How Content Strategy Can Transform Government Websites

The purpose of content strategy is to achieve high-level goals by maximizing the impact of content. This presentation will explore how content strategy applies to modern government websites, and what steps can be taken to ensure meaningful, interactive experiences. We will also review specific case studies demonstrating how content strategy applies at both a local and federal level.

Topics covered will include:

- Principles of content strategy
- Working with stakeholders and teams
- Defining audiences and outcomes
- Tracking and measurement
- Content audits and inventory

To learn more or contact Aaron, visit http://www.civicactions.com

Transcript

1. How  Content  Strategy  Can    
   Transform  Government    
   Websites
   Aaron  Pava  
   @pava
   

   View Slide

2. AARON PAVA
   @ CIVICACTIONS
   @ PAVA
   

   View Slide

3. Question
   

   View Slide

4. Lorem ipsum
   

   View Slide

5. We’re Doing It Wrong
   

   View Slide

6. Image Source: http://optimalexperience.com/what-we-do/our-approach/fitting-in-with-your-processes/
   

   View Slide

7. Image Source: http://optimalexperience.com/what-we-do/our-approach/fitting-in-with-your-processes/
   

   View Slide

8. So What?
   

   View Slide

9. View Slide

10. View Slide

11. Content Strategy
    

    View Slide

12. ❖ Principles of Content Strategy
    ❖ Content Strategy in Action!
    ❖ Public Sector Content Strategy
    ❖ Real-World Case Studies
    

    View Slide

13. Content  Strategy
    Guides  your  plans  

    for  the  creation,  delivery  &  
    governance  of  content
    

    View Slide

14. Content  Strategy
    Use  words  and  data  to  

    create  unambiguous  content  
    that  supports  meaningful,  
    interactive  experiences…
    

    View Slide

15. FOR  USERS
    Content  Strategy
    

    View Slide

16. In  Other  Words…
    Achieve  high-­‐level  goals  and  
    create  meaningful  experiences  

    for  users.
    

    View Slide

17. Content Strategy Principles
    

    View Slide

18. Principles
    ❖ Substance  
    ❖  Structure  
    ❖  Workflow  
    ❖  Governance
    

    View Slide

19. Principles
    ❖ Substance  
    ❖  Structure  
    ❖  Workflow  
    ❖  Governance
    

    View Slide

20. Substance
    What  kinds  of  content    
    do  we  need?

    (topics,  types,  sources,  etc.)
    

    View Slide

21. Substance
    What  messages  do  we  need  to  
    communicate  to  our  audience?
    

    View Slide

22. Principles
    ❖ Substance  
    ❖  Structure  
    ❖  Workflow  
    ❖  Governance
    

    View Slide

23. Structure
    How  is  it  prioritized,  organized,  
    formatted  &  displayed?  

    (IA,  metadata,  data  modeling)
    

    View Slide

24. Principles
    ❖ Substance  
    ❖  Structure  
    ❖  Workflow  
    ❖  Governance
    

    View Slide

25. Workflow
    What  processes,  tools,  and  
    human  resources  are  required  to  
    maintain  ongoing  quality?
    

    View Slide

26. Principles
    ❖ Substance  
    ❖  Structure  
    ❖  Workflow  
    ❖  Governance
    

    View Slide

27. Governance
    How  are  the  key  decisions

    made,  changes  initiated  and  
    communicated?
    

    View Slide

28. Content Strategy in Action!
    

    View Slide

29. Big  Context
    Content  strategy  
    is  to  copywriting    
    as  information  architecture  
    is  to  design
    

    View Slide

30. Content  Strategy  in  Action
    ❖ Define  Agency’s  High-­‐Level  Goals  
    ❖  Audit  the  Existing  Content  
    ❖  Understand  Audience  Needs  
    ❖  Map  Content  to  Agency  Goals  
    ❖  Define  Workflow  &  Governance
    

    View Slide

31. Define  Agency’s  High-­‐Level  Goals
    Content  is  good  when  it    
    helps  accomplish  your    
    users  and  agency’s  goals  
    in  a  sustainable  way
    

    View Slide

32. Define  Agency’s  High-­‐Level  Goals
    There  should  be  little    
    variance  between  the    
    users  and  agency’s  goals
    

    View Slide

33. Audit  the  Existing  Content
      A  spreadsheet  that  includes:

    all  pages,  structure  (fields),    
    and  supporting    
    site  architecture  
    

    View Slide

34. Understand  Audience  Needs
    Define  Audience  &  Visitors  
    Run  Focus  Groups  
    Do  Surveys  
    Deep  Dive  into  Analytics  
     
    

    View Slide

35.  Map  Content  to  Agency  Goals
    Both  for  existing  content  and  

    to-­‐be-­‐created  content  
    

    View Slide

36.  Define  Workflow  &  Governance
    Map  internal  and  community  
    capacity  for  creating,  editing,  
    and  publishing  various  types  of  
    content
    

    View Slide

37. Public Sector Content Strategy
    

    View Slide

38. What  steps  can  an  agency  take

    to  ensure  meaningful,  

    user-­‐centered  experiences?
    Public  Sector  Content  Strategy
    

    View Slide

39. Public  Sector  Content  Strategy
    Government  agencies    
    need  to  take  an    
    information-­‐centric  approach.  
    

    View Slide

40. ❖ Be  user-­‐centric!  (align  to  goals)  
    ❖ Always  think  multi-­‐platform  

     (mobile,  social,  web,  print)  
    ❖ Be  agile  and  iterate  

     (test  with  real  users!)  
    ❖ Use  plain  language
    Public  Sector  Content  Strategy
    

    View Slide

41. ❖ Differentiate  between  recent  
    and  evergreen  content  
    ❖ Define  policies  for  governance  
    ❖ Sustainable  content  includes  

    the  plan  for  managing  it  
    ❖ Focus  on  simplicity!
    Public  Sector  Content  Strategy
    

    View Slide

42. ❖ Define  agency’s  voice  and  tone  
    ❖ Know  the  purpose  for  every  
    piece  of  content  
    ❖ Omit  content  that  doesn’t  

    serve  goals  
    ❖ Adopt  best  practices
    Public  Sector  Content  Strategy
    

    View Slide

43. ❖ Define  from  the  start  how  
    content  is  organized,  structured,  
    and  accessed  
    ❖ Test  for  usability  and  
    accessibility  prior  to  launch
    Public  Sector  Content  Strategy
    

    View Slide

44. ❖ Define  roles  and  responsibilities  
    for  content  flow  
    ❖ What  happens  to  content  once  
    it  has  been  published?  
    ❖ Have  policies  and  infrastructure  
    for  ongoing  oversight
    Public  Sector  Content  Strategy
    

    View Slide

45. ❖ Use  analytics  to  stay  informed  
    of  site  visitors  needs  
    ❖ Proactively  archive  content  that  
    is  not  used  or  fails  to  meet  goals  
    ❖ Improve  search  through  
    standardized  metadata
    Public  Sector  Content  Strategy
    

    View Slide

46. ❖ Enable  user  ranking  and  
    satisfaction  of  content  
    ❖ Allow  users  to  vote  and  
    comment  on  selected  content  
    ❖ Create  data  driven  content  
    when  possible
    Public  Sector  Content  Strategy
    

    View Slide

47. ❖ Syndicate  content  using  
    government  standards  
    ❖ Highlight  timely  and  actionable  
    content  and  note  it  as  such  
    ❖ Provide  access  to  agency  

    data  sets  to  facilitate  

    innovation
    Public  Sector  Content  Strategy
    

    View Slide

48. ❖ Use  APIs  and  open  data  
    whenever  possible!  
    ❖ Increase  mobile  access  
    ❖ Commit  adequate  resources  
    ❖ Avoid  PDFs
    Public  Sector  Content  Strategy
    

    View Slide

49. ❖ Use  graphics,  infographics,  
    graphs  and  summaries  
    ❖ Create  short  videos  that  can  be  
    used  across  platforms  
    Public  Sector  Content  Strategy
    

    View Slide

50. Case Studies
    

    View Slide

51. Arkansas.gov  Case  Study
      70%  of  visitors  were    
    using  search  first    
    to  find  what  they  were  
     looking  for
    

    View Slide

52. View Slide

53. Arkansas.gov  Case  Study
      The  new  search  accesses  
    databases  of  people,  agencies,  
    services,  jobs,  and  web  pages  
    simultaneously.
    

    View Slide

54. Arkansas.gov  Case  Study
      The  system  learns  from  other  
    users  who  successfully  located  
    content  &  provides  

    predictive  search  suggestions
    

    View Slide

55. Energy.gov  Case  Study
    Goal  to  isolate  local  content  
    from  national  content.

    (most  relevant  rebates,  

    tax  incentives,  news,  data)
    

    View Slide

56. View Slide

57. Designed  for  low-­‐income  
    audience  to  serve  as  a  portal  to  
    recipes,  nutrition  information,  
    and  access  to  information  about  
    benefits  to  make  members’  
    lives  easier  and  healthier.  
    San  Francisco  Human  Services  
    Agency  Case  Study
    

    View Slide

58. San  Francisco  Human  Services  
    Agency  Case  Study
    ❖ Playful,  Fun,  Engaging,  Easy,  Intuitive  
    ❖ Leverage  tech  currently  being  used  by  
    the  target  audience  (mobile)  
    ❖ Recipes  that  are  culturally  relevant    
    ❖ Contribute  to  changing  people’s  lives  
    ❖ Influence  eating,  cooking,  shopping,  
    and  lifestyle  habits  
    

    View Slide

59. View Slide

60. View Slide

61. View Slide

62. Resources
    

    View Slide

63. Books
    

    View Slide

64. Web  Links
    Brain  Traffic  Resources
    http://blog.braintraffic.com/category/resources/  
    !
    The  Epic  List  of  Content  Strategy  Resources  
    http://www.jonathoncolman.org/2013/02/04/content-strategy-resources/  
    !
    Digital  Gov’s  Content  Strategy  Resources  
    http://www.digitalgov.gov/?s=content+strategy  
    !
    Complete  Beginner’s  Guide  to  Content  Strategy  
    http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/complete-beginners-guide-to-content-
    strategy/  
    !
    National  Dialogue  on  Improving  Federal  Websites  (PDF)  
    http://www.usa.gov/webreform/national-dialogue-report.pdf  
    !
    

    View Slide

65. Presentations
    !
    Content  Management  for  Government
    http://www.slideshare.net/hannonhill/content-managementforgovernment  
    !
    Public  Sector  Infographics  
    http://www.pinterest.com/ianirving/public-sector-infographics/  
    !
    Content  Strategy  Workflow  &  Governance  Workshop,  UX  Bristol  2014  
    http://www.slideshare.net/sophiedennis/content-
    strategybeyondthewireframe-20140716  
    !
    Content  Strategy  for  Designers:  ConvergeSE  2014  
    https://speakerdeck.com/jponch/content-strategy-for-designers-
    convergese-2014  
    !
    !
    !
    

    View Slide

66. THANK  YOU!
    Aaron  Pava  
    @pava  
    Q&A
    

    View Slide