Abstract

Content is king… and the new kingmaker… and your message needs to align with your model and metrics and other mumbo jumbo, right? Whether you’re slogging through theory or buzzwords, there’s no denying content strategy is coming of age. But what’s in it for you? And if you’re not a content strategist, why should you care?

Because even if content strategy isn’t your job, content’s probably your problem—and probably more than you think. You or your business has a message you want to deliver, right? You can deliver that message through various channels and content types, from Tweets to testimonials and photo galleries galore, and your audience has just as many ways of engaging with it. So many ways, so much content… so where’s the problem? That is the problem. And you can measure it in time, creativity, money, lost opportunity, and the sobs you hear equally from creative directors, project managers, and search engine marketing specialists.

The solution is content strategy, and this book offers real-world examples and approaches you can adopt, no matter your role on the team. Put content strategy to work for you by gathering this book into your little hands and gobbling up never-before seen case studies from teams at Johns Hopkins Medicine, MINI, Icebreaker, and more. Content Strategy at Work is a book for designers, information architects, copywriters, project managers, and anyone who works with visual or verbal content. It discusses how you can communicate and forge a plan that will enable you, your company, or your client get that message across and foster better user experiences.

• Presents a content strategy framework and ways to implement in both in-house marketing departments and consultancies
• Includes case studies, interviews, and lessons learned from retail, apparel, network television, business-to-business, automotive, non-profit, and higher ed brands
• Details practical sales techniques to sell content strategy and use content strategy processes to sell other services and larger projects

"This book is filled with easy-to-use models and examples from many different resources. The chapters are cohesive and easy to understand…Content Strategy at Work is useful as a supplement for anyone who is knowledgeable or has a personal interest in content strategy."--Technical Communication, May 2013

"Bloomstein is at her most thought provoking when she shines the light on complex projects that present a host of strategic, editorial, design, organizational and technical challenges. For example, the case of the television network that wanted to comingle its programming content with encyclopedic information, a goal that required the active use of nearly every wrench and screwdriver in the CS toolkit. It demonstrates the highly strategic and supremely tactical nature of content strategy in a single project, including a healthy portion of organizational challenge, a common byproduct of smart content choices. In Content Strategy at Work, Bloomstein frames the cases with meaningful context, crisp approaches to problem solving (I will definitely be cribbing from her message architecture client exercise, which she generously shares) and genuine curiosity." --ScatterGather.Razorfish.com

"The newest book to the list, Content Strategy at Work by Margot Bloomstein, is a great starting point for those with backgrounds in SEO, social media, or design. Bloomstein effortlessly ties common marketing disciplines to the emerging forefront of content marketing and does so by providing ultra-readable and down to earth case studies. The real lesson presented here, and what drives this book, is to give the user a better experience, a goal that all marketers, regardless of background, shouldn’t find much trouble getting behind." --SparkPlugDigital.com

"Margot Bloomstein guides us through the lifecycle and mindset for content strategy. The process begins with defining what you really need to say. It ends with a solid plan, and long-term commitment, for maintaining that content. To illustrate this lifecycle, Bloomstein provides not only approaches from her personal experience but also a range of case studies from non-profits, healthcare, auto, apparel, higher education and many more. That’s a wide variety of budgets, team sizes, and goals. Chances are you'll find many instances in this book that make you say, ‘Their situation is exactly like ours!’" --Content-Science.com

"Bloomstein, who heads a brand and content strategy consultancy that helps retailers, universities, and other clients engage target audiences and project key messages through traditional and social media, shows designers, information architects, project managers, copywriters, social media consultants, and others who work with visual or verbal content specific strategies for prioritizing content initiatives to ensure that its types, tone, and media support the customer experience in a way that is appropriate to the brand and useful to its audience." --Reference and Research Book News, Inc.