I must confess to a significant bias around this month’s theme. I believe that the most important thing that content professionals can do is create the right content experience—defining when, where, and how content is delivered to the consumer—and the only way to do that with high success and excellence is to deliver content according to the right content strategy—in other words, determining what information is appropriate for which audience(s) and why. If the consumer can’t find the information, or it appears to them at the wrong time during their activities, or it is not what the reader needs to know … if any of these are true, the content itself isn’t used or appreciated. And users aren’t successful.
I could write a book (and maybe I will!) about content experience and content strategy, but for now, I will let the authors of this issue dispense wisdom in their words about various aspects of this theme.
An issue about content strategy would not be complete without a contribution from Ann Rockley, often referred to as the “mother of content strategy.” In “Ensuring the Success of Your Content Strategy Through Effective Change Management,” she and Charles Cooper bring change management to the fore and discuss how important it is in implementing any new initiative.
In “Measuring and Advancing Your Content Strategy Maturity,” Carrie Hane, Dina Lewis, and Hilary Marsh discuss a very interesting model for assessing content strategy maturity in associations that is easily applied to a commercial venture as well.
Beverly Brown uses an enlightening case study to compare scaling content strategy in small businesses versus large.
In “The Content Audit: Who Should Conduct It?” Isabelle Sperano and Robert Andruchow take a deep dive into their findings after studying 200 publications in content strategy. Their findings provide insights into the skills and experience of the content auditor.
Alan J. Porter launches his discussion of “The Customer Experience in a Culture of Assumption” with a familiar joke opening line, but he’s not kidding.
And finally, Richard Rabil, Jr. provides fodder for the best business case for content strategy—how content and content strategy contribute to revenue generation—in “Content Strategy in Action: Enabling Sales with Product Documentation.”
This month, our columnists are bringing you discussions about everything from mental models to mindset—and of course, a little bit of content strategy and experience. And be sure to check out the information about the new STC Roundtable in the Society Pages. It’s free for April, and the topic is content experience and content strategy!
Content strategy and content experience is ripe for exciting, engaging, and maybe even controversial conversation, so engage us in conversation! The feature authors, columnists, and I provide our email addresses so that you can get in touch. We can also discuss articles and issues with you online—did you know that you can comment on the Web version of any article? We’re hoping you’ll start or join a conversation! Until next time, enjoy the issue!
Andrea L. Ames
