CHAPTER 10 The Two Faces of Content Strategy: Balancing the Needs of Users and Editors
understanding the WYSIWYG editor. Talk about everything, because this
is your best chance to create editor- and user-friendly content and architec-
ture before it’s too late.
Trust me. They will talk, if given the chance. This is because content
work requires some level of ego; it’s writing and creating, after all, even if
it’s only a basic FAQ or press release. When faulty processes or staff frus-
tration lead to less than stellar content, those responsible for putting the
content on the Web are going to take offense.
So start sussing out annoyances and dive deeper. What causes these
annoyances? What can we do to fix these frustrations? If someone in mar-
keting mentions they can’t make all the changes they’d like because there
aren’t enough editors, ask what kind of skills they’re missing and try to fig-
ure out if there’s a way to spread the work around. If a certain department
has trouble getting content on the website, ask about that department’s
process and whether or not it’s an issue of resources or simply a bad case of
apathy.
Armed with this information, we can create a similar list of audiences
and outcomes for editorial workflow. For example, a university might see
the following editorial audiences:- Departmental directors
- Web steering committee
- Staff and faculty
- Marketing
- Undergraduate admissions
- Editorial staff
Each of these internal groups has a different role in the Web content
process. By identifying all of the players, we can get a better sense of where
snags might be, and how to untangle them before they become larger
internal content conflicts.