Last week, Georgy talked about the importance of headlines for introducing stories and enticing readers. But how do these lessons learned for headlines in news and featured content translate to other forms of content — such as admissions and academic webpages? Page titles and headings also play an important role for all content on our websites. Readers rely on page titles and headings to navigate websites and understand what is relevant and … [Read more...]
Clarity and Readability Checklist for Content Creators
September 24, 2013 by
Last week, Georgy talked about respecting our audiences with readable content, including options for testing readability. Wikipedia describes readability as "the ease in which text can be read and understood." In other words, do people get what you're saying? The definition of readability is straightforward enough, but how do you plan for clarity and readability? In particular, for content creators working on the front line, what … [Read more...]
Portal Websites: The Great Content Divide
July 24, 2013 by
In the Star Trek universe, a "portal" is a doorway to another dimension, connecting two points in space-time. In higher ed, a portal is just as fantastic — an internal website intended to better target users, remove content clutter and improve content governance. Voila! Well, maybe. Portal websites aim to meet these goals by dividing content directed at external audiences (such as prospective students, parents and media) and internal … [Read more...]
Higher Ed Takeaways From Confab Minneapolis 2013
June 11, 2013 by
Last week, I attended Confab Minneapolis 2013. And it rocked. I was joined by an international community of content professionals to challenge our thinking and help advance the evolving discipline of content strategy. We also enjoyed a lot of cake. As in past years, the higher ed community was well represented. If you missed the event, don’t fret. Confab Higher Ed has yet to come (more on that later). Like many Confab-ers, I left Minneapolis … [Read more...]
Be Yourself: Embrace Authentic Content
April 18, 2013 by
In a recent post, Rob Engelsman talked about using students to create “authentic content” through social media. Indeed, this can be one of the greatest benefits of social media content. It's often raw and unfiltered (or less filtered). It's “authentic.” However, authentic content is not reserved for social media. In fact, all content should be authentic. But why is authenticity good for content? What does “authentic content” mean and how do … [Read more...]