapientNitro
12,000
PASSIONATE
PEOPLE
30+
OFFICES
GLOBALLY
CONNECTED
24
YEARS OF
CUSTOMER
INNOVATION
1
COMPANY
2013 AGENCY REPORT:
# 1 Largest Digital Agency, US
# 4 Largest Digital Agency, Worldwide
# 2 Largest Agency Mobile Marketing, US
LEADER:
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Global
Digital Marketing Agencies
Forrester Wave™:
Global Commerce Service Providers
US Digital Agencies – Mobile Marketing

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN TODAY
 A repeatable methodology to create powerful matrices to
help you and your stakeholders make better business
decisions around content
 Methods for automating/accelerating Excel
What we’re not going to cover:
 How to turn a matrix into C-suite consumables

THE BREAKDOWN
 The What/Why/When of Matrices
 A Matrix Methodology
 Matrix Challenges & Solutions
 Summary
 Resources

THE WHAT/WHY/WHEN OF
MATRICES

9
WHAT IS CONTENT?
 Any recorded information. - Kevin Nichols
 Human-consumable, contextualized data—aka the stuff
between the tags. - Rahel Bailie
 Not limited to one purpose, technology or output.
Intelligent content is structurally rich and semantically
aware, and is therefore discoverable, reusable,
reconfigurable and adaptable. - Ann Rockley
 All content is marketing content. - Bailie and Urbina
9

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CONTENT MATRIX?
 It is what we make it
ECM matrix used with permission from Wordimage.com

WHY DO I NEED A CONTENT MATRIX?
 The future
of content is
intelligent
content.
The Keymaker from The Matrix Reloaded.

WHEN DO YOU USE A CONTENT MATRIX?
 Any time you need to understand your content
 Structure unstructured content
 Whenever you need a:
 Content inventory
 Audit/assessment
 Gap analysis
 Migration plan
 Content development tracking
 Capture any data about content
 Identify content goals/audiences/priorities

BY PROJECT PHASE
 Discovery: Inventory, audit, gap analysis
 Design: Site map, content model
 Develop: Page templates, tracking
 Deploy: Migration plans
 Govern: Metadata, taxonomy

WHEN DON’T YOU USE A CONTENT
MATRIX?
 Your CMS can produce all the reports you need
 Your company uses automated inventory tools
 But you may still be validating both of those, which were
probably exported into Excel

CONTENT MATRIX METHODOLOGY
 Discover: Determine inputs and stakeholders
 Design: Organize inputs and format
 Develop: Add content, metadata, analytics, etc.
 Deliver: Share out with teams
 Govern: Update and maintain
Discover Design Develop Deliver Govern

A MATRIX METHODOLOGY: DISCOVER
 Before you build:
 Matrix audience(s): content owners, SMEs, legal,
developers
 Matrix goals: audit, gap, migration, content dev. Tracking
 Client needs: offshore developers, reviewers, legal
approval, external compliance

A MATRIX METHODOLOGY: DESIGN
 Determine matrix requirements:
 Outputs: audit findings, site map, charts, gap analysis,
keyword tracking, etc.
 Required fields: page name, url, content type, reviewer,
template
 Plan for the handoff; consider the entire project
lifecycle’s needs
 Can one matrix rule them all?

SAMPLE MATRIX INPUTS
 Content
 Text, images, whole Word docs
 Metadata
 Structural, admin, descriptive, 508(c)
 Reviewers
 Legal, lines of business SMEs
 Status
 With business, with legal
 Ratings
 Brand, accessible, tagged
 Audience/Goals/Persona

A MATRIX METHODOLOGY: DEVELOP
 Add the content (if applicable)
 Add key info about content
 Add bells and whistles:
 What can you automate or accelerate?
 Create filters, formulas, macros, and/or pivot tables
 Test your design: is it client proof?
 Format for ease of use and readability
 Assign numerical values to content when appropriate

ACCELERATOR: FILTERS
 Sort matrix on one or more fields
 Find content (values)
 Slight overlap with value formulas
 Turns spreadsheet into a table on a Mac
 Not good for cross Mac-PC files
 Excel, Data, Filter
 Searches in a Filtered sheet won’t search hidden content
 Limited: Can only filter by one value at a time

ACCELERATOR: VALUE FORMULAS
 Excel formula that references textual cell content
 “Data mine” content
 Gather quantitative data
 Search and sum keywords, content types,
templates, etc.
 Aggregate values for audit/gap analysis
 Use Conditional Formatting formulas to highlight key
content

ACCELERATOR: MACROS
 Automates repetitive tasks, including formatting
 Reduces time to create inventories or parse large
spreadsheets
 Don’t need to code to create macros
 Easier to create than you think
 Tip: Tools> Macro> Security: set it to medium or low or
macros may be blocked from running

ACCELERATOR: PIVOT TABLES
 Create “sub” matrix from original with a subset of the
content/data
 Great for special audiences and audits
 Gather detailed stats quickly
 E.g., How many pages in each category use a particular
template?

WHEN TO USE PIVOT vs. MACRO
Pivot tables summarize and highlight values
 How many instances of “purple” appear in Section 5?
 Identify all uses of the brand name in the red template
 Custom filters can duplicate some pivot table functions
Macros automate actions
 Hide and unhide rows or columns
 Add or remove formatting
 Copy and paste content

A MATRIX METHODOLOGY: DELIVER
(Socialize)
Share the matrix:
 Socialize, socialize, socialize
 Morph to accommodate different audiences
SEO Team Dev. Team
Content
Strategist
User
Experience
Design Team
CMS Admin

CHALLENGE: MAPPING CONTENT
 Auto quote content needs to map to Business
Requirements, Wireframes, and include Standard Path,
Alternate Path, plus Help copy
 Content in both wireframes and copy deck
 How do you map your content (in the matrix) to multiple
deliverables?

SOLUTION: COLOR CODE AND TRACK

CHALLENGE: MANUAL INVENTORY
 Non-profit needs a content inventory
 Small project (~500 pages)
 Or sample-size inventory of larger site
 What inputs do you need?
 Can you automate it? How?

SOLUTION: Inventory with macro
Inventory matrix used with permission from Jen O’Brien.

CHALLENGE: CONTENT AUDIT
 Large site with many SMEs
 Need to evaluate content for quality
 Client has politically sensitive content
 Can you quantify quality?
 What inputs do you need?

SOLUTION: QUANTIFIED RATINGS AUDIT
Ratings matrix used with permission from Robert Atkinson.

SOLUTION: PRIORITIZE CONTENT

CHALLENGE: MULTIPLE AUDIENCES
 Insurance company wants one matrix for the auto quote
authors, legal, developers, and marketing
 Different views needed across audiences
 Large volume of content
 How can you accommodate everyone without every
audience seeing all content?

SOLUTION: AUDIENCE MACRO
 More features than filters, but sometimes fragile
Macros matrix used with permission from Jeff Pfaller.

SOLUTION: MAP/MIMIC/CAPTURE

CHALLENGE: MULTIPLE VERSIONS
 National company’s product varies by state
due to legal requirements
 How do you track the content variances?
 Can you automate it?

SOLUTION: VARIATIONS MACRO

CHALLENGE: MATRIX-SHY REVIEWERS
 Company stakeholders refuse to review a “regular” matrix
 Many reviewers, little collaboration between them
 Client won’t consolidate review feedback
 How can you get good feedback and automate feedback
consolidation?

SOLUTION: “DYNAMIC PROTOTYPE” HACK
Comments matrix used with permission from Robert Atkinson.

CHALLENGE: THE DEVELOPER VERSION
 Bank is handing off content to offshore developers and it
must map to the page template
 Content editing and delivery must be in a matrix
 Copy has long and short content blocks
 Must map to other deliverables
 How do you deliver this content?

SOLUTION: GET GRANULAR
Bank Bank
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B
a
n
k
Ban
k
B
a
n
k
B
a
n
k
B
a
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Ban
k

SOLUTION: EMBED WORD FILES

DON’T LET IT CREATE THE MATRIX ALONE
Bank
Bank
Bank
Bank Bank

A MATRIX METHODOLOGY SUMMARY
 Discover: What is the goal of the document?
 Define: What are the inputs and who is audience?
 Design: Build in accelerators and automation
 Deliver: Socialize and iterate
 Govern: Update and maintain content

RESOURCES: AUTOMATED INVENTORY
 XML SiteMaps
 Snap Sitemap
 CAT Content Analysis Tool
 Website Auditor

RESOURCES: TEMPLATES
 KPN: www.kevinpnichols.com
 Intentional Design (Rahel Bailie)
 Web Content Strategist’s Bible (Richard Sheffield)

RESOURCES: EXCEL MASTERY
 Excel Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips and Tools by
David E. Hawley, O’Reilly
 Excel Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things
about Your Favorite Spreadsheet by Curtis Frye, O’Reilly
Publishers
 “Become Awesome in Excel”
 Count (value) formulas
 Learn VBA
 Excel macros video
 Filter intro; Custom filters
 Pivot tables video

Deconstructing the Content Matrix for Content Strategy Applied 2014

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