CHAPTER 10 The Two Faces of Content Strategy: Balancing the Needs of Users and Editors
With this group in the room, it’s time to solidify our audiences and the
outcomes those audiences expect. Create two lists and begin sorting all of
the audiences and all of the perceived outcomes into two columns. Then,
start asking questions. For example:- Who do you feel are your website’s audiences?
- Which audiences are not represented well enough, and what are
they looking for? - Who else is competing for your audiences’ attention?
- What drives your business, and how does your audience help
achieve positive results? - What audiences are part of a strategic initiative? Are there any sec-
ondary audiences that the company seeks to invest in?
Let’s imagine we’re going through this process with a small university.
As you field answers, your audience list might start looking like this:- Potential students
- Current students
- Parents
- Alumni
- Athletic fans
And the outcomes may be:- Sign up for a university tour
- Find information on applying for school
- Learn more about the residence halls
- Apply for financial aid
- Read news about university projects funded by alumni
- Read scores for the football team