Today is such a special day for me that I wanted to share it with you.It’s been twelve months since I left the relative comfy confines of a corporate job for the rocky road of freelance life. The journey hasn’t always been smooth but I’ve been supported by such an amazing community of fellow content strategists (that means YOU!) that I thought it was time to give something back.
The ten minute content strategy is my way of saying ‘thanks’ for everything you’ve done. You might not like the present I am about to give you, you may even snigger slightly like when you received that pair of florescent stripy socks from your out-of-touch aunt. Just know that these are very special socks and they’ve kept me warm all year…
Content strategy? In ten minutes? Impossible!
But imagine. You’re waiting to go into a meeting when a colleague turns and asks you to present your content ideas for a site you’ve never seen before.
Or, you’re manically working on a project when you hear that gentle, satanic PING OF A CALENDAR REMINDER telling you the boss is going to call in ten. Numbskull! How did you forget?
You get the idea. This isn’t about delivering a comprehensive audit. This is about taking your best shot within a short space of time using a few tools at your disposal. No one is going to let you steer their business after a ten minute audit, but it will lead to further conversations…
When I look at a website I look for relevance. By that I mean I’m looking for evidence that the client has taken a user-centric approach to their digital strategy. Do they actually acknowledge you at all or are you reading what might as well be a marketing brochure?
Make sure you have this hexagon scribbled on a post-it somewhere:
Load up the homepage and look at the following:
Then dig a little deeper, visit a couple of sections on the site, maybe even read an article:
Time to check out social and search. Ask yourself these questions…
Ok, that’s it. The boss is phoning and you’ve run out of time. As you’re speaking to him quickly visit the client mobile site or app. Does it completely suck, or rock?What did you learn? Well, hopefully you’ve looked at this:
You’ve worked fast enough to really take note of your first impressions and, believe me, they count for a lot… Critically, you have should have gained an awareness of your client’s pain points and are ready to whet their appetite for change. You’re ready to talk strategy.
Good luck!
Today is such a special day for me that I wanted to share it with you.It’s been twelve months since I left the relative comfy confines of a corporate job for the rocky road of freelance life. The journey hasn’t always been smooth but I’ve been supported by such an amazing community of fellow content strategists (that means YOU!) that I thought it was time to give something back.
The ten minute content strategy is my way of saying ‘thanks’ for everything you’ve done. You might not like the present I am about to give you, you may even snigger slightly like when you received that pair of florescent stripy socks from your out-of-touch aunt. Just know that these are very special socks and they’ve kept me warm all year…
Content strategy? In ten minutes? Impossible!
But imagine. You’re waiting to go into a meeting when a colleague turns and asks you to present your content ideas for a site you’ve never seen before.
Or, you’re manically working on a project when you hear that gentle, satanic PING OF A CALENDAR REMINDER telling you the boss is going to call in ten. Numbskull! How did you forget?
You get the idea. This isn’t about delivering a comprehensive audit. This is about taking your best shot within a short space of time using a few tools at your disposal. No one is going to let you steer their business after a ten minute audit, but it will lead to further conversations…
When I look at a website I look for relevance. By that I mean I’m looking for evidence that the client has taken a user-centric approach to their digital strategy. Do they actually acknowledge you at all or are you reading what might as well be a marketing brochure?
Make sure you have this hexagon scribbled on a post-it somewhere:
Load up the homepage and look at the following:
Then dig a little deeper, visit a couple of sections on the site, maybe even read an article:
Time to check out social and search. Ask yourself these questions…
Ok, that’s it. The boss is phoning and you’ve run out of time. As you’re speaking to him quickly visit the client mobile site or app. Does it completely suck, or rock?What did you learn? Well, hopefully you’ve looked at this:
You’ve worked fast enough to really take note of your first impressions and, believe me, they count for a lot… Critically, you have should have gained an awareness of your client’s pain points and are ready to whet their appetite for change. You’re ready to talk strategy.
Good luck!
Steven Wilson-Beales is Head of Editorial at Global, responsible for the digital editorial output across 11 brands including LBC, Capital, Heart, Classic FM, Radio X, Smooth and Popbuzz. Those brands are now viewed in more than a billion Facebook newsfeeds each month.
Before joining Global in 2014, he was Managing Editor (Entertainment) at MSN UK and Head of Internet at Ministry of Sound. He started his career as a music journalist for Universal Music.