Content Strategy: The Challenge of CMS Authors

One of the major pain points of any content professional is how your CMS authors handle content as they post it to the CMS. Think of a chef and a waiter: The chef has just spent hours preparing this gorgeous dish. If the waiter slams it on the table in front of the diner, the entire presentation and drama is lost.

Content must be handled properly to perform properly. As Sally Bagshaw, a content strategist with expertise in content authoring explains, “Content will turn to crap if the people putting it into the CMS don’t care.” (See our awesome interview with Sally in this month’s Confessions of a Content Strategist).

Different Types of Content Authors

There are a couple of different types of CMS authors. They include:

• Assembly line posters: They update phone numbers, bios, rosters and input event calendar information. Their knowledge of the CMS may be as limited as their permissions.
• Part-time content producers: They know enough to get into trouble, and not enough to get out of trouble. They may feel capable of making template changes or using some advanced features. Sometimes they get it right; sometimes they don’t.
• Full-time content producers: They know the ins and outs of your CMS cold because they are inside of it all of the time. They may write inside of the CMS, or post others’ content to it.

There are other challenges with CMS authors—they may be distributed, not under your control or not even in the same country or time zone. What’s the best way to manage all of these challenges and still maintain consistent governance so your content gives your customers a cohesive feeling?

How to Manage a Distributed Content Workforce

Here are some tools you can use to manage all of your different CMS authors and keep them publishing consistent content in line with your brand:

1. Use a centralized style guide: Make sure everyone in the company who touches content knows how to access it, and more importantly, how to use it. Trained writers and designers know how to use style guides and brand guidelines. Not everyone else does. So make sure they understand how to look up naming conventions, appropriate department names, and the like. (Don’t have a style guide? Get started with our 10 Essential Elements of Style Guides. Want to learn more about brand guidelines? Check out our Brand Guidelines 101.)
2. Educate and train: Find a way to train people, even if it’s for an hour. For many assembly line posters, one hour is more than enough. Consider making a two-page training document and jumping on a Google Hangout with some people. Run the trainings at least once a month, so that when new people are hired, they aren’t left behind.
3. Do regular checks and communicate problems: There’s some great automated software for checking your site’s governance scores. Definitely do your homework and find an automated package that works well for your site. You can also do a check by hand on several pages in one section, so you can contact the content owners and let them know about the mistakes. People can’t fix things if they don’t even know they are there.

How about you? What are some of the ways you manage the challenges of CMS authors? Let us know in the comments below.

Confessions of a Content Strategist: Sally Bagshaw

Sally Bagshaw, a content strategist from Australia, is the Down Under version of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Her excitement about content is like riding a rocket ship to a new destination.  Sally’s view and predictions of content are always spot on, and she gives us a revealing glimpse into the future of content in this interview.

Sally comes from a communications background, but always had an affinity for the technical ‘bits’ of content. She says, “I’m a bit of a word nerd and quickly fell into the online space in 2001, and never looked back. I had an interest in the technical components of websites and content, so I was naturally drawn toward online copywriting, web redevelopment projects, CMS implementations and then finally became an IT project manager.”

During her stint as an IT project manager, Sally realized she needed to return to her creative roots. That’s when Sally started Snappy Sentences, her copywriting and content strategy consultancy. As she built the company, it was important for her to use content strategy as the lead, rather than “sloshing in content strategy as part of a writing project.” (Sally uses many charming words like ‘sloshing’).

While many of us are still grappling with the content spotlight, Sally is already thinking about what is coming around the bend. She comments on three major trends she says to look out for in content:

• Why ‘The Great Schism’ is still painful
• Connected Content
• Speak geek a bit better

Why ‘The Great Schism’ is still painful

When linguists try to track down the history of the term ‘The Great Schism’, they will find this blog post and have their ‘aha’ moment. Because, Sally and I coined this term during our Google Hangout chat. (Linguists, you’ll have to do more research to find out what a Google Hangout is.)

The Great Schism refers to what happened about 10 years ago in organizations the world over: Marketing said to IT, “We’re taking back the web, because even though it’s a technology platform, dammit, it’s a communications tool.” And, alas, like the Targaryens, we’re still fighting for who gets to sit on the Iron Throne.

Sally says, “It still amazes me that there’s a gap between traditional marketing communications professionals and web marketing professionals. Why is there such a strong line in the sand between off-line and online? There’s still an us and them mentality—content is content—there shouldn’t be a difference in what you produce for the web and what you produce for off the web.”

I have a sign in my kitchen that reminds my children (well the ones that can read, anyway), “If you want to be treated differently, act differently.” If content is going to move in the direction it needs to, then there absolutely must be a paradigm shift in the way businesses approach content. This brings us to Sally’s next prediction…

What is Connected Content?

Sally comments on the future of content, “To do really cool stuff with content we need to connect all the content across a business. We need to stop talking about the website with its web content as something separate to core business. It’s not. It’s how we communicate with our clients and customers; it’s how we meet our business goals. It should be treated as an important part of the engine, not an optional extra.” That signals that paradigm shift in thinking that all businesses must embrace if they want to keep up.

Sally predicts, “In the future, every touchpoint customers have with a business will be connected—from the website to the call centre, to the interactive kiosk in-store. The future is connected content—the seamless delivery of a content—regardless of whether you’re selling a product, a service, or a government agency who needs to deliver data.”

As content strategists, many of us are grappling with the BIG data challenge. Sally thinks the government initiatives of open data—encouraging different data sources to do new things— is an exciting one, and a smart way to use this information. She says, “We will be inspired by how different people and communities use our content. Great ideas will start bubbling to the surface.” We’ll be looking at products and services that are so intertwined with our daily life that uses content in all sorts of new ways. Which is why she challenges content strategists the world over (except for Rachel Lovinger, cause she kind of has this nailed), to speak geek better.

How do we speak geek a bit better?

With a chuckle, Sally reminds me of when we started talking about the Internet fridge and we were all like, ‘Wah?” But, indeed, when thought through more carefully, who wouldn’t want a computer to tell them what to make for dinner and what’s in their fridge? (Those kids, even the ones who can’t read, expect dinner every night.)

Sally says, “The idea that connecting all of our daily lives through content is an exciting one. We cannot be so afraid of technology and where it’s going to take us (rocket ride!). Therefore, as content strategists we need to learn to speak geek a little bit better to have those conversations that will enable content to connect with all those touchpoints and inform our daily lives in meaningful use patterns.” (Clearly, she already speaks geek.)

Sally adds in her optimistic tone, “We haven’t run out of ideas of how content can help us.”

Interested in being interviewed for Confessions of a Content Strategist?  You’ve got some hard acts to follow, but let us know!

Content Strategy for Higher Education



It seems that Aha Media Group attracts clients from industries whose first letters begin with H: healthcare, hip hop, hardware and now higher education.

 

In the past 18 months, we’ve worked on a few higher education content and digital strategy engagements. In fact, Ahava Leibtag will be speaking at ConFab Higher Ed 2013 in Atlanta in November.

We’ve noticed some major trends:

1. Who are we?

Institutions of higher learning have a harder time than most defining who they are and what they offer. With the higher ed ‘bubble’ predicted to pop at some point, universities are working to define what they can provide to students. Even more so, defining a brand when it serves so many different types of people can be incredibly challenging.

2. How do we stay in touch but more importantly, stay relevant?

Students may care about an institution when they are a part of it, but what happens when they graduate, move on to jobs or other schools and develop their own personal lives and careers? With all of the social media channels available today, it should be easier than ever for universities to stay in touch. Trouble is; how do you break through all the noise?

3. How does all the data flow to the right touchpoints?

Many universities operate in silos. How do you tackle the challenge of having information flow up and down and well as from department to department? Content is about conversations—both the ones you have with your external audience, as well as your internal audiences. How do you break down those walls, so departments work together to deliver the most unified customer experience on the web?

These are all questions we are exploring with our clients as we continue to tackle industries that begin with the letter ‘H’. We’re hoping husbandry is next.

Let us know if you want us to explore a specific digital strategy topic within higher education, and watch for posts from us about this hot field.

5 Foolproof Tips for Writing Effective Meta Descriptions

Meta descriptions can be perplexing. You may ask yourself, “Why should I put a lot of effort into writing copy that will never show up on my site? “

It’s true; your meta descriptions appear in the backend of your site. But don’t be so quick to dismiss them as hidden lines of HTML code. You can be 100 percent certain they will appear on Google and other search engines, and maybe even on Facebook as page summaries.

We recently discussed meta descriptions and the Top 5 Reasons You Should Use Them. Now we are sharing our top tips for writing effective ones that will help draw traffic to your site.

Meta descriptions shouldn’t be an after thought. But you shouldn’t agonize over them, either. Master the art of writing them with these tips:

1.     Watch your character length: Writing a meta description that’s too long is one of the tops ways to make your site look amateur and sloppy in search engine results. Why? Google truncates – or cuts you off – after 156 characters (that includes spaces, not just letters).

 

2.     Give every page its own tag: We’re offering time-saving tips, not short cuts. That means no copy-and-paste jobs. Just like you write unique copy and title tags for every page, you must also write a new meta description for each one, too. Otherwise, your site will appear to have repeat content on all its pages in search engine results.

3.     Match your page content: Make sure you accurately describe the content on the page. This sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s tempting to make your content sound better than it is to promote click throughs. Remember: Readers are smart, and Google is smarter.

4.     Use keywords: You probably wrote the pages and subpages of your site with certain keywords in mind. Use these in your meta descriptions. It will help with tip no. 3 above: accurately describing your page content.

 

5.     Use active voice: When a Google search returns your website as one of the top results, your meta description may be the first thing a reader sees. That makes it an important branding tool. Active voice conveys a stronger, more confident tone. It’s like saying, “Click here, we have everything you are looking for.” Don’t muddle that message with passive verbs.

Instagram: 5 Brands Doing it Right

With over 100 million active users, 40 million photos per day and 8,500 likes per second, Instagram has grown immensely popular since its launch in 2010.  People love pictures, and in today’s world when every Smartphone has a camera, pictures can be used to tell great stories. Instagram has given companies yet another way to share their brand’s story, only this time there is no need for words.

Here are 5 brands that are rocking it on Instagram:

 

1.      Forever 21

Followers: 1.1 million

With pops of color and trendy photos, Forever 21 introduces you to their world of fashion. Through the feed you can stay up-to-date on new styles and upcoming sales.  

2.      Starbucks

Followers: 1.2 million

Encouraging their followers to hashtag their own coffee photos with #Starbucks helps keep customers engaged. It’s yet another way Starbucks lets its coffee lovers know how much their input matters.

3.      Time Magazine

Followers: 331K

With dramatic pictures, the magazine updates its readers with the latest news. It promotes its magazine covers and top stories and encourages you to see more Pictures of the Week on their website.

4.      Tony Hawk

Followers: 747K

Ok, so he’s not an actual brand, but he’s doing something right. One of the best ways to gain exposure on Instagram is to create a contest and, of course, give away a prize. The professional skateboarder posts a photo and challenges followers to recognize the location in the photo where he hid a skateboard. The first person to solve the clue and make it to that spot gets a free autographed skateboard.

5.      Sharpie

Followers: 79K

The following is pretty high considering it’s just a marker. Over 300 colorful photos came out of the challenge to “Grab a Sharpie & Start Something.” Makes you think that if you buy a Sharpie, you might also become an artist. 

Most companies today have official Facebook accounts and Twitter feeds. Want to learn more about how to use other social networks to market your brand? There are so many options out here, let us help you understand them:

Learn about Pinterest: 5 Content Marketing Pinterest Boards You Should Follow

Create a YouTube channel: 5 Tips for Managing a Successful YouTube Channel

Facebook Advertising: Is it Right for your Organization?

Just do a search on “Advertising on Facebook” and you’ll find hundreds of articles – both for and against.There are both stories of huge success and horror stories from business owners about their experiences.

There are thousands and thousands of businesses advertising on Facebook. While it creates a new page for every new movie, even Hollywood, wonders about the value of Facebook advertising. In a recent article about Hollywood’s criticism of its Facebook advertising, the author notes, “That doesn’t mean Facebook is an ineffective channel; it means Hollywood isn’t using it in the best way for its business. Movie marketers are emphasizing Likes at the wrong point in the funnel, and they’re not using the right ad formats for their goals.”

Here are some basic guidelines about how to advertise on Facebook from Leyl Master Black:

1. Carefully set your goals and plan your approach: Understand what you want to achieve and make sure you are set up to measure success.

2. Get creative with targeting – Zero in on a very specific audience – less is more. A great example of a good Facebook ad is The Cribline’s, a Washington, D.C. residential real estate agency. They only advertise on pages of Facebook users that are located in the surrounding D.C. area, keeping the ad relevant to the consumer. MasterCard on the other hand, advertises specifically targeted at cardholders, but on pages of people who don’t even have a MasterCard. What exactly is the point in doing that?

3. Choose text and images that pop and will resonate for your target audiences. Cardstore.com advertises to print, stamp and send Mother’s Day cards alongside a picture of a woman’s feet. Someone should tell them that a woman’s face usually tells a better story than a woman’s feet!

4. Create and test multiple ads. Capital One tells you which of your Facebook friends like them. That very well may interest you in seeing what offers they have for you. It’s always good to tap into shared social networks.

5. Be ready to capitalize on the traffic with an offer, coupon or some other carrot that will keep them engaged and sharing your content. True Value offers $5 off any $25 purchase in-store or online. And there is no fine print, so go ahead and click it!
 

Southwest Airlines has a fans fly free sweepstakes- offering customers a chance to win two roundtrip tickets. This is a great way to get you to like their page and keep coming back.

 

What do you think of Facebook advertising? Is it right for you as a digital marketer?

Social Media: 3 Great Google+ Pages

Google+ has become the second largest social network globally, with over 340 million users, according to GlobalWebIndex. It offers its users many new perks such as claiming authorship of content and letting customers interact with each other.

But its number one advantage over other social networks is how it makes findable content. You can share content and other people can leave comments. Sounds like Facebook, right? The difference is that information shared on Google+ is indexed and can be found through Google and Google+ searches.

In our February digital strategy newsletter, “Why Google+ Matters to You- Right Now,” we discussed how Google is factoring this shared content into its search algorithm. So if you’re not on Google+, we said,“It’s like you’re not even on the Web.”

So get on Google+, if you’re not already. And check out these 3 social media pages are doing:

1. Mashable

Followers: +1,842,478

Mashable reports the latest news in social media, business, tech, entertainment and world news. It’s an immensely popular site. See how they use Google+ as a conversation starter with their followers.

 

2. Hootsuite

Followers: +23,085

Hootsuite helps companies manage their social media platforms with one dashboard, streamlining the whole process. Take a look at how they use Google+ to share tips with their existing and potential customers.

3. Social Media Today

Followers: +20,194

Social Media Today is a resource for PR and marketing professionals to understand social media. That’s why it’s so important for them to have a robust Google+ page. Browse their page and see how it’s a little bit like Twitter, a little bit like Facebook, but a smarter way to share content because Google is involved.

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