Content Strategy

What is Content Strategy? To quote Content Wrangler: “Content Strategy is the analysis and planning to develop repeatable system that governs the management of content throughout the entire content life cycle.” We are technical writers. Why do we need a content strategy? We are only documenting a product and features for people to use. Is it not enough if we just focus on making It simple and readable? Here I borrow from Content Wrangler again – “Provides context, so that the organizations vision can be implemented in an integrated way to meet business goals and project objectives.”

Business goals and project objectives are the key terms. What we are writing here should integrate well with the product to meet the business goals of helping and retaining customers. Project objective goes beyond on time delivery of content. We need to maintain the content for patches, upcoming releases and may be new products that the business unit builds based on this product we are working on.

Anytime we start on a new project, or jump into writing for an existing project, before getting started with the feature, consider doing the following:

•  Look at the product. If you can watch a demo, great. Understand the reach of the product the expected or existing customer base.
•  Understand the impact to the other products around this one. How this product relates to other products in the same business unit or company.
• Talk to the PM. Ask what is the long term goal for the product.
• Wait – you are not ready to reach out to the SME for tech TOI yet!
• Then –

o   If it is an existing, mature product, analyze the existing content. Understand the plan behind the organization. See how you can leverage this existing organization to meet the goals you understand for the product.

o   If it is a new product, discuss and plan on the kind of information the users would need (Your document deliverables).

• -          Now do the following:

o   Plan content for reuse between deliverables.

o   Setup folders and file names in your CMS for easy identification and usage between writers.

o   Think task based minimalism and plan topics for deliverables.

o   Make sure to follow your organizations guidelines for titles and style

o   See if you have to localize your content in future. If that is the case, make sure to be consistent in your language usage to improve cost efficiency by building a healthy translation memory.

Think of the long term impact when you plan for short term deliverables, depending on the technology, market, consumers and language.