The Politics of Content

We label content as sticky and messy, but far too often it is good ole fashioned politics that get in the way of fulfilling your content goals. Even the most articulate content strategies and editorial workflows are derailed by individual and corporate agendas.

This session explores how all our content became so darn political. We will discuss why content, more than any other facet of business, is the most politically charged and what you, as a content savant, can do about it.

You will walk out of this session feeling more comfortable asking the awkward questions throughout your content project lifecycle, as well as discovering realistic methods to remove politics from upending your content gameplan.

Transcript

1. Matthew Grocki! Grass Fed Content! @mgrocki! #DCSC13! THE POLITICS OF CONTENT !
2. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Content is political!
3. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Content is political!
4. “One of the biggest contributors to poor quality content is internal politics”! ! Rick Allen! Meet Content! #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
5. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
6. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! $609,000!
7. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! 1,101,560!
8. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
9. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
10. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
11. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Misappropriation of money! ! Redundant spending! ! Bloated budgets! ! Poor choices by key decision makers! ! Lack of accountability!
12. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! The Politics of Content! •  By the time we recognize we’re in a political struggle with content it’s often too late.! •  Content is more than political. Deconstructing the processes that drive such heavily charged information can minimalize politics getting in the way of achieving your content goals.! ! •  The politics of content = $$$. The more politics, the more expensive your content objectives. !
13. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Navigating the Politics of Content!
14. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Navigating the Politics of Content! •  Explore the warning signs! •  Show the politics of content in action! •  Show ways to mitigate politics derailing your content objectives!
15. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Warning Signs!
16. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Warning Signs! •  Your content initiatives are crossing multiple lines of business!
17. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Warning Signs! •  Your content initiatives are crossing multiple lines of business! •  Large organization (institution, non-profit)!
18. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Warning Signs! •  Your content initiatives are crossing multiple lines of business! •  Large organization (institution, non-profit)! •  Buy-in not high enough up the food chain!
19. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Warning Signs! •  Your content initiatives are crossing multiple lines of business! •  Large organization (institution, non-profit)! •  Buy-in not high enough up the food chain! •  Assumed cost of business!
20. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Multiple lines of business!
21. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Size of your organization!
22. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Your clout is buried!
23. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Ecosystem of inefficiency!
24. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Cost of doing business!
25. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Cost of doing business!
26. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! 10 years ago a publically traded company was making over 50 million in annual revenue creating software and services for the banking industry. Much like many successful growing companies, they acquired companies to improve their organization. !
27. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! My job was to work with the content that came along with those acquisitions. I wasn’t so much writing content and managing writers, as I was dealing with a content windfall. !
28. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
29. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Keep! Rebrand! Update! Retire! ?!
30. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
31. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Multiple offices! ! Integrated products! ! Separate marketing objectives! ! Localization concerns! ! Numerous content producers!
32. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Marketing – was content aligned with global brand?! ! Sales - how will these products be sold in the future?! ! Development – how will products or service be built?! ! Legal – does the product do what previously claimed?! ! Support – are we still supporting current features?! ! Research – evolution into current business ecosystem? ! !
33. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! •  Brokering conversations! •  Deal making between teams! •  Lobbying for tools! •  Drafting regulations! ! !
34. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! •  Brokering conversations! •  Deal making between teams! •  Lobbying for tools! •  Drafting regulations! ! !
35. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! •  Brokering conversations! •  Deal making between teams! •  Lobbying for tools! •  Drafting regulations! ! ! !
36. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! What does this mean for you? !
37. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
38. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
39. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
40. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
41. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Your Product Description! Cocktail napkin! ! ! White board! ! ! Requirements document! ! ! Web site!
42. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Your Product Description! CEO needs a presentation! Sales training! United lounge! Product development!
43. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Your Product Description! CEO needs a presentation! Sales training! United lounge! Product development! Training materials!
44. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Your Product Description! CEO needs a presentation! Sales training! United lounge! ! Product development! Training materials! Different United lounge!
45. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Your Product Description! CEO needs a presentation! ! ! Sales training! United lounge! ! Product development! Training materials! Different United lounge! Bar!
46. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Your Product Description! Marketing! ! •  Brochures ! •  Web Copy! •  Data Sheets! •  Micro sites! •  Sales sheets! •  White papers! •  Video content! !
47. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Your Product Description! Marketing! ! •  Brochures ! •  Web Copy! •  Data Sheets! •  Micro sites! •  Sales sheets! •  White papers! •  Video content! !
48. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Your Product Description! Marketing! ! •  Brochures ! •  Web Copy! •  Data Sheets! •  Micro sites! •  Sales sheets! •  White papers! •  Video content! ! •  Product is about to go to market! •  Development can’t get a feature to work! •  Sales never hears of this! •  Marketing and training aren’t communicating! •  Feature is dropped, but legal doesn’t review!
49. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
50. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Your Product Description! Marketing! ! •  Brochures ! •  Web Copy! •  Data Sheets! •  Micro sites! •  Sales sheets! •  White papers! •  Video content! ! •  Product is about to go to market! •  Development can’t get a feature to work! •  Sales never hears of this! •  Marketing and training are communicating! •  Feature is dropped, but legal doesn’t review! •  Over 20 different versions of your product’s story! •  Product has been live for 3 hours! •  Your website isn’t optimized for SEO! •  The phone starts to ring…! !
51. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Your Product Description! Marketing! ! •  Brochures ! •  Web Copy! •  Data Sheets! •  Micro sites! •  Sales sheets! •  White papers! •  Video content! ! •  Product is about to go to market! •  Development can’t get a feature to work! •  Sales never hears of this! •  Marketing and training are communicating! •  Feature is dropped, but legal doesn’t review! •  Over 20 different versions of your product’s story! •  Product has been live for 3 hours! •  Your website isn’t optimized for SEO! •  The phone starts to ring…! ! “What does your product do and how can it help me?”! !
52. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Your Product Description! Marketing! ! •  Brochures ! •  Web Copy! •  Data Sheets! •  Micro sites! •  Sales sheets! •  White papers! •  Video content! ! •  Product is about to go to market! •  Development can’t get a feature to work! •  Sales never hears of this! •  Marketing and training are communicating! •  Feature is dropped, but legal doesn’t review! •  Over 20 different versions of your product’s story! •  Product has been live for 3 hours! •  Your website isn’t optimized for SEO! •  The phone starts to ring…! ! “What does your product do and how can it help me?”! ! Without even realizing it, your company has just spent thousands – if not tens of thousands of dollars – creating duplicate content they will spend over tens of thousands of dollars to clean up. !
53. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
54. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! How did we get here?! •  Content can be a very expensive version of telephone! •  Lack of content strategy creates a preponderance of duplicity! •  LOBs constantly battle for funding, profit margins, and resources! •  We have created a landscape of cultural internal corporate competition, each vying for executive acceptance and MONEY !
55. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Mitigate the risks of politics! •  Build politics into the cost of your project! •  Ask the tough questions early in the project! •  Align contentious groups for the sake of the project! !
56. #DCSC13! @mgrocki!
57. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Thank You! @mgrocki!
58. #DCSC13! @mgrocki! Attributions! http://thejesusvirus.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/coffeedonuts.png! http://arnoud.vandelaak.eu/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/peacefully-asleep.jpg! http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/ m490314_60040199011_Warhammer40kRulebookOpen_873x627.jpg! http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/campaign-finance! http://www.nathanmagnuson.com/the-value-of-asking-why/! http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/old-silos-david-paul-murray.jpg! http://smartpei.typepad.com/robert_patersons_weblog/images/2008/02/02/commerce02.jpe! http://www.ci.carbondale.il.us/userfiles/organizationalChart.jpg! http://blog.skillter.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/iStock_000004145220XSmall2.jpg! http://firstamericanvaluation.com/images/2col_lg_industrial_building.jpg! http://www.awidernet.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/dsc02638b.JPG! http://www.thewb.com/media/b052f6d65a/batman_black_and_white_pc.jpg! http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/06/0601_indias_world_class_companies/image/ 001_intro.jpg! http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/old-silos-david-paul-murray.jpg! http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/old-silos-david-paul-murray.jpg! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Uncle_Sam_(pointing_finger).jpg! http://www.openoffice.org/product/index.htm! http://www.kaybelsolutions.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/legal.jpg! http://baddice.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Bad-Dice-Live.png! !