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10 things I learned (or was reminded of) at Confab 2015
Highlights from Sarah Scalet
Americas Writing/Editing Lead, EY
@sscalet
Confab Central | Minneapolis | 18-20 May 2015
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1) We are not alone!
► 650+ writer/editor/designer/content strategists came
together for three days of learning and camaraderie
► Roughly half work for brands, and some are the only
content person at their organization
► I knew I was in the right place when someone mentioned
“PDF therapy sessions”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/confabevents/sets/72157653145988496
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
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1) We are not alone! – cont.
A disproportionate number of cat slides (this one from Facebook’s Jonathan Colman)
Grammar geeks united (this slide from Ahava Leibtag)
Acronym of the week: SLAP (speak like a person)
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
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2) You don’t need a huge budget to nail a conference theme and execute it well
► “Mission critical” theme
► Very “social”
► Secondary theme:
cake!!!
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
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2) You don’t need a huge budget to nail a conference theme and execute it well – cont.
► Example of how content strategists demonstrate that attending
an offsite event is quick, simple and fun. (They said the video
took maybe an hour to make.)
► https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9I5NMI-srk
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
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3) There are lots of definitions of “content strategist”
Ahava Leibtag from Aha Media Group
via Ronell Smith, RS
Consulting
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
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4) Content strategy can be applied to any problem
Example from Facebook’s Jonathon Colman
► Goal: Stop people from accessing nuclear waste
► Strategy: Create a message that lasts for 10,000+ years
► Objective 1: Must communicate “this is a message”
► Objective 2: Must communicate “this area is dangerous”
► Objective 3: Must communicate why
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
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5) Content should be for and about our audience – not ourselves
Noz Urbina, Urbina Consulting
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
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6) Treat stakeholder calls like interviews
“The question people ask first
is almost never what they need
to know.”
– Anne Haines, Indiana
University Bloomington
Libraries
Make good use of:
1) Closed questions
2) Open questions
3) Sense-making questions
(neutral) http://www.slideshare.net/annehaines/if-she-knew-what-she-
wants
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
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7) Dig deep & revise thoughtfully
“Let me take a look at
that and get back to
you.”
“Can you tell me
more about the
problem you’re trying
to solve?”
Gather all the
feedback before
you revise, and
stack rank
stakeholders
(secretly).
For key
decisions, track
who, when and
why.
Margo Stern, Google
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
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8) Thinking more about cost and value can help us make better content decisions
“Most content strategists don’t know how
to quantify their work and undersell it.”
– Laura Creekmore, self-employed consultant
► Research
► Ideation
► Creation
► Approvals/reviews
► Maintenance
► Cost per customer
► Cost if it’s gone
► Savings elsewhere
► Improved customer
relationship
Cost Value
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
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9) All of us can make a difference
“I don’t care what your
role is. You have ability to
impart change when it
comes to content.”
– Matthew Grocki, Grass
Fed Content
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
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10) It’s OK if there are lots of definitions of “content strategist” – just own your definition
“Not everybody likes content modeling, and not everybody has
to…. Broaden your knowledge, but narrow your passion.”
– Margot Bloomstein, Appropriate, Inc.
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
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Thank you − @sscalet
Confab: http://confabevents.com/
Twitter: #confabmn
Recaps:
http://confabevents.com/events/c
entral/recaps
Videos:
https://vimeo.com/confabevents/v
ideos
Highlights from Sarah Scalet about Confab 2015
