Content Types: The Glue Between Content

Strategy, User Experience, Design, and Technology

Hilary Marsh, Chief Strategist & President Content Company, Inc.

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h$p://design.cmu.edu/user/849  

a project

system test

build strategic design

solution design

deliver

establish project

“A  New  Yorker's  View  of  the  World”  by  Saul  Steinberg,  New  Yorker,  March  29,  1976  

design team timeline

deliver

system test

branding & identity

couple ifs and a do loop

user research visual interface design

interaction design information design

technical architect’s timeline

deliver

system test graphic designer makes gifs

architecture design

code

business team timeline

deliver

design and build

marketing plan business model

focus groups (optional)

end game!

competitive analysis

What is a content type, anyway, and why should we care?

How many do we have?

How many should we have?

What is a content type? From Drupal: A single web site could contain many types of content, such as informational pages, news items, polls, blog posts, real estate listings, etc. In Drupal, each item of content is called a node, and each node belongs to a single content type, which defines various default settings for nodes of that type, such as whether the node is published automatically and whether comments are permitted. à Article, basic page, blog entry, book page, forum topic, poll, or

custom https://www.drupal.org/node/21947

Definitions by my students

•  Basic page with rotating header image •  Content page with left image •  Information page •  Sub-landing page

What is a content type?

A specification for a structured, standardized, reusable, and mutually exclusive kind of information entity.

--Jonathon Colman, The Language of Content Strategy

What is a content type? …the actual thing a user would read or use, like an article, a recipe, or a help guide entry.

---Sara Wachter-Boettcher Content Everywhere

and a conversation on Slack

What is a content type? I believe it’s most useful to look at a content type as the ontological Thing you’re publishing, regardless of how the Thing is being expressed design-wise.

---Sara Wachter-Boettcher

h$p://www.simoncamilleri.com/the_truth_of_the_elephant/  

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Why are content types important?

•  Search filtering •  Cross-linking •  Consistent presentation and care across the

organization •  Reuse

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h$p://www.nyNmes.com/2016/05/08/fashion/barack-­‐obama-­‐bryan-­‐cranston-­‐table-­‐for-­‐three.html    

h$p://www.brookings.edu/research  

h$p://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-­‐alias%3Daps&field-­‐keywords=prince  

6 considerations

1.  Elements 2.  Metadata 3.  Workflow 4.  Lifecycle 5.  Relationships 6.  Rules of operation

1. Elements

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60%+ of our content

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Blog post News article Report summary Event session Press release Company history

20%+ of our content

Event Conference session Course description Club listing

Not enough information

2. Metadata/taxonomy Content  Type   Topics   Segment   Audience   Channel  

AdministraNve  Amicus  brief  Announcement  ArNcle  Awards  CompeNNon  Course  material  Directory  Diversity  How-­‐to  Lesson  plan  Link  Membership  Model  rule  MulNmedia  News  Opinion  Policy  Projects  iniNaNves  Reports  Scholarships  

Associate  Law  student  Lawyer  Legal  assistant  Legal  professional  Legislator  Media  Paralegal  Pre  law  student  Public  

All  Lawyers  Media  Legal  Professional  Educators  Public  Law  student  

Book  Audio  Tape  PDF  Binder  Media  Player  Paid  SubscripNon  CD  DVD  Periodicals  Course  Materials  Video  Download  eBook  Video  Tape  Online  Course  Public  EducaNon  Loose  Leaf  Audio  Download  Other  Channel  

+  Legal  +  Profession  +  Laws  &  Cases  + Geography  +  Commi=ee  + Organiza@on  

Collec@on  Business  Lawyer  Business  Law  Today  Business  Law  SecNon  Titles  Program/CLE  Materials  Commi$ee/  Subcommi$ee  Documents  

Commi=ee  +  Substan@ve  +  Administra@ve  +  Taskforce  

©  Taxonomy  Strategies  

Topics Topics  

Organiza@on  Geography  CFPB  FINRA  SEC  …  

+  Africa  +  Asia  +  Europe  +  La@n  America  + Middle  East  + North  America  

Legal  AdministraNve  Law  Admiralty  Law  AnNtrust  Law  Appellate  Advocacy  Banking  Law  Bankruptcy  Law  Bar  Services  &  Public  Service  Billing  Biographies  Business  Law  Career  Development  Children  and  the  Law  Civil  PracNce  &  Procedure  Commercial  Law  CommunicaNons  &  Media  Law  ConsNtuNonal  Law  …  

Profession  ABA  AccreditaNon  ABA  Governance  Bar  Admissions  Bar  AssociaNons  Civic  EducaNon  Courts  Diversity  IOLTA  Jury  Law  Libraries  Law  PracNce  Management  Law-­‐related  EducaNon  Lawyer  Referral  Programs  Lawyers  Assistance  Program  Legal  educaNon  Legal  services  LegislaNon  Lobbying  …  

Laws  &  Cases  +  Laws  + Model  Statutes  +  Cases  

©  Taxonomy  Strategies  

3. Workflow

• Who creates? • Who reviews? • Who approves?

4. Lifecycle

Conceive Create Publish

Promote Maintain

Retire

5. Relationships

• What other content types would we want to surface with this?

• What do we want to show them? • What do they want to see?

h$p://philadelphia16.jboye.com/sessions/what-­‐to-­‐get-­‐in-­‐place-­‐to-­‐personalize-­‐experiences/  

6. Rules of operation

• When is this content type appropriate, and when should you not use it?

• Voice/tone and writing notes

Real-life list of content types Article Author guidelines Backgrounder Bibliography Book Call for submissions Conference paper Contract report Day in the life Expert report Expert report related resource Experts list FAQ General Glossary Landing page Listing Login form News listing News release Publication mission Publications list Resource list Reviewer guidelines Sample issue request form Science report Scientific status summary Scientific status summary related resource Search Sponsor guidelines Staff listing Subscription details Topic page Topic policy developments Video gallery Writers guidelines

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Collections

Content “roll-ups”: • Magazine issue made up of articles •  Podcast made up of episodes •  Photo gallery made of individual images •  Etc.

Are these content types?

h$p://ineteconomics.org/ideas-­‐papers/collecNons/greece-­‐and-­‐the-­‐eurozone  

Litmus test

What is the most common content type?

h$p://www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/news/Pages/firststar.aspx  

General

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Let’s dig deep

h$ps://www.pinterest.com/pin/86483255319117458/  

Let’s take a look at some of them

• http://www.ift.org/Knowledge-Center/Focus-Areas/Product-Development-and-Ingredient-Innovations/Nanoscience/Nanotechnology-Backgrounder.aspx

• http://www.ift.org/Knowledge-Center/Learn-About-Food-Science/Food-Facts/About-FS-and-T.aspx

• http://www.kent.edu/coso/commuter-corner • http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/

solutions-managing-your-practice/coding-billing-insurance/cpt/cpt-editorial-panel.page

• http://www.floridarealtors.org/GettingStarted/NewToSales/index.cfm

If you get it wrong…

• One-offs – no pattern • Can’t create business rules • Content ROT • Inability to surface related content • Ineffective search filtering

Checklist: How to identify content types

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• Does it have a unique set of elements? • Does it require unique metadata, or would it use only some of the entire taxonomy?

• Does it have unique workflow needs? • Does it have unique lifecycle needs? • Does it have unique relationships? • Is it created following the rules of operation?

h$p://www.ndguard.ngb.army.mil/news/Pages/firststar.aspx  

No one wants “general”

h$p://www.dkfindout.com/uk/animals-­‐and-­‐nature/elephants/  

We all need to see that it’s an elephant

Want to learn more about content strategy?

http://www.content-strategy-school.com

photo  by  John-­‐Mark  Kuznietsov    

Thank you! Hilary Marsh

http://www.contentcompany.biz

hilary@contentcompany.biz @hilarymarsh