Web Copy That WorksCreate Your Brand-Driven Content Strategy

Frank Marquardt

Director, Content Strategy, The Barbarian Group

@tralition

20 yrs. exp. as a writer + editor

A capable but unexceptional swimmer

The practice of planning how content will create awesome user experiences.

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Discovery

Stakeholders Findings

Competitive Audit

Audit Content

Data/Metrics Analysis

Design

Content Inventory

Workflow

Governance Plan

Editorial Calendar

Create

Copydeck

Manage

Content Audit

Competitive Audit

Metrics Analysis

Strategy

Content Strategy

Voice/Tone

Messaging Framework

Sample Deliverables by Project Phase

Course ObjectivesKnow what you’re doing with content, good and badKnow what your competitors are doing with contentIdentify opportunities to improve your content by auditing it and by auditing your competitors

Discovery

BehaviorsAnalyticsUser surveysFocus groupsUser interviewsBest practicesBenchmarking

What’s the business objective? ExamplesImprove usability of checkout processBenchmark articles against professional publicationsReview and improve CTAsIdentify 5 quick wins through improving contentAssess cross-promotional opportunities across siteAssess effectiveness of content in meeting user needsRedesign a site to make it responsive

What does the user need? Content that’s usefulContent that’s understandable Content that’s credible, informative, uniqueSharable contentClear communication about what you do, why you do it, why it matters, what they can doSimple, easy ways to accomplish their goals

Competitive Audit

Learn about the landscapeIdentify best practicesIdentify common patterns and approachesDifferentiate your executionAssess against a set of criteriaIdentify weaknesses and strengthsValidate recommendations

Lots of uses

Clad’s magazine-style

content on Clad lives

in the Damn Good

Advice section.

JCrew’s editorial

features—Jack Knows

Best, The Always List,

and Spotlight—offer

tips, how-tos, and

products for amping

up your style.

Learn about the landscape

Navigation is ambiguous. The term “Natural Learning” has no tangible correlation to specific types of information.

Identify best practices

Navigation labels in category tend to be direct and obvious.

Implication: Kashi’s navigation labels risk confusing users.

Identify best practices

Differentiate your execution

Assess against a set of criteria

Zoom Hot Spots Video

Not available or very limited use

Not available or very limited use

Not available or very limited use

Limited or hard-to-use zoomHot spots on small/medium

image, no icons, or static overview

Tutorial videos or 3rd-party (e.g. Sell point) info

pop-ups

Zoom with some controls and satisfactory detail

Hero image w/expandable hot spots, detail info on hover

High-quality videos for flagship products

Full-screen, two-stage zoom, with hover “loupe”

Hero image w/expandable hot spots, detail w/visuals, info on

hover

Quality (720p) videos for wide product range

World-class execution World-class execution World-class execution

Site Zoom Hot Spots Video

LG

Blackberry

Motorola

Apple

‣ Category insight: Best in-category sites deliver robust product detailing and in-situ visuals, including strong videos, that highlight smart phones’ social capabilities.

Opportunities: Use video content to highlight emotional product qualities that make phones fun & social. Extend video content to detail how to do everyday activities.

Blackberry offers an extensive list of videos to help existing or new users understand exactly how things work.

Motorola uses product photography and zoom to

highlight the design and show off the details.

LG uses video to highlight, the fun, social experiences the

product makes possible.

Content Audits

Many things to auditNavigationProduct copyMessagingArticlesConsistency in languageCalls to action (CTAs)SEO-optimizationHomepageContent types

What does the Cereal Finder, Recyclebank, Tasty Fiber, the REAL Project or any of the other sections here have to do with “Events”? Risk: Navigation that doesn’t appropriately reflect the content can prevent users from finding it. Opportunity: Renaming the “Events” section so that it the label reflects the content with in it will let users know what they’re getting and why to click.

Navigation

The primary block of text on the page tells what the organization does, but the message is passive.

Risks: Bureaucratic-level impactzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Opportunities: Show impact through a startling infographic, provide a pathway for citizens looking to solve a problem, or use an active headline to encourage engagement.

Messaging

Objective: Drive engagementUser Goal: Make info useful

CTAs

Multiple CTAs and lots of copy risks confusing users about what the site wants them to do. What is the primary communication objective?

Clear, single use of CTA delivers a defined, primary action for users come to the homepage promo.

Objective: Increase sign ups or donationsUser Goal: Effective calls to action

Homepage

Objective: Optimize the home pageUser Goal: Accomplish key tasks easily

What is priority of donation? Would integrating it as navigation increase conversion?

Could a CTA like “See how we make a difference” to learn more help users navigate?

Stronger titles that use keywords could increase clarity for intended audience and SEO on news items.

HTML title tags lack metadata and keywords that could help drive SEO.

Content types

Sometimes the audit needs to identify how much of what type of content you have to inform future planning.

Offer actionable recommendations

HomeworkDo a competitive audit and/or content audit for your organization. Define a set of criteria and objectives for your work up front. Look at how competitor sites do things. Look at how your site does it. Summarize findings and identify recommendations.

We’ll talk about your work next week!

Meanwhile, see you online.