Humans Not Zombies: Identity-Based Content Strategy for More Engaging Websites

@melissa_egg • #eduiconf
Humans Not
Identity-Based Content Strategy
for More Engaging Websites
Melissa Eggleston
UX/Content Strategist
melissa@melissaegg.com
Zombies:

AGENDA
①  Use identity for your high-level content strategy
②  Dig into details in your page-level content strategy
③  Recognize and avoid common zombie traits

About Me
•  UX Specialist / Content Strategist
•  UX Researcher for Lenovo (part-time)
•  1st writing on the web in 1996 about soccer
•  Hula hoops > zombies
•  The Zombie Business Cure

Organizations who have lost their
way communicate like zombies.

1 Identity

1.  Zombie examples
2.  Brand
3.  Core values

@melissa_egg • #eduiconfPhoto courtesy of the US Army, Creative Commons License 2.0

Who is this guy anyway?
Everyone

TIGER DIDN’T NEED HELP
WITH HIS BRANDING.

Blank Slide
@TwitterHandle • #CMWorld

@melissa_egg • #eduiconf@TwitterHandle • #CMWorld
“Quite frankly, some
women’s bodies just
actually don’t work for
[the product]…”

Who is this organization selling
fancy yoga pants?
Everyone

Organizational identity is the way an
organization views itself and how it
would like others to view it.
It’s an organization’s distinctive
character. It’s what makes you – YOU!

Identity

Brand

Brand is what
you portray to the public.
Identity is who you actually are.
Denise Haviland
Executive Director, Marketing & Strategic Communication,
Duke University

Problematic Brand

YOUR VALUES ARE
COMING OUT ANYWAY.

The Success of Charles Schwab
•  Served customers for more than 40 years
•  Valued in the market at close to $51 billion
•  Entrusted with $2.62 trillion of people’s money
•  Won 5 Gallup Great Workplace Awards
•  Sailed through the 2008 financial crisis unscathed

JONATHAN
CRAIG
Chief Marketing Officer
Charles Schwab

Be remarkably repetitive so that
everyone has a clear sense of
who you are, what you stand for
and what you do.
Jonathan Craig
Chief Marketing Officer, Charles Schwab

q  Are you aware of your organization’s core values?
q  Are these values easily remembered?
q  Do you use them in your communication?
q  Are you proud of what your organization stands for
and who it is?
q  Do you think your organization is heading the right
direction in terms of what it is becoming?
Health Checkup

Photo courtesy of Paul Hudson on Flicker Creative Commons
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pahudson/
QUICK & DIRTY

2 Page Level Content Strategy

1.  Plan for the page
2.  Meaningful markers
3.  Important items 1st

Meaningful Markers
•  Get the most out of headings
•  Choose descriptive words your users know
•  Make (descriptive) links, titles, and
headlines work for you

@melissa_egg • #eduiconfSource: www.cs.duke.edu/education/graduate

Writing Better Headlines
•  Is the headline accurate?
•  How easy is it to parse?
•  Could it benefit from a number?
•  Are all the words necessary?
Source: www.poynter.org/how-tos/newsgathering-storytelling/
140675/10-questions-to-help-you-write-better-headlines/

@melissa_egg • #eduiconfSource: Nielsen Norman Group Report

Inverted pyramid

Important Items First
•  Front load words, especially in headlines
•  Avoid welcome statements and fluff
•  Give evidence and statistics to support the
assertions you make

Our Richmond-based organization works
to help young adults find meaningful service-
learning experiences.
We help young adults find meaningful
service-learning experiences.
Young adults gain meaningful service-
learning experiences with our help.

3 Common Zombie Traits to Avoid

1.  Confusing
2.  Haphazard
3.  Indistinguishable

Haphazard Zombies...
•  Have typos
•  Have broken links
•  Look disheveled visually
•  Have catch-all pages with no plan

ZOMBIES ALL LOOK
THE SAME.

JULIE
LELLIS
Associate Professor
Elon University

“We’re helpful!”

Find Your Differences By:
•  Asking leaders of programs/departments
•  Asking students in programs/departments
•  Talking to those who just recently made the
decision to become a part of your organization
•  Talking to those who have been in your
organization <18 months - “What surprised you?”

BE YOUR BEST SELF!
DON’T BE A ZOMBIE.
melissa@melissaegg.com
Melissa Eggleston
UX/Content Strategist

Humans Not Zombies: Identity-Based Content Strategy for More Engaging Websites

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Humans Not Zombies: Identity-Based Content Strategy for More Engaging Websites