Who put their technology in my content strategy? By: Meghan Walsh (USA), Marriott

© Marriott International 2015 @megwalsh05

Who put their technology in my content strategy?

Meghan Walsh Marriott International


Who are you people?


I’m Meg Walsh.

@megwalsh05 [email protected]


My Job

Content

Profile Management Personalization

API Platform

⊡  Technology planning & strategy

⊡  Partner relationship management

⊡  Capability definition

⊡  Business requirements

⊡  Cross program alignment

© Marriott International 2015

I need a content strategist.


The Content Strategist is the critical voice in content

technology planning, selection & design.


To Be Clear

Content strategists are not the only stakeholder. Content strategists don’t have to be technology experts. Content technology is not useful if it does not help achieve content goals.


“

@megwalsh05

What I’m seeing is that [content] architecture and governance are two

sides of the same digital coin. You can’t do one without impacting the other.

-- Cleve Gibbon CTO, Cognifide

@cleveg


Once Upon a Time…


There were two teams

Content Strategy

Content Development


They didn’t talk much

Content Strategy

Content Development

•  Word centric •  Page focused •  Project managed

•  CMS centric •  Project focused •  Managed structure

•  Duplication •  Inconsistency •  Inefficiency


We were doing it wrong.

We were writing and building for placement, not purpose.


Enter: Content Strategy (Kind of)


“

@megwalsh05

[Content Strategy is] planning for the creation, delivery, and governance of

useful, useable content.

-- Kristina Halvorson CEO & Founder, Brain Traffic

@halvorson


Channel-centric content Content-centric channels

Blogs Web

Social

Signs TVs

eMail

Wear-ables

Apps

Print

Ads

Content

Web

Ads

TVs

Mobile

Social eMail

Apps

Print

Signs

Wear-ables

Blogs

The [distribution] vision


Three Pillars

Content Authorship

Content Distribution

Content Structure


Most Common Question?

When will you be done?


“

@megwalsh05

Sigh.

-- Meg Walsh Senior Director, Marriott International

@megwalsh05


Content components

Governance Authoring

Management Distribution

• Vision •  Standards • Goals • Direction

• CMS • Operations • Delivery

• Roles • Experience • Workflow • Editorial

• Channels • Process • Measurement


What a content technologist needs

From a Content Strategist Content Manager

What is your vision? •  Big picture •  Channel bounded (or less) •  Governance of content

•  CMS centric •  Technology bounded •  Governance of in-software

structure

How do you define content?

•  As a reusable, critical business asset •  As text, images, files

What do you need from workflow?

•  Full lifecycle •  Multi-tool •  Multi-authored

•  Publishing focused •  In-software capabilities •  System author specific

What are expectations for translation?

•  Standards driven •  Established language targets

•  Structure impact •  Process driven


There was a CMS RFP


The Content Management team advocated for features & functions

The Information Technology team advocated for structure, scalability, & stability


No one advocated for the content.


Decision Point

RISK Significant changes in connected technologies added risk to migrating to a new product in 2015/2016

PRIORITY Existing CMS could deliver on key capabilities. Managing a change was not deemed to added short term value

DIRECTION Lack of clearly defined content goals and content strategy hindered gaining alignment on direction and priorities for the CMS

We decided not to select a new CMS in 2014.


What a content technologist needs

From a Content Strategist Content Manager

What is your vision? •  Big picture •  Channel bounded (or less) •  Governance of content

•  CMS centric •  Technology bounded •  Governance of in-software

structure

How do you define content?

•  As a reusable, critical business asset •  As text, images, files

What do you need from workflow?

•  Full lifecycle •  Multi-tool •  Multi-authored

•  Publishing focused •  In-software capabilities •  System author specific

What are expectations for translation?

•  Standards driven •  Established language targets

•  Structure impact •  Process driven


Lessons Earned


Lesson #1: FOUR Pillars

Content Authorship

Content Distribution

Content Structure

Content Strategy


Where it fits

Content Strategy

Content Strategy Content Management

Content Technology

Content Management

Content Technology


“

@megwalsh05

Who advocates for the content plan? Who defends what the content strategist has painstakingly developed… ?

Someone has to bridge the gap between the content strategy and the actual content management

implementation.

Lesson #2: The Odd Couple Rules

-- Deane Barker “The Content Management Strategist”

On Gadgetopia @gadgetopia


Lesson #3: The Technology Lens

Does the technology appropriately serve our

content?

Are we optimizing use of our existing

products?

Will a change in technology make a positive difference?


Thank You.

@megwalsh05 [email protected]


Icons & Imagery

Shamelessly using work shared by others: ⊡  SlidesCarnival ⊡  Unsplash ⊡  Pixaby ⊡  The Noun Project

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Who put their technology in my content strategy? By: Meghan Walsh (USA), Marriott