Model the Message: Holistic Content Modeling

Content models are the technical and structural expression of content strategy, so it only makes sense that they would typically fall toward the end of a project. But too often, we lose the message and core principles of our content strategy as we transition into the complex, often tedious work of content modeling.

In this talk, we will discuss an approach to content modeling that begins at the earliest stages of your project, and grows as each layer of content strategy is applied—making sure no part of your core strategy gets left behind in design.

In this session, you’ll learn:
How content modeling can add precision and clarity to every stage of your content strategy project
How to use deliverables like content audits and messaging guides to gradually build a content model that grows with your strategy
How to use collaborative techniques to reduce the complexity of gathering and incorporating stakeholder feedback
Most importantly: Why content modeling isn’t as hard as it seems (and how it can actually be fun)

Transcript

1. 1 DEVI N ASARO MODEL T HE MESSAGE HOLISTIC CO NTEN T MODELING @COPYDEV CONFAB C ENT RAL 2017
2. Just the right tool
3. Everything has a content model
4. A universal language
5. How things are
6. How things can be
7. “…arbitrarily chunking content into parts gives us a model, but it doesn’t necessarily make it a meaningful one…” Sarah Wachter-Boettcher
 Content Everywhere
8. Creating a meaningful model
9. “I’m not very technical”
10. “I’m not very technical” I don’t code
11. Writing and editing are highly technical skills
12. Content modeling is an editorial discipline
13. Meaning and structure are 
 mutually dependent Principle 1:
14. More than documentation
15. Decision making
16. Making the abstract tangible
17. How do we model holistically?
18. 18 DISC OVERY
19. In the beginning, we… 1. Understand the problem space 2. Reflect it back to stakeholders (warts and all)
20. My first content model
21. Silos
22. I’m a content strategist
23. “Our early employees are retiring. We’re losing their knowledge.”
24. “Morale is down.”
25. An information issue A people issue A content issue
26. So, why a content model?
27. Content problems are people problems Principle 2:
28. A guiding light for organizational change
29. Discovery Activities • Stakeholder interviews • User interviews • Competitive analysis • Content inventory • Content audit • Digital ecosystem mapping • Stakeholder alignment • Persona development To name a few…
30. We’ll focus on… • Stakeholder interviews • User interviews • Content audit
31. Talk to stakeholders and users.
 Gather your raw materials
32. “Object mapping provides a… framework to move from strategy to design” Sophia Voycehovski
 “Object-Oriented UX” - A List Apart
 alistapart.com/article/object-oriented-ux Object Mapping
33. SOPs Clinical Data Management Project Managers Abstracts Research Networks Informatics Work Processes Case Studies Functional Groups Author Scholarly Publications Editor Start collecting raw materials
34. And organize Abstracts Clinical Data Management Project Manager SOPs Statistician Informatics Work Processes Conference Presentations Functional Group Author Scholarly Publications Editor Content Role Project Role Content Type
35. Abstracts SOPs Work Processes Conference Presentations Scholarly Publications Content Type What’s the difference between an SOP and a work process? Ask questions Q
36. “Work process” is just what our team calls an SOP. There’s not really a difference.” Ask questions A Abstracts SOPs Work Processes Conference Presentations Scholarly Publications Content Type
37. How do abstracts relate to other content types? Ask questions Q Abstracts SOPs Work Processes Scholarly Articles Content Type Conference Presentations
38. Abstracts SOPs Work Processes Scholarly Articles Content Type Abstracts are the only public-facing representation of scholarly articles… Ask questions Conference Presentations A
39. Abstracts SOPs Work Processes Scholarly Articles Content Type And sometimes conference presentations. Ask questions Conference Presentations A
40. Abstracts Conference Presentations Scholarly Articles Record content relationships Summarizes Content Type
41. Abstracts Conference Presentations Scholarly Articles But don’t stop at content types Summarizes Author Editor Submits for approval Edits/approves Writes Publishes to CM S Content Type Content Role Writes (Presentations only) Publishes to CMS
42. Abstracts Conference Presentations Scholarly Articles Look beyond your properties Summarizes PubMed Author Editor Journals Publishes in… Submits for approval Edits/approves Writes Pulls into CM S Publishes Content Type External Source Content Role Collected in… Writes (Presentations only) Publishes to CMS
43. This is just current state.
44. This is just current state. perceived
45. Mental model
46. Start your audit
47. Use your current-state model to design your rubric and spreadsheet
48. How many unique content types do you have? Stated Content Type Actual Content Type Press Release Blog Post Template Trial Results External Publication Blog Post Blog Post Template Press Release Blog Post Template SOP/Work Process Generic Page Template Announcement Blog Post Template Research Support External Publication Org Chart Generic Page Template Press Release Blog Post Template Org Chart PDF
49. Stated Content Type Actual Content Type Press Release Blog Post Template Trial Results External Publication Blog Post Blog Post Template Press Release Blog Post Template SOP/Work Process Generic Page Template Announcement Blog Post Template Research Support External Publication Org Chart Generic Page Template Press Release Blog Post Template Org Chart PDF Fewer than you think.
50. Identify hacks and workarounds
51. Content Products “Content products answer the question ‘what are we making?’” — Lisa Maria Martin Structured Content Across the Redesign Process
52. Stated Content Type Actual Content Type Author Construction Method Press Release Blog Post Template Text and inline media Research Paper External Publication Pulled from PubMed Blog Post Blog Post Template Text and inline media Press Release Blog Post Template Text and inline media SOP/Work Process Generic Page Template Ad hoc HTML in body field Announcement Blog Post Template Text and inline media Scholarly Article External Publication Pulled from PubMed Org Chart Generic Page Template Embedded PDF Press Release Blog Post Template Ad hoc HTML in body field Org Chart PDF PDF
53. Study the natural outgrowth of the taxonomy
54. Cracks in the system
55. Content models are wrapped in mental models Principle 3:
56. Map your content ecosystem
57. It can get a bit messy Source: Centerline Digital Team: Devin Asaro, Joe Bond
58. Don’t try to capture everything
59. Maps tell a story
60. Stakeholder-
 perceived content 
 types User-perceived content types Problem Space Actual content types Digital Ecosystem
61. 61 PL ANNIN G
62. Phase 1: Objects
63. Phase 2: Actions
64. What do users want/need to do?
65. Adaptive Path Guide to Experience Mapping http://www.mappingexperiences.com/ Experience Mapping “Experience mapping is a collaborative, iterative process for synthesizing and visualizing the holistic customer experience.”
66. 66 THINKING • Which products should I offer my customers & why? • Why should I connect with Company over its competitors? • How can Company help me hit my revenue goals? • What does Company do? How is it different from Company Solutions? FEELING DOING • Wow, this company sure does a lot of stuff. • This website is pretty confusing. Can they give our customers a good CX? • What I found on the site doesn’t match up with what the rep said. Can I trust Company? • It doesn’t seem like Company is a tech-oriented company • What exactly will my customers’ experience actually look like? • What will it be like actually working with Company? • Has Company done something like this for other partners? What were the results? • How do I even get started? • Confusion about Company’s business, offerings, priorities • Internal pressure to grow business and hit revenue goals • Googles Company • Reads consumer reviews of Company on social media, employee reviews on Glassdoor, Linkedin profiles • Looks at Company website, evaluates customer experience • Decides whether to reach out to Company contact • Hesitant to switch from status quo if alternative isn't demonstrably better • Nervous to introduce a new headache if it doesn’t translate to ROI • Indifferent about Company brand because they can't find what they're looking for • Pressure to find partner, sign, and implement quickly • Calling rep to get basic info not available online • Setting up meeting with larger Company & prospect team • Asking about Company internally and with peers in the industry • Looking for case studies, references, or other signals of credibility • Impatient about the length of the sales cycle, eager to make a decision • Wants to understand risks associated with Company partnership • Frustrated about the number of stakeholders that need to sign off • Going through parallel sales & discovery processes with competitors • Evaluating competitors’ customer experiences against cost and potential opportunity • Convincing internal stakeholders • Evaluating risk of switching against cost of doing nothing • Looking for detailed collateral on Company’s technical INCITING ACTION: Prospect interacts with an Company representative at a trade show, becomes interested in biz opportunities RELEVANT PERSONAS • Big business (OEMs, Carriers, TPAs, etc.) • Small Business (Agents, Dealerships, etc.) • Brokers DESIRED OUTCOME To find the right partner, satisfy internal stakeholders, implement quickly and improve returns on their program RESEARCH CONSIDERATION PURCHASE Seeking Business Opportunities Great conversation with Company rep at Searches “Company” Confusing search results Finds relevant page Tries to get examples of Company business partnerships Frustrated, realizes they need to talk to rep; 
 calls original rep Rep provides sales collateral + case studies Sign NDA Asks around internally and in industry about Company Meeting with larger Company team Encounters mixed reviews from Company from partners Customer frustrated with long sales cycle, technical discovery, etc. Signs with competitor Competitors move faster, provide more transparency, and spread negatives about Selects Company to participate in RFP process ! Signs with Company Initial collateral feels generic, not matched to customer needs Rep explains opportunities for partnership, learns about customer needs Customer unhappy with Company’s performance Invites Company to RFP process based on size and history Customer frustrated with lack of communication during long sales cycle ! ! ! Source: Centerline Digital Team: Devin Asaro, Joe Bond
67. Content Opportunities Source: Centerline Digital Team: Devin Asaro, Joe Bond
68. Do we have a content type to support this? Source: Centerline Digital Team: Devin Asaro, Joe Bond
69. Prioritization We don’t know what our content is until we decide what it should do.
70. Source: Centerline Digital
71. Guardrails
72. Translate content priorities into metadata
73. Just enough metadata
74. Source: Centerline Digital
75. TOO M UCH M ETADATA Source: Centerline Digital
76. Model your author experience
77. Source: Centerline Digital
78. Forms aren’t fun
79. Unless you’re a content strategist
80. 80 DESIGN
81. A working content model
82. Let’s break it
83. “Use content overlays to provide specifications and recommendations about a unique page type, such as the home page, or a repeatable page type.” Meghan Casey
 The Content Strategy Toolkit
 thecontentstrategytoolkit.com Content Overlays
84. Start with your principles Source: Centerline Digital Team: Devin Asaro, Joe Bond
85. Identify content goals and use them to create elements Source: Centerline Digital Team: Devin Asaro, Joe Bond
86. Source: Centerline Digital Team: Devin Asaro, Joe Bond
87. Source: Centerline Digital Team: Devin Asaro, Joe Bond
88. Source: Centerline Digital Team: Devin Asaro, Joe Bond
89. Content overlays bring us into the design conversation…
90. Without being prescriptive
91. Divorce content types from intended display
92. Meaning and structure are 
 mutually dependent Principle 1:
93. Content problems are people problems Principle 2:
94. Content models are wrapped in mental models Principle 3:
95. Content modeling is a process, not a deliverable Principle 4:
96. 96 TH ANK YOU DEVI N ASARO @COPYDEV CONFAB C ENT RAL 2017