Our content strategy
What do Wallace and Gromit, the big bang and magic wands have in common? A content strategy!
NICEtimes catches up with Chris Flood, our content strategy lead, for an update on the content strategy project.
Remind us. Why do we need a content strategy at NICE?
"There are a couple of reasons.
"Firstly, I think we all recognise that our current way of producing content - which is geared towards big, narrative word documents optimised for print - needs to change. Through the course of my career, the meaning of ‘digital content’ has changed quite dramatically. Starting as ‘content on a website’, it then became ‘content on an app’ and now it’s ‘content in any format people want to access it’.
"As that meaning has changed, so have people’s expectations. Where the world is now, people will not put up with a bad digital experience just because an organisation is not seen as a ‘tech company’.
"Secondly, if you take that change in expectations and add it to the complexity and volume of the content we produce, it becomes clear that it’s not enough to give our website a ‘lick of paint’.
"That’s where content strategy comes in. We need to think about our mindset when it comes to stuff like governance, how we measure the success of our content and much more. At the risk of stumbling into clichés, it’s the ‘iceberg’ analogy. Where the output of our content is the tip, but there’s loads going on beneath the surface. Content strategy helps us tackle the challenge of all the ‘below the surface’ stuff."
"It’s pretty clear that it’s not enough to just give our website a
‘lick of paint’."
Developing a content strategy for such a complex organisation has been a challenge
Developing a content strategy for such a complex organisation has been a challenge
What’s been the most challenging thing about developing the strategy so far?
"Definitely the complexity of the organisation. And, if I’m honest, the lack of many of the structures that normally exist to underpin a content strategy. There are quite a lot of things that are a basic requirement. Stuff like a product strategy and audience segmentation.
Developing a content strategy for such a complex organisation has been a challenge
"We’re getting all these things in place. But we’re developing them in parallel. There have been times where I’ve felt a bit like Gromit in the scene from ‘The Wrong Trousers’ where he’s laying track as the toy train races around the house!"
What’s been easy? What’s been not so easy?
"The easiest thing has been convincing people that content is important. It sounds silly, but most of my background is with organisations that are not publishers. And, first and foremost, I’d say NICE is a publisher. So, a lot of the ‘content is the lifeblood of the organisation’ speeches I tend to make have not been needed here. Everyone is already committed to creating the best possible content - which is great!
"On the flipside, we do like complexity at NICE. And we also like trying to connect all of that complexity in quite a formal way - which is part of what’s made our content so successful in the past. That approach goes against some of the ways of working we need to adopt to meet our longer term objectives for content. So, trying to navigate those 2 worlds and find the middle ground has definitely been a challenge."
Give us a short explanation of what you mean when you talk about ‘content maturity’.
"My one-liner would be:
"It’s about recognising there is no magic wand that will solve all of your organisation’s content problems."
"The longer explanation is that when organisations realise that their content needs to be improved, there’s a tendency to do one of 2 things:
- throw a load of money at delivering a new website to make the output look better, or
- launch a root and branch review that tries to solve every problem as part of a gigantic programme of content work.
"The problem with the first approach is you make quite superficial changes. And these do not fix the underlying reasons stopping your experience from being up to scratch in the first place. So, 2 years down the line, you need to do the whole thing all over again.
"The problem with the second approach is that you never deliver anything of value. Because the work becomes too complex. So, you end up with a bunch of proof of concepts that do not go anywhere, or drown in governance.
"What maturity models ask you to do is think about what’s holding you back. What's preventing you from being the type of organisation that could deliver better content by default? This sometimes means investing in better technology. But it’s more often cultural or process challenges. Like a governance structure that’s too hierarchical, or a lack of the right content management skills in the organisation.
"Once you’ve identified the changes you need to make, it gives you a framework for delivering that change in a phased way. As well as any dependencies that might exist. No magic wands required!"
“You’ve got to do things you’ve never done before, to get to places you’ve never been before.”
John Paz, content strategist
What’s the best piece of content strategy advice you’d give or have been given?
"There’s a quote I really like from a content strategist called John Paz. In one of his talks he says:
“You’ve got to do things you’ve never done before, to get to places you’ve never been before.”
"Personally, I think that’s just great advice for life. But I try to especially remember it when I’m doing work outside of my comfort zone that requires taking a step or two into the unknown. This happens a lot in the realm of content strategy.
"The advice I give to content people I mentor is all about focus. Organisations with a higher level of content maturity have a really clear focus. And they’re comfortable with saying no to developing content that does not align with that focus. They’re also clear on the level of ambiguity and risk they’re comfortable with.
"I think both of these things are really important when it comes to content strategy. When people hear the word ‘strategy’ they imagine a grand plan or a complex theory. I see it as being more about keeping a tight focus on making the right choices to improve the day-to-day effectiveness of your content.
"And that tight focus is key. If you do that, then change tends to happen, even if it’s quite small at first. And, on the other hand, if you spend too long trying to plan for every complexity or every eventuality, the change may never even get started."
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