Web content that works
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The document provides guidance on content strategy and conducting content audits. It discusses developing a content strategy to create great user experiences. Key aspects include understanding user and business needs through discovery, creating a content framework and governance plan, and defining simple objectives and metrics. It also covers conducting competitive audits to learn best practices, differentiate content, and identify weaknesses. Content audits examine aspects like navigation, messaging, calls to action, and content types to evaluate performance and provide recommendations for improvement. The homework is to conduct a competitive audit or content audit for an organization and summarize findings and recommendations.
Web content that works
- 1. Web Copy That Works Create Your Brand-Driven Content Strategy
- 2. Frank Marquardt Director, Content Strategy, The Barbarian Group @tralition 20 yrs. exp. as a writer + editor A capable but unexceptional swimmer
- 3. The practice of planning how content will create awesome user experiences.
- 5. Simple Objectives Organizations Can Use It
- 6. Sample Deliverables by Project Phase Discovery Strategy Design Create Manage Stakeholders Content Content Copydeck Content Audit Findings Strategy Inventory Competitive Competitive Voice/Tone Workflow Audit Audit Messaging Governance Metrics Analysis Audit Content Framework Plan Data/Metrics Editorial Analysis Calendar
- 7. Course Objectives Know what you’re doing with content, good and bad Know what your competitors are doing with content Identify opportunities to improve your content by auditing it and by auditing your competitors
- 8. Discovery
- 10. Behaviors Analytics User surveys Focus groups User interviews Best practices Benchmarking
- 11. What’s the business objective? Examples Improve usability of checkout process Benchmark articles against professional publications Review and improve CTAs Identify 5 quick wins through improving content Assess cross-promotional opportunities across site Assess effectiveness of content in meeting user needs Redesign a site to make it responsive
- 12. What does the user need? Content that’s useful Content that’s understandable Content that’s credible, informative, unique Sharable content Clear communication about what you do, why you do it, why it matters, what they can do Simple, easy ways to accomplish their goals
- 14. Lots of uses Learn about the landscape Identify best practices Identify common patterns and approaches Differentiate your execution Assess against a set of criteria Identify weaknesses and strengths Validate recommendations
- 15. Learn about the landscape Clad’s magazine-style content on Clad lives in the Damn Good Advice section. JCrew’s editorial features—Jack Knows Best, The Always List, and Spotlight—offer tips, how-tos, and products for amping up your style.
- 16. Identify best practices Navigation is ambiguous. The term “Natural Learning” has no tangible correlation to specific types of information.
- 17. Identify best practices Navigation labels in category tend to be direct and obvious. Implication: Kashi’s navigation labels risk confusing users.
- 19. Assess against a set of criteria
- 20. Zoom Hot Spots Video Not available or very limited Not available or very limited Not available or very use use limited use Hot spots on small/medium Tutorial videos or 3rd- Limited or hard-to-use zoom image, no icons, or static party (e.g. Sell point) info overview pop-ups Zoom with some controls and Hero image w/expandable hot High-quality videos for satisfactory detail spots, detail info on hover flagship products Hero image w/expandable hot Full-screen, two-stage zoom, Quality (720p) videos for spots, detail w/visuals, info on with hover “loupe” wide product range hover World-class execution World-class execution World-class execution
- 21. Site Zoom Hot Spots Video LG Blackberry Motorola Apple ‣ Category insight: Best in-category sites deliver robust product detailing and in-situ visuals, including strong videos, that highlight smart phones’ social capabilities.
- 22. Motorola uses product photography and zoom to highlight the design and show off the details. Blackberry offers an extensive list of videos to help existing or new users understand exactly how things work. LG uses video to highlight, the fun, social experiences the product makes possible. Opportunities: Use video content to highlight emotional product qualities that make phones fun & social. Extend video content to detail how to do everyday activities.
- 24. Content Audits
- 25. Many things to audit Navigation Product copy Messaging Articles Consistency in language Calls to action (CTAs) SEO-optimization Homepage Content types
- 26. Navigation What does the Cereal Finder, Recyclebank, Tasty Fiber, the REAL Project or any of the other sections here have to do with “Events”? Risk: Navigation that doesn’t appropriately reflect the content can prevent users from finding it. Opportunity: Renaming the “Events” section so that it the label reflects the content with in it will let users know what they’re getting and why to click.
- 27. Messaging The primary block of text on the page tells what the organization does, but the message is passive. Risks: Bureaucratic-level impactzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Opportunities: Show impact through a startling infographic, provide a pathway for citizens looking to solve a problem, or use an active headline to encourage engagement. Objective: Drive engagement User Goal: Make info useful
- 28. CTAs Clear, single use of CTA delivers a defined, primary action for users come to the homepage promo. Multiple CTAs and lots of copy risks confusing users about what the site wants them to do. What is the Objective: Increase sign ups or donations primary communication objective? User Goal: Effective calls to action
- 29. Homepage What is priority of donation? Would integrating it as navigation increase conversion? Could a CTA like “See how we make a difference” to learn more help users navigate? HTML title tags lack metadata and keywords that could help drive SEO. Stronger titles that use keywords could increase clarity for intended audience and SEO on news items. Objective: Optimize the home page User Goal: Accomplish key tasks easily
- 30. Content types Sometimes the audit needs to identify how much of what type of content you have to inform future planning.
- 33. Homework Do a competitive audit and/or content audit for your organization. Define a set of criteria and objectives for your work up front. Look at how competitor sites do things. Look at how your site does it. Summarize findings and identify recommendations. We’ll talk about your work next week! Meanwhile, see you online.