Beyond Words: Navigating the Depths of Content Strategy Education
-
lydiabazan
- 3 minutes reading time
As my UNT content strategy course wraps up, I’m taking a moment to think about what I’ve learned and how content strategy boosts business value. There’s a lot to consider when diving into content strategy, and you might be wondering where to start. With my background in design and limited marketing know-how, I want to share my perspective on what to do and what to avoid when trying to form a content strategy. Plus, I’ll talk about how it fits into my goals as a web and UX designer.
Q1: What's the most important thing someone learning about content strategy should do?
Before diving into any content strategy plan, it’s crucial to pinpoint the problem you’re aiming to solve for a client and grasp the pain points their target audience is facing, hindering the client from achieving their goals. This was expertly emphasized in Module 2 of the course during Dr. Kim Campbell’s lecture, where she discussed the process of developing a content strategy with Scroll’s Rahel Bailie. Bailie outlined three key phases within the Consulting Methodology essential for crafting a successful content strategy: Discovery, Gap Analysis, and forming a Roadmap.
The Discovery phase serves as the foundation, guiding all subsequent analysis and recommendations for the client. Its primary objective is to identify the core problem and involves interviewing various stakeholders, including users, proxy users, and internal team members. During Discovery, it’s essential to address the following questions on behalf of the client:
- What is the current state? What actions are being taken?
- What are the desired goals?
- What obstacles are preventing progress?
By gathering this information and conducting thorough analysis, a deeper understanding of the problem emerges, enabling the formulation of more impactful solutions for the client.
Q2: What's the most important thing someone learning about content strategy should NOT do?
An often overlooked aspect of content strategy revolves around fostering positive client relationships, particularly when addressing multiple issues. In Module 5, Dr. Kim delves into effective communication of these gaps with grace and conviction.
Let’s imagine you’re following the Consulting Methodology outlined by Bailie. You’ve completed tasks across the three phases, including identifying pain points, conducting a gap analysis and content audit, and forming a roadmap. Now, you’re ready to present suggestions to the client. To cultivate rapport and positive client relations, it’s crucial not to only discuss the negatives found in their content. Additionally, avoid using overly negative language such as “awful,” “disgusting,” or “unusable” as such terms can be offensive, even if the client acknowledges the need for improvement. Instead, also emphasize aspects of their content that are effective and should be continued. Connect findings to their business objectives and express identified issues neutrally, illustrating how they may impede progress towards their goals and hinder customer task completion.
Despite your best efforts, clients may choose not to implement your suggestions. It’s important to recognize that this is their prerogative. You’ve fulfilled your role for their business to the best of your ability, and it’s essential not to take offense to their decisions.
Q3: What was most meaningful about content strategy for your own career goals? Why?
As a web designer, diving into content strategy has been eye-opening for me in understanding the marketing decisions made in my current role. It involves tasks like crafting effective headlines for webpages and ensuring content is well-organized and understandable at a glance. Currently, I’m applying this newfound knowledge to revamp the T-Mobile deals webpage, addressing issues identified through surveys and web analytics. These insights revealed that most visitors are potential customers directed to the page by external links. While attracted by enticing deals, many users encountered frustration due to a lack of information about our plan offerings, leading to a sense of confusion in their search for a phone carrier. Our solution involves introducing a sneak peek at our most popular plans to streamline the user journey and facilitate informed decision-making.
I’m also excited about how AI-powered tools can improve content strategy. At work, we’re focusing on teaching ourselves about AI and using tools like Photoshop Beta to make quick edits to our images. Figma’s Figjam is another great tool by suggesting ideas for design and strategy brainstorming sessions thorough a prompt, making collaboration easier.
In the future, I hope AI-powered website crawlers can help us identify problems with websites faster. For example, imagine there are three pages on a website all talking about the same product. One gets a lot of visits but not much engagement, another gets less visits but high engagement rates, and the third is really old and has inaccurate information. With an AI-powered web crawler, this tool could spot these patterns and suggest solutions for strategists, like combining the engaging content onto the most visited page and deleting the outdated one. It’s still just an idea, but it could be a big help for content auditing, especially for large websites like T-Mobile’s.
My final thoughts...
In concluding this journey through the UNT content strategy course and reflecting on the insights shared, it’s clear that understanding the nuances of content strategy is not just about crafting engaging headlines or organizing content effectively—it’s about solving real problems for clients and their audiences. From the foundational principles outlined in Dr. Kim Campbell’s lectures to the practical applications discussed throughout the course, I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for the importance of empathy, effective communication, and leveraging technology to drive meaningful change. As I continue to apply these learnings in my role as a web designer, I’m excited about the possibilities for creating more impactful experiences and driving positive outcomes for both clients and users.
