Psst... Have you got your content strategy?

Content is a chore we all shy away from, passing on responsibility, putting it off till the absolute last minute or just pretending it doesn't exist all together. User Generated Content offered a glimmer of hope of websites filled with new, exciting, regularly updated content that would manage itself. But is it all it's cracked up to be? Well no, not really. The web is littered with websites (some stunningly beautiful) which lie neglected by their owners and disused by their audience or community.

Tada! Our saviour, the Content Strategy...

A Content Strategy has longevity as it plans towards the future.
It asks those important questions:

• What content the audience really needs and why?
• How will people use the content once they find it?
• How does the content meet audience needs and business requirements?
• Where is this all going?

Establishes the following:

• Existing content, and how can it be better?
• Voice and brand definition
• Ownership
• Relationships between content

Drives:

• Quality of content and usefulness
• Concise, clear and coherent information
• Presentation of content
• Content requirements for a tailored CMS

Plans long-term:

• Content production and sourcing
• Metadata/tagging of content
• Rules and responsibilities for maintenance, migration and how to keep momentum
• Auditing & evaluation schedules to assesses successes and failures

A Content Strategy is more than a document. It's an ever changing focus on what really matters - designing a useful, effortless and rewarding experience for your audience leading to increased use, popularity, conversion and brand identity.