Content: a coming of age story

Content : A coming of age story

So what is content?

it’s the stuff inside the boxit’s the stuff under the wrapperit’s the stuff that we organise, design and build for

“You’re the wordsmith right..”

Someone who can answer questions like:

• Is there a better word for this?• Can you write me a little blurb to fit in this box?• Does the full-stop go inside or outside the quote mark?

‘Learn more’ ‘Go next’

Digital Content

Thinking of words

So what types of content are there?

Info-gfx

Copy

Video

Illustration

Photography

Audio

Info-gfx

Copy

Video

Illustration

Photography

Audio

Content isn’t new for Heyday

In fact, we’ve been working with content since the early 1970’s

Remember Henry Smiles..

Down to the Wire

Copywriting, video production

Video production

IB copy

Content strategy, copywriting,video production

Content strategy, copywriting, photography, wife replacement

Copywriting, social, audio

- Dedicated content project- Speed & Service video production, copywriting

and ‘we’ = all of us

Every time we ask ourselves ‘what shall I illustrate?’ or ‘which photo should I use?’

that’s content

Every time we ask ourselves ‘what shall I put in that title tag?’, or ‘how should I describe that CMS field’?

that’s content

And for the years we’ve been making data models. It’s easy to forget that the data, well...

that’s content

Every time we tackle a video project....

that’s content

Every time we do a content audit,

just jokes. that’s content

but it hasn’t always been that way

digital was a bit slow to the ballgame

Content tended to be thought of as the word doc the client sent you 2 days before golive

C.D.S became an epidemic

“The website is all designed and built, we just need to slap

in some content...

but that wasn’t the only absurd trend

People keep creating content the same old way

they always have - big WYSIWYG blobs

Blurrggghhhh

WYSIWYG

WYSIWTF

so maybe it needs a little more thought...

As a result, content now plays a key role in the strategic, creative and delivery phases of a project

which means we now get to:

* help clients understand it * think about it

* plan for it* conceptualise it

* write it* shoot it* make it

* manage it

so if it isn’t new, why do we need a content team?

(But there are also some more specialised parts of the discipline that we haven’t been doing...)

Plus, content roles are becoming the norm

As a discipline, it’s rapidly growing, evolving, morphing.

So how do the disciplines play?

Content and development collaboration is probably the least grey. Opportunities to work together include :

• SEO• CMS (selection, admin interface, governance)• Responsive content• Data modeling (which data)• Content delivery

a famous man once said ‘design is content is design’

Content is often expressed visually (photography, video), which is why there’s a natural link to design

Design is predominantly focused on the style, and how it supports the subject matter or brings it to life:

* What is the visual tone / mood?* What is the aesthetic? How does it work with client V.I?* What is appropriate stylistically?* How might the content work with other visual elements on the page, site, app, etc

Content is predominantly focused on substance and structure..

* What is the theme / message?* Where is the substance / meaning?* What is the narrative. Where does the story start, how does it move?* What is the tone, language of the content?* How does it work with other content on the page, app, site, etc ?* How does it work with/complement strategy (business/digital)?

the key is neither works without the other, which is why :

Substance StyleAwesome

and access to and delivery of content is just as important :

Design &UX

Content

Dev

Win

there’s crossover with UX too

[Sic]

s p a t i a lt e m p o r a l

u s e r

CONTENTUX

c o n t e x t

content audits + content schedules = content/UX 2gthr4vr

‘Overlap’ is the point.

So how do we organise our content offering?

We’ve chunked our content offering into 4 parts:

Strategy Governance Production Marketing

What is Content Strategy?

Content strategy plans for the creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content.

What is Content Strategy?

it’s asking and answering these questions :

• what sort of content is appropriate? • where do we get it from? • how much do we need? • how is it structured or prioritised?• how is it displayed?• how will we measure its success?

What is Content Strategy?

It’s the difference between :

‘we need some content’

and

‘what sort of content do we need’

What is Content Governance?

Content Governance is about planning. It’s about establishing process, rules, tools, people and anything else that helps the client manage content over time

It’s the piece of the content puzzle that often gets neglected.....until after a digital property has been launched and the content falls to pieces

It’s as much to do with the people as the process that need to be completed...

What is Content Production?

Making it!

What is Content Marketing?

It’s paid and/or organic methods of getting your content out there and helping (the right) people get to your content

What is Content Marketing?

It includes :

• SEO• SEM• Social• Email Marketing• Affiliate Marketing

Content : A coming of age story

and how does it fit in our process?

in the “good” old days process looked like this:

Publish it to the Publish it to the interwebsinterwebs

Draw a Draw a homepage, with homepage, with

some boxessome boxes

Build the pages Build the pages and some boxesand some boxes

Slap some words Slap some words into the boxesinto the boxes

Think about Think about boxesboxes

Draw some other Draw some other pages, and some pages, and some

more boxesmore boxes

oh and not this:

But these days our process has changed. And a ‘concept’ is a digital idea that is established on

the back of strategic insight, business intent and user needs.

So our process is starting to look a little more like this :

Strategy Concept Delivery

SMT

Producer

Concept Team

Producer

Strategy

Guide Full Project Team

Producer

Critters

Made up of design, UX, development and content peeps

Critters

Mr Designer Man Ms Developer Lady

Content Team

So what does a content person do?

Ultimately we help to plan for, curate,

create, amplify and manage digital

content over time.@MichaelEnokA

Content

and help us to be a company of :

let’s finish with a quote from someone who knew some stuff

“Im defo into this content buzz”

“The best people are the ones that understand content. They’re a pain in the butt to manage,

but you put up with it because they are so good”

WINWINWIN

Thanks