Foundational Principles of Successful Content Strategy

When people hear we have a content team, they often follow up with several questions. What does that mean? What do you do differently than other teams? What is content anyway? Those are some of my favorite questions to answer. Content as a practice is something we’ve worked to define, master and make our own over the years.

Defining Content as a Practice

You’ll find various schools of thought if you Google the definition, but here at Curious Plot, we define content and content strategy as follows:

• Content is the messaging, information and implication shared through a client’s owned media. 

  The implication piece is key because we’re not only responsible for determining what the words say explicitly but also what the piece of media implies once visuals, sound, graphics, etc., are added. The owned media piece is not exhaustive but speaks to where our sweet spot is. Once paid and earned media enter the discussion, we’re typically working alongside our public relations and copywriting counterparts.

• Content strategy is a comprehensive practice that guides all content development, ensuring consistency in message, quality, cohesion and alignment with organizational goals. It defines what is being said to whom, when and where.

When building and stewarding content strategies, we follow five key principles.

1. Audience Comes First

Anyone who’s worked with me has probably heard me on this soapbox before. As content practitioners, it is our job to ensure the audience and their needs are at the center of the strategy. It’s easy to get swept away in what a brand wants to say and assume that’s what the audience wants to hear. But the best content listens to the audience first. And then responds.

Unlike traditional copywriting, where you’re creating a message that’s likely interrupting an audience’s attention and your main goal is to pique and catch interest, we’re playing the long game when creating content. We’re considering the entire user journey and creating touchpoints we can foster throughout that experience. We’re helping them solve problems. We’re building communities they want to be a part of. We’re architecting resources they will come to rely on. You can’t do any of that without knowing your audience and putting their needs first.

To put it simply, content is where audience needs and business goals meet.

2. Consider The Bigger Picture

A good content strategy can’t be built in a vacuum. It’s a cross-functional practice that requires visibility across verticals. I always say, one of the best soft skills a content strategist can have is dot connecting. It’s our job to see the larger picture and know when and how to connect dots to create a better, more seamless experience for the audience.

We often work with clients that have multiple business units within their organization, each with their own marketing managers. However, they’re typically all trying to reach the same audience, essentially competing with each other if they’re not perfectly in sync. With an audience-first perspective and a cross-functional approach, a content practitioner can help you map out what’s being said to whom, when, and how you can be more efficient and impactful with your messaging.

3. More Is Not Always Better

As much as our content team loves creating, building something from scratch is not always the answer. In fact, content clutter can do more harm than good. Take websites, for example. When you have old, outdated pages on your website and you keep piling more content on top of it, your user experience becomes more cumbersome, and Google loses interest. Like a garden, your website is a living, breathing entity that benefits from thoughtful weeding and pruning.

That’s why a major function of our team is to inventory, archive and repurpose content. Understanding what you’ve already invested in creating and identifying ways to breathe life back into it can be a cost-effective route that often lifts performance.

4. Content Drives Form

I heard content strategy pioneer Mark McCormick say this on a podcast once and I immediately wanted to print it on a T-shirt and wear it every day. This is so often done in reverse. If a content strategist is given a list of tactics and channels and must retrofit the messaging into it, you’re not asking them to be a content strategist because you missed the boat on the strategy piece. The message you’re sharing should help determine how it’s distributed.

5. Function Is Non-Negotiable

While content production is a creative practice that often has a beautiful result, the intention isn’t solely to create something beautiful. It needs to serve a purpose and be functional for the user. Content needs to be optimized for search engines, user experience, business goals, etc. It needs to be functional before it needs to be flashy. Content should be easy to follow and provide meaningful, interactive experiences.

Building a content strategy can be an overwhelming undertaking, but having one in place makes every decision that follows easier. If this sounds like a practice your business could benefit from, connect with us and let’s make it happen.

As Director of Content Strategy, Kayla Buboltz has spent more than six years at Curious Plot helping clients use content to connect with audiences and meet business goals. When not crafting content strategies, Kayla is studying to obtain her M.S. in agronomy, riding her horse or gardening – always with her dog Lainey in tow.