"The Myth of the Perfect Methodology: Breaking and Recreating the Content Strategy Process" - Corey Vilhauer at Confab 2012 in Minneapolis, MN. (May 15, 2012)

1. the
MYTH
of
the
perfect
METHODOLOGY

2. hashtag:
#methmyth

3. hi
I’m corey
@mrvilhauer

4. Blend Interactive
Sioux Falls, SD

5. METHODOLOGY?
“Formal
documentation
of
a
set
of
processes.”

6. SCIENTIFIC METHOD
ASK A QUESTION
Research a problem
Form a Hypothesis
Test the Hypothesis
Communicate/Change

7. METHODOLOGIES
ALLOW FOR
REPLICATION

8. hooray web!

10. The LIst

11. METHODOLOGY ≠
A List of tasks

12. In the beginning...

13. define the
damn thing

15. THESE ARE GUIDES
NOT METHODOLOGIES

16. “Content
strategy
is
suf8iciently
diverse
that
nearly
all
content
workers
must
specialize
to
some
extent,
and
our
methodologies
tend
to
re8lect
on
that
specialization.”
-­‐Erin
Kissane

17. It’s more
complicated
than that

18. We Think
we’re this

19. But really,
we’re this

20. Each
project
is different

21. Each
deliverable
is different

22. Each
client
is different

23. Each
one of us
is different

24. WE’RE ALL
SNOWFLAKES

25. So.
Why bother?

26. CommunicatioN

27. MAKE IT OFFICIAL
guidance
Consistency
integrity

28. The Methodology
for creating a
methodology

29. find a trail guide

31. Content Strategy Deliverables*
What Are You Trying to Achieve?
Summary of company goals
What Do You Own?
Content inventory or audit
Content assessment (quality and quantity)
Whatʼs Missing?
Content gap analysis
Comparative content analysis
Competitive analysis
How Do You Present the Words?
User personas
User scenarios (think believable stories)
Editorial strategy
Core messaging strategy
Content templates
Sample content
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy
Metadata strategy
Brand strategy
Style guide
CREATE A MASTER LIST
Glossary
Where Does It Go?
Copy deck
Content conversion/migration strategy
Content flow schematic
Channel strategy

32. break
and
recreate

34. You are never
finished

35. “With
iteration,
instead
of
driving
an
idea
blindly
into
the
world,
hoping
to
get
lucky,
you
tip-­‐toe,
feeling
as
you
go.
And
you
are
guided
by
the
feedback
you
get.
...
There
are
no
beginnings
or
endings
-­‐
just
small
steps
forward.”
-­‐Robin
Sloan

36. steal like an artist

37. “...A
result
of
4-­‐5
years
of
pilfering
the
Internet.”
-­‐Jeffrey
MacIntyre,
Arc90

38. “This
one’s
mine.
Let’s
take
another.”
-­‐Fugazi
(kind
of)

39. give a little dap, yo

40. With special
thanks to...

41. MAKE IT personal

42. “Experience
is
a
brutal
teacher,
but
you
learn.
My
God,
do
you
learn.”
-­‐C.S.
Lewis

43. An Example:
Audiences and Outcomes

44. tl;dr

45. YOU CAN’T BREAK the
RULES IF YOU DON’T
MAKE the RULES.

46. THE SOAPBOX

47. OUR WORK IS
PERSONAL

48. OUR WORK IS
fluid

49. “Strategy
is
a
frontier
sport.”
-­‐Melissa
Rach,
CS
Forum
2011

50. OUR WORK is
worth sharing

52. "We
have
to
be
okay
with
sharing
what
we
know.
Everyone
gets
credit
for
showing
their
work.
There’s
no
reason
to
protect
how
we
do
things.
Every
client
is
different;
every
project
presents
new
information
to
learn
from."
-­‐Nicole
Jones

53. So.
Go forth and
METHODOLOGIZE

54. ( thank you )
For
notes
and
resources,
visit:
eatingelephant.com/2012/05/confab2012

55. COREY VILHAUER
@mrvilhauer
www.eatingelephant.com
www.blendinteractive.com
www.blackmarks.net