Yesterday, mStoner offered a webinar called, “What’s your strategy for content strategy?” I hosted this session and, as advertised, we focused on putting one toe in the water. In other words, we talked about content strategy basics. The backchannel at #CSinHigherEd was lively and the post-webinar questions were spot on. Who could ask for anything more? Oh, you want to see it? Okay! If you missed it, tune in to the recording below. Who should view the webinar:
The webinar will address these topics:
During our own content strategy work with clients, we typically recommend an approach where the content strategy is integrated with the creative strategy. The webinar included a suggestion for a document that is part content strategy and part creative brief that can guide the content development process to follow. An example Digital Content Planning Guide should help make what I’m describing a bit more clear. Think of this document as something you can share with anyone on campus who is developing content for your website or social channels. It should outline goals, audiences, messages, how you talk about yourself, adjectives, proof points, and ways that you’ll measure the effectiveness of your content.
I also think offering sample copy that meets the criteria outlined in the Content Strategy + Creative Brief would be much appreciated by web editors on your campus. After all, people usually benefit from a model that they can follow. And given the content beast that must be fed, there are never enough professional writers to go around. Anything you can do to develop the writing skills of your web editors is worth trying, right?
Consider these two content snippets from two .edu websites and how different they are in terms of tone and voice. When you provide specific examples like these, you’ll help those writing on behalf of your institution to go the right way:
Example 1
Campus Life: With this many options, it almost isn’t fair.
Campus life at William & Mary is as varied and engaging as the remarkable students who go here. We’re athletes, artists, activists, hikers, singers, researchers and adventurers, and W&M knows how to make us happy. Let’s start with our student clubs and organizations—more than 400 at last count—where we do our a cappella thing, review movies for the campus newspaper and organize medical outreach trips to Africa. We believe in W&M’s mission to make the world a better place, so we dive headfirst into service. Not just in Virginia, but across the globe. Read more.
Example 2
University Life: A cultural crossroads.
Here, where the city meets the sea, life can overflow with sport, music, art, culture, and activity. Or, it can be quiet, reflective, and studious. How you plug into ODU’s electrified atmosphere is up to you. Experience at ODU spans borders, languages and time. Cultures converge. Viewpoints are respected. Read more.
You might also be interested in a few additional mStoner blog posts about content strategy:
Now that you’ve watched the content strategy webinar, do you have a follow-up question for me? Leave a comment below.