Content strategy for library websites

THE FUTURE IS CONTENT

CONTENT STRATEGY FOR LIBRARY WEBSITES

Hilary Marsh, Content Company LACONI workshop, September 20, 2013

INTRODUCTIONS NAME LIBRARY

DEPARTMENT

CONTENT STRATEGY CHALLENGES

•  No one can find anything on our website, and they’re complaining to the CEO

•  PracHcally everyone in our organizaHon publishes content online, and you’d almost never know it was from the same organizaHon

•  No one is in charge of the home page – or everyone is in charge of it

• We can’t add comments because we don’t know how to handle them

•  Our site isn’t accessible from mobile devices

•  Some of our best material is presented as PDFs, with Htles like “4002.pdf”

•  Our website is organized based on our org structure rather than on how our audience thinks about us or our content

•  “We should be on Instagram”

They’re about •  process •  ownership •  collaboraHon •  mutual understanding (or lack thereof)

BUSINESS CHALLENGES

•  Audience confusion

•  Lack of customer engagement

•  Higher customer service costs

•  Missed cross-‐selling opportuni:es

•  No awareness of the breadth and depth of what you offer – and that they need!

BUSINESS CONSEQUENCES

WHAT IS CONTENT STRATEGY?

WHAT IS CONTENT STRATEGY?

HOW I DEFINE CONTENT STRATEGY

WHO WHAT WHEN OF PUBLISHING WHERE CONTENT WHY HOW


A STRATEGIC STATEMENT TYING CONTENT (AND COMMUNICATION) TO BUSINESS


AND THE PEOPLE, PROCESSES, AND POWER TO EXECUTE THAT STATEMENT

LITERALLY, A STATEMENT

We will publish content that is •  Useful •  Aware of our audience and context •  Supports our mission, objecHves and brand •  Helps us deliver effecHve service to our

users

–Jefferson County Public Library

http://www.richardingram.co.uk

CONTENT

STRATEGIST AS

ORCHESTRA

CONDUCTOR

WHAT IS “CONTENT”? •  BOOK REVIEWS •  EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS •  PROGRAM INFORMATION •  BIOS •  INSTRUCTIONS •  MAP

EXERCISE

Source: http://xkcd.com/773

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

•  JARGON Has anyone ever said, “I want to search your resource database”?

•  AWARENESS

Does everyone in the community know what your library offers? What YOU offer?

•  PRIORITIZATION Are you highlighHng and promoHng the things your current and prospecHve visitors want?

CREATING AUDIENCE-FOCUSED CONTENT

PROCESS

USAGE AWARENESS VISITS

1. KNOW THE BUSINESS GOALS

FINDABLE USABLE USEFUL

2. KNOW THE CONTENT GOALS

PRIORITIZE CREATE

PERSONAS LIST

3. UNDERSTAND THE AUDIENCE

PRIORITIZE THESE:

CONSUMERS COMMUNITY OTHER

Adults Media Job-‐seekers

Teens OrganizaHons Library staff

Kids Volunteers Vendors

Parents Teachers

Senior ciHzens Small businesses

Underserved Book clubs

Students

PERSONAS

PERSONAS

USAGE ALIGNMENT

WITH VISION

4. ASSESS YOUR CONTENT BASED ON….

AGE

DELETE

ARCHIVE REWRITE

KEEP

CONTENT DECISIONS

Content audit

IA number Page Title URL

Keep, update, rewrite, archive, or delete? Content type Topic

Content owner

Date created

Last updated Audience

Access level?

# of visits in the last year Notes

Template available at http://www.hilarymarsh.com/content-audit-spreadsheet/

For help with an automated content inventory, visit http://www.content-insight.com/

CONTENT AUDIT

CONTENT AUDIT

WHO CAN PUBLISH

DIRECTLY?

WHO CAN SAY “NO”?

WHO WRITES WHAT?

WHO CAN POST ON

SOCIAL MEDIA? WORKFLOWS

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

5. GOVERNANCE

WORKFLOWS

http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/anniversary/how.things.work/index2.html

WORKFLOWS

VOICE AND TONE

TRAINING

EXAMPLES ONGOING

EDUCATION

EDITORIAL STYLE

6. ESTABLISH STANDARDS

WRITING

WRITING

•  Online, people skim and don’t read

•  Shorter is beder

•  Write for the ear – conversaHonal

•  AcHve voice

•  Avoid jargon

•  State the main points first (“inverted pyramid” style)

•  Break up long text with subheads and bullets

•  Readers’ quesHons are your subheads

•  Content goals are calls to acHon on the page

WRITING

KEY PAGES

NEWSLETTERS

FACEBOOK TWITTER

HOME PAGE

7. EDITORIAL CALENDAR

ETC.

LIFECYCLE

Review every page at least once a year (set by type or secHon)

Create

Review

Publish

Promote

Revisit

8. MEASURE & REVISE

ETC.

SOME METRICS ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, JULY 14 – AUGUST 13, 2013

Visits by device

Desktop

Tablet

Mobile

SOME METRICS PALATINE, JULY 27 – AUGUST 26, 2013

Most popular pages (unique visits)

Home page

Employment

Kids

Books, movies, music

Research

Events

LocaHons and hours

Summer reading

About us Digital media

TODAY

WHO’S DOING IT WELL?

http://www.nypl.org

http://www.bcls.lib.nj.us/

http://www.carnegielibrary.org/

http://www.ahml.info/

http://www.bensenville.lib.il.us/

WHO’S NOT?

http://www.dixie.lib.ms.us/

http://sheppardlibrary.org/home

http://www.co.davidson.nc.us/library/

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

“NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR ORG CHART” —LOU ROSENFELD

FIND A BOOK, EBOOK,

MUSIC OR VIDEO

CHECK OUT

UPCOMING EVENTS OR ACTIVITIES

DO SOME RESEARCH

OR HOMEWORK

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE

LIBRARY, OR CONTACT

LIBRARY STAFF

MANAGE MY ACCOUNT

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

SOURCE: http://1000libraries.net/

TOMORROW

PEOPLE STORIES

http://www.skokiestories.org

PEOPLE STORIES

http://libraryyou.escondido.org/

VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya7qVSWz01c

THANK YOU. Link to this presentation and lots of related resources: http://www.hilarymarsh.com/content-strategy-libraries/ [email protected] http://www.hilarymarsh.com @hilarymarsh 312-806-7854

Business

Content strategy for library websites