Quality content is a hard sell. Sure, people get that content is important — but getting people to invest the time and resources needed to make content great isn't easy. It’s not enough to tell decision makers you need quality content. In order to make the case for it, you have to demonstrate success and failure. Selling content strategy is a continuous process. You must show how content quality impacts business goals and user needs. This is … [Read more...]
What To Cut: A Content Cropping Checklist
October 9, 2012 by
Sooner or later website owners realize they have much too much content on their website — too much redundant, outdated, irrelevant, off-brand content. More so than ever, organizations appreciate that less is often more on the web. Less content can improve communication, findability, usability and usefulness. Not to mention, less content is easier to maintain and measure. But trying to figure out what content to cut is daunting. You might be … [Read more...]
Making Content Strategy Work with Student Staff (Part Two)
September 25, 2012 by
Yesterday, we began discussing how our content strategy efforts can be made more effective by smartly applying student workers to the cause. As Texas A&M’s Amy Grace Wells explained, the challenge is in getting the students to see past individual assignments and embrace the larger strategy at work. With the right training, context and support in place, Wells has made it happen. Today, we bring you the student perspective. Laura Lorenz is a … [Read more...]
Making Content Strategy Work with Student Staff (Part One)
September 24, 2012 by
Content strategy in higher ed can be a gnarly, complex pursuit, and more often than not, we may feel we don’t have the staff to adequately take on the challenge. This is where student workers can prove invaluable. But how can we apply the time and talent of students—some of whom may only be with us for a semester, or only for a few hours a week—toward content strategy work, which is inherently long-range, in-depth and holistic? We talked to … [Read more...]
Content Strategy: The Case for Collaboration
August 30, 2012 by
During our webinar last week, Georgy and I talked about content strategy as change management—how content strategy can provide a framework for making positive changes with your organization. While discussing the current unchanging landscape in higher ed, one issue that topped the list was collaboration. Really? We're Still Talking About Silos? This week, a colleague said in a moment of exasperation, "When will we stop talking … [Read more...]