Content Strategy: Content Comes First

If not then what story are you telling? Which product are you trying to push? Just what know-how are you talking about? Great web sites have answered these basic questions and can deliver a web or mobile site, or a social presence that will work for the end user.

Defining your content strategy is at the heart of the website-creation process. It concentrates heavily on research, the structure of content, user experience scenarios and how content scenarios can be validated. Content strategy is a  crossover discipline combining:

  • business development - segmentation, understanding the priorities and their interconnectedness
  • project management, keeping track of what and who goes where and the costs of one choice over another
  • wireframing, scenario building within the context of the device and platform, and
  • UX, understanding the benefits of designing an experience.
     

Content today is a living (maybe even breathing) thing in constant evolution through the multi-touch points with creators, editors, and users who engage with your story. Good content, regardless of through which device or medium or from which source, requires a strategy that serves your business goals and delivers value to the user. But the best part is that content has true value for your business.

Valuable content = something of import or holding value for the end user. Delivering value requires content strategy and creative development expertise across devices (web, mobile, video, and reader) and platforms (website, social media, mobile sites and apps, search and advertizing).

Take a moment and think about it. The most used website, Facebook, gets all of its content from users. Pretty cool strategy, right? But what if they'd never thought of using status updates or "likes", where would they be without them, would we post as often as we do? 'Cause if we don't post, they don't have a successful business.