His presentation titled Web Content Strategy – How to Plan for, Create and Publish Online Content for Maximum ROI on slideshare contains concise and powerful hints on planning your web content strategy.

Some salient points from the presentation:

What is content strategy?

• Content strategy is planning for the creation of useful, usable content.
• Not just WHAT you’re going to publish and WHERE, but WHY.
• Content strategy isn’t just deciding what you’re going to include. It’s deciding what you’re going to leave out.

Website Foundation

• What are my business objectives?
• What are my users’ (customers’) goals?
• Any content that doesn’t meet these needs is just getting in the way.
• Avoid wasting money on designing, creating and maintaining unnecessary content.
• Keep project teams aligned throughout the process.

Website Content Strategy

• What content do we want to create, and why?
• How are we going to create it?
• What will happen to it once it goes up on the site?
• Plan strategically for required content, scope realistically, then scale according to time and budget.

Website Content Strategy: Content Audit

• Possibly the most important thing you can do to avoid scope creep and minimize risk
• Catalog web pages, print materials, all communications
• Conduct a gap analysis
• Don’t commit to content you can’t create or maintain

Content Specifications and Creation

• Get real-world content specifications as early as possible
• Identify who is responsible for providing, reviewing, and approving the content before writing begins
• Train or hire web writers … it’s a very, very different process and medium from print
• Keep the content audit up-to-date to eliminate redundant workflows among various communicators
• Ensure quality and quantity control, informed by clear recommendations and overseen by dedicated resources

Business Impact of a Content Strategy

• QUALITATIVE
  • Engages all stakeholders early in the website project process to ensure alignment, investment, and accountability around content creation and maintenance
  • Provides accessible documentation for all project team members to help judge proposed content effectiveness with regard to business objectives and user goals
  • Results in higher quality content, which improves customer satisfaction, sales leads, online service and support, trust in brand, and so on
  • Creates true content accountability for all project members early in the process
  • Facilitates future state content planning (editorial oversight, expansion, maintenance
• QUANTITATIVE (anecdotal)
  • Projects driven by web content strategies are completed in up to 25% less time than design-centered projects
  • Assuming stakeholders and business requirements remain the same, scope changes during content creation phase happen less than 10% of the time
  • Client satisfaction with final product is close to 100%
  • Measurable project objectives are realized within 3-6 months post-launch (with appropriate supporting communications)

Do not miss the opportunity to download his free eBook titled “Seven Content Strategies to Build Trust with Today’s Savvy Consumers”

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Transcript:

1. Leveraging the Web A presentation by Reach1to1 Technologies (P) Ltd.
2. Web Site Strategy Target Audience ● Business Objectives ● Design Requirements ● Content Management ● Site Promotion ● Performance Measurement ● Site Examples ● Questions & Answers ●
3. Target Audience General public ● Visitors with service-able requirements ● Visitors with current requirements ● Current customers ● Share holders and investors ● Current Employees ● Prospective Employees ● Competitors ●
4. Business Objectives General Public ● Establish corporate identity – Position the company and its services –
5. Business Objectives Visitors with service-able requirements ● Establish corporate identity – Position the company and its services – Identify possible services – Establish credibility to deliver solutions –
6. Business Objectives Visitors with current requirements ● Establish corporate identity – Position the company and its services – Identify possible services – Establish credibility to deliver solutions – Identify specific requirements – Establish specific solution –
7. Business Objectives Current Customers ● Establish corporate identity – Position the company and its services – Identify possible services – Establish credibility to deliver solutions – Identify new requirements – Establish new solutions – Online services (order tracking, support) –
8. Business Objectives Share-holders and investors ● Establish corporate identity – Position the company and its services – Establish financial stability and performance – Project business growth potential –
9. Business Objectives Current Employees ● Establish corporate identity – Position the company and its services – Establish financial stability and performance – Project business growth potential – Update about news and events – Educate about products and services –
10. Business Objectives Prospective Employees ● Establish corporate identity – Position the company and its services – Establish financial stability and performance – Project business growth potential – Show career opportunities – Provide mechanism to apply online –
11. Business Objectives Competitors ● Establish corporate identity – Position the company and its services – Attract skilled personnel from competitors – Establish position of leadership in chosen – areas Role model to follow for best practices –
12. General Design Requirements Simple, elegant design ● Fast loading pages ● Easy navigation structure ● Direct search facility ● Layered information ● Continuously updated ●
13. Content Management Web site is not a one-time project ● Update regularly to maintain position of ● leadership Updates should be done by internal staff, ● without requiring web design skills Let everyone contribute, moderated by an ● editorial team Create an internal process for content ● management as an extension of current responsibilities
14. Site Promotion Where do we get visitors from? ● Search Engines – Online Marketing – Corporate communications (emails, letters) – Events – Press coverage –
15. Site Promotion Search Engine Ranking ● Depends on content – Frequency and relevancy of content – Specific reference to terms that visitors are – looking for Site uses search-engine friendly hyper-text – tags RSS Compatible – provides pre-indexed site – and page-wise information
16. Site Promotion Online Marketing ● Email newsletter – Cross links with other web sites – Online advertising – Articles on other sites –
17. Site Promotion Corporate Communications ● Every employee, customer, supplier and – partner is a referral point They need to know about your web site – Email signature to contain link to web site – Letter heads and visiting cards – Company brochures –
18. Site Promotion Events ● Exhibitions and forums – Web site kiosks – Sponsorships – Technical and Industry Seminars –
19. Site Promotion Press Coverage ● Online press releases – Interviews – News articles – Magazine features – Advertisements –
20. Performance Measurement Site objectives to be measured by ● performance metrics Number of visitors – Number of subscribers – Number of leads generated – Number of updates – Page-wise statistics – Navigation path statistics – Search engine keywords – Reference site from which links received –
21. Example – Products APW President Systems Ltd ● Manufacturer of Technology Products – Market Leader in Enclosure systems – Initial content and design by Reach1to1 – Web site managed by in-house team with – assistance from Reach1to1 High level of employee participation – Regular updates –
22. Example – Services Epitome Global Services Ltd. ● KPO Services for Asset Management Industry – Established by reputed businessmen – Web site used as primary sales tool – Initial design provided by Reach1to1 – Web site managed by in-house team with – assistance from Reach1to1 High level of employee participation – Regular updates –
23. Questions to Answer Whom do we want to target? ● What do we want to achieve? ● What information is currently available? ● Who can participate in the project? ● What is the time line? ● What is the budget? ● What do we do next? ●
24. More information at http://www.reach1to1.com

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