Content strategy
Encyclopedia
Content strategy has been growing as a practice within the industry of web development
since the late 1990s. It is recognized as a field in user experience
design but has also drawn interest from practitioners in adjacent communities such as content management
, business analysis
and technical communication.
process for a website development project."
In her 2007 article, "Content Strategy: The Philosophy of Data," Rachel Lovinger described the goal of content strategy as using "words and data to create unambiguous content that supports meaningful, interactive experiences."
Many organizations and individuals tend to confuse content strategists with editors. Yet, content strategy is "about more than just the written word," according to Washington State University assistant professor Brett Atwood. For example, Atwood indicates that a practitioner needs to also "consider how content might be re-distributed and/or re-purposed in other channels of delivery."
Further, content strategists should strive to achieve content that is readable and understandable, but also findable, actionable and shareable in all of its various forms.
The purpose of content strategy has also been described as achieving business goals by maximizing the impact of content.
It has also been proposed that the content strategist performs the role of a tastemaker
or curator. A museum curator sifts through the mass of content and identifies key pieces which can be juxtaposed against one another to create meaning and spur excitement. In her 2009 article, Erin Scime states that the content strategist as digital curator
, "approaches a business’s content as a medium that needs to be strategically selected and placed to engage the audience, convey a message, and inspire action."
For instance, some specialize in content analysis
, which roughly describes work with metadata, taxonomy, search engine optimization
, and the ways in which the sound application of these concepts supports content.
Others outline web editorial strategies, guidelines, and tools, which may extend to organizational change management
. This form of content strategy may be concerned with developing new forms of content, such as multimedia, or various “presence management” technologies like microblogging.
There is yet another stream of content strategy advancing information architecture
goals. In this case, content strategy may only involve writing site copy for new website pages and adapting the content on existing ones.
All content strategists are familiar with a wide range of applications and tools, and frequently are responsible for implementing and training individuals to best use them.
Web development
Web development is a broad term for the work involved in developing a web site for the Internet or an intranet . This can include web design, web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development...
since the late 1990s. It is recognized as a field in user experience
User experience
User experience is the way a person feels about using a product, system or service. User experience highlights the experiential, affective, meaningful and valuable aspects of human-computer interaction and product ownership, but it also includes a person’s perceptions of the practical aspects such...
design but has also drawn interest from practitioners in adjacent communities such as content management
Content management
Content management, or CM, is the set of processes and technologies that support the collection, managing, and publishing of information in any form or medium. In recent times this information is typically referred to as content or, to be precise, digital content...
, business analysis
Requirements analysis
Requirements analysis in systems engineering and software engineering, encompasses those tasks that go into determining the needs or conditions to meet for a new or altered product, taking account of the possibly conflicting requirements of the various stakeholders, such as beneficiaries or users...
and technical communication.
Definitions
Content strategy has been described as "the practice of planning the content creation, delivery, and governance" and "a repeatable system that defines the entire editorial content developmentContent development
Web content development is the process of researching, writing, gathering, organizing, and editing information for publication on web sites. Web site content may consist of prose, graphics, pictures, recordings, movies or other digital assets that could be distributed by a hypertext transfer...
process for a website development project."
In her 2007 article, "Content Strategy: The Philosophy of Data," Rachel Lovinger described the goal of content strategy as using "words and data to create unambiguous content that supports meaningful, interactive experiences."
Many organizations and individuals tend to confuse content strategists with editors. Yet, content strategy is "about more than just the written word," according to Washington State University assistant professor Brett Atwood. For example, Atwood indicates that a practitioner needs to also "consider how content might be re-distributed and/or re-purposed in other channels of delivery."
Further, content strategists should strive to achieve content that is readable and understandable, but also findable, actionable and shareable in all of its various forms.
The purpose of content strategy has also been described as achieving business goals by maximizing the impact of content.
It has also been proposed that the content strategist performs the role of a tastemaker
Tastemaker
Tastemaker is the debut EP of rapper Pittsburgh Slim, released by Def Jam Records on December 4, 2007.-Track listing:# "Pittsburgh Slim"# "Superstar Extraordinaire"# "My Flashy World"# "Girls Kiss Girls"# "Sunrays"# "Kiss and Tell"# "Toy"...
or curator. A museum curator sifts through the mass of content and identifies key pieces which can be juxtaposed against one another to create meaning and spur excitement. In her 2009 article, Erin Scime states that the content strategist as digital curator
Digital curation
Digital curation is the selection, preservation, maintenance, collection and archiving of digital assets.Digital curation is generally referred to the process of establishing and developing long term repositories of digital assets for current and future reference by researchers, scientists,...
, "approaches a business’s content as a medium that needs to be strategically selected and placed to engage the audience, convey a message, and inspire action."
Practitioners
An individual who practices content strategy as a discipline is referred to as a content strategist. The perspectives that content strategists bring to content depend strongly on their professional training and education.For instance, some specialize in content analysis
Content analysis
Content analysis or textual analysis is a methodology in the social sciences for studying the content of communication. Earl Babbie defines it as "the study of recorded human communications, such as books, websites, paintings and laws."According to Dr...
, which roughly describes work with metadata, taxonomy, search engine optimization
Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid search results...
, and the ways in which the sound application of these concepts supports content.
Others outline web editorial strategies, guidelines, and tools, which may extend to organizational change management
Change management
Change management is a structured approach to shifting/transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. It is an organizational process aimed at helping employees to accept and embrace changes in their current business environment....
. This form of content strategy may be concerned with developing new forms of content, such as multimedia, or various “presence management” technologies like microblogging.
There is yet another stream of content strategy advancing information architecture
Information Architecture
Information architecture is the art of expressing a model or concept of information used in activities that require explicit details of complex systems. Among these activities are library systems, Content Management Systems, web development, user interactions, database development, programming,...
goals. In this case, content strategy may only involve writing site copy for new website pages and adapting the content on existing ones.
All content strategists are familiar with a wide range of applications and tools, and frequently are responsible for implementing and training individuals to best use them.
Resources
- Content Strategy - topic page on Business Exchange, a BusinessWeekBusinessWeekBloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...
.com website - Content Strategy Google group - a public discussion forumInternet forumAn Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...