Mobile creates a million challenges, but it's also been a boon for content specialists. It's shown how much content matters—and how hard it is to deal with changing devices and unpredictable screen sizes without considering key messages and communication priorities first. Suddenly, content strategists are in demand. But we're not here to be the new hotness—the must-have tech hire of the moment. We're here to make an impact on our users' experiences and our organizations' success. We're here to solve problems. Those problems won't be fixed with audit spreadsheets and editorial plans alone, though. They require a new set of skills: not just doing, but educating, collaborating, and facilitating change. By taking advantage of this moment—our moment—we can do more than fix today's mobile issues. We can give our digital initiatives focus, our projects purpose, and our organizations the ability to adapt.

1. our
mobile
moment
content strategy applied // october 2013
sara
wachterboettcher

10. BUT I’LL ADMIT IT...

11. MOBILE IS HARD.

12. ‘‘
Being everywhere is challenging.
We want people to feel like they
experience the same news stories
everywhere.
—Marisa Gallagher,
CNN Digital

13. IT’S MADE
CONTENT
PROBLEMS
MORE
OBVIOUS.

14. now devices keep getting
weirder and weirder.

15. it’s not just phones
and tablets, either.

16. www.flickr.com/photos/ggwig/3576755559
none of us is sure
what’s coming.

17. Image link
COPY TO GO
WITH IMAGE.

18. WE HAVE TO ADAPT
INSTEAD.

20. CONTENT
GOES HERE.

21. Trim, compact writing
Modular content
Logically broken into parts
Clearly labeled
Cleanly stored

22. We are in a war between giant,
unstructured blobs of content, and clean,
well-structured !ields of content... We are
in a war of Blobs versus Chunks.
—Karen McGrane

23. www.flickr.com/photos/ogimogi/2253657555/
Chunks create
opportunities...

24. www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/2391794127
...to build what
our users need.

25. IT’S A LOT OF
WORK, TRUE.

26. BUT IT MEANS
WE’RE IN DEMAND.

31. www.flickr.com/photos/mirka23/4600669094/

32. www.flickr.com/photos/nickwebb/3904325807/
we’ve finally
made it.

33. WE’RE JUST
GETTING STARTED.

35. CONTENT IS ALSO
WHAT COMES
OUT OF AN
ORGANIZATION.

36. www.flickr.com/photos/patchworkharmony/8206364973
it reveals our
values and beliefs.

37. our ownership
issues.
www.flickr.com/photos/seabamirum/2848715801

38. our fear of
change.
www.flickr.com/photos/paulvaarkamp/481912299

39. www.flickr.com/photos/merlym/3512356738/

40. www.flickr.com/photos/merlym/3512356738/

42. Blah
Blah
Blah
Blah
Blah
Blah

43. where things
fall apart.

44. www.flickr.com/photos/spanner/1591803996
getting unstuck is
our job, too.

45. CONTENT STRATEGY
APPLIED.

46. CONTENT STRATEGY
THAT WORKS.

47. CONTENT STRATEGY
SUSTAINED.

48. OUR ROLE MUST
BE GREATER THAN
THE SUM OF OUR
SKILLS.

49. ‘‘
Content is easy, people are messy.
—Sally Bagshaw,
@snappysentences

50. EDUCATE
COLLABORATE
FACILITATE

51. EDUCATE
COLLABORATE
FACILITATE

52. www.flickr.com/photos/mrgarin/2418185010
first, go to
them.

53. www.flickr.com/photos/incomedream/5549766013
meet barb.

54. BARB WAS
DIFFICULT. SHE
WAS STUBBORN.
WE NEEDED HER.

55. ✦
How did you develop the
process you have now?
✦
Where are you spending the
most time?
✦
What’s hard about your job?
✦
What might make it easier?

56. EDUCATE
COLLABORATE
FACILITATE

57. www.flickr.com/photos/clam113/2666711074
content is a
team sport.

58. www.flickr.com/photos/darrensnow/2566687702
specialized,
not special.

59. EDUCATE
COLLABORATE
FACILITATE

60. www.flickr.com/photos/JMV/2692208452
we can’t be
superheroes.

61. www.flickr.com/photos/justsketchy/6639463877
but we can
be guides.

62. THIS IS OUR
MOMENT.

63. HOW WILL YOU
MAKE IT MATTER?

64. thank you.
@sara_ann_marie
sara@sarawb.com