5 Content Strategy Trends for 2011

1. Branded Content Everywhere
Everybody’s doing it, why shouldn’t you? Check out Converse Rubber Tracks. Check in on Dolce & Gabana’s Swipe.com, their branded content initiative to connect with luxury customers. Have you seen Honda’s Dream the Impossible campaign?  Brands are taking different approaches to branded content, some more successful than others. But they’re doing it and you should think about doing it, too.

I know. I can hear my Mother. “If everyone else jumped off of a bridge, would you?”  Right, just because everybody else is doing it, doesn’t mean you should do it, too.  But look at reasons why they’re doing it. I used to challenge my Mom and drive her nuts with my questions: “How high is the bridge? How much water? Are there strong currents? Are people getting sucked in and drowning? Or are they laughing and having a good time? Is there a swing? Because I love jumping off of those swings that soar out over the water. It’s fun.”

So take a look around and ask yourself, why are so many branded content communities popping up?  What are they doing well? What’s not working? What can content do for your brand? What can you do better than the other guys?

(Note: I’m polishing up a post on tips for creating unforgettable branded content. Stay tuned.)

2. Multi-Platform Friendly Content (And Debate)
Content needs to be seamless these days. Consumers are reading websites from personal computers, mobile devices with varied screen sizes, and television screens. They are still reading magazines and books, sometimes in print and sometimes on an electronic reader. They are listening to music and watching videos. TV is on television, it’s online, it’s in a cloud, it’s on a plane. It’s necessary to consider all of platforms on which your readers/viewers/listeners will digest your content. 

Now for the debate. There is a lot of rumbling about Create Once, Publish Everywhere. It’s great in theory, but as any solid content creator knows, it can be a challenge.  From the ‘90s right on up into today, many writers spend time editing print content for the web. It’s a different style. Chunked and scannable.  Brief. And now, the same conversation is happening around mobile. Make it shorter, but don’t kill the message.  The same goes for video.  At which touch points will viewers watch a 5 minute video, and when do they want just the basics in :30 seconds or less.

These aren’t exactly new questions, but as more platforms and content types become accessible by the masses, it gets more complex to make sure quality content suits the medium.  Discussions on ways to make the happen effectively and efficiently are underway.

3.  Content Strategy Alignment Across Enterprise
So the web has for years been revealing inconsistencies of content created over time and often by different departments within organizations. As Content Strategy for the web gains momentum, industries are making note of the need to align and integrate beyond the web space. They are borrowing from web content strategy to re-evaluate the way departments work with respect to content. This includes PR, marketing, legal, print, web, tv – anywhere content makes an appearance. 

4. Content for the Semantic Web
People want content when they want it. They want it to be contextually relevant and bubbled up at the moment when they need it most. They wish computers understood them better.  Content Strategist will continue to help bridge the gap between meaning and literal interpretations by technology. They will be writing semantic content. Where metadata is words about words, semantic metadata is meaning about meaning. This data will work to capture the meaning of content, not just categorize it or generally associate it.  It also helps create meaningful relationships between data.  Here is a nice primer: The Semantic Web Explained.  

 5. Expertise Along the Content Strategy Spectrum
There is a spectrum of talent and skills represented in content strategy.  Often times content strategists will fall to the left, or to the right. Of the brain hemisphere, that is. Left brain represents the more technical aspects of content strategy – metadata, architecture, structure. They often work closely with business analysts, information architects, and IT.  And to the right, we have more of a focus on editorial strategy. Things like voice and tone, brand, messaging.  These strategists work more closely with brand, marketing, and social media. Generally, people will be stronger in one focus versus the other, but most will have solid conceptual knowledge across the entire spectrum.  Some “middle brainers” will seamlessly weave back and forth between the two. Companies will need to determine their primary needs in order to correctly match people to the roles. Smaller companies and departments may do well to look for the “middle brainers”, and set aside training or outsourcing budget to fill any gaps in skills or talent to be sure the content strategy stays on track.

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