Content strategy and the role of PR

14th March 2010. Posted by Ruth Pipkin. Trackback

I’m at SXSW Interactive in Austin, Texas in the company of a huge delegation of digital media companies and producers from the West Midlands and the UK.

This is my third year at SXSWi – and in that time I’ve seen the biggest changes to the media industry in my career.  I’m here to keep on top of how brands are reacting to that change, and how we can work with our clients to make the most of new opportunities online. It’s also great to be surrounded by 17,000 delegates from across the world, all looking at new ways to be creative on the web. I’m certainly feeling inspired already, and we’ve only just finished day two.

Notes and videos on keynotes and most of the presentations are generally available on the SXSW site during and after the event, or courtesy of the army of live bloggers, so here I’m going to pull my highlights from the best of the sessions I’ve attended, and provide any interesting links to resources or case studies.

Day one for me drove home the importance of solid strategy and planning in client campaigns. In Content Strategy, What’s in it For You, Margot Bloomstein from Appropriate Inc focussed on the time, money and effort that can be saved if a content strategist is brought in at the very early stages of planning a web campaign. It’s pretty obvious stuff, but still so many companies dive in to create a site that looks great without enough focus on how it will be used, how users will engage with it and how they’ll ensure the content keeps growing in line with their brand values. This becomes even more of an issue given the number of online platforms brands are using.

Developing a sound editorial schedule for a  site which is influenced by and shared with all parties including the designer and search marketer, ensures that not only will the content be right for the brand, it will fit with the site’s structure and will be found online. This needs to be echoed across all other platforms, such as social media sites.

I think PRs have an important role to play in content strategy. We’re looking out for the opportunities to tell our clients stories, and should have a solid media plan for generating coverage across the life of a campaign. We’ll also be the ones who will challenge a client if we don’t think a story is strong enough, and work to create something of value. These skills for teasing out newsworthy and relevant content, along with communicating a strong message and targeting diverse audiences put us in a good position to cross over to content strategy on the web. It’s certainly a role that our company is being asked to play an increasing part in, and something that we’re developing to bring more value to client campaigns.

Margot’s link for more info and groups to meet and discuss with other content strategists can be found on www.contentstrategy.com/community  It’s pretty US focused, but I’m going to be searching out some closer to home. You can also download a free chapter of Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson here.

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Hi Ruth, content strategy is a growing role in the US. Heard from a lot of people here that they don't have to justify it as a role in places like New York, but it's relatively unknown as a role in the UK. Fancy joint-hosting a content strategy meetup back in Birmingham? Also, there's a content strategy forum in Paris in April if you're interested: http://fionacullinan.com/2010/02/i-am-attending-these-keywords-in-2010-ses-sxswi-and-csforum/ April in Paris? Oh yes.

FionaC
15th March 2010

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Hi Fiona - would love to host a joint content strategy meet-up. I'm really interested to see how we can work with others from across different disciplines to improve clients' web content. Lets have a chat over a nice english cup of tea :)

Ruth Pipkin
16th March 2010