Creating content strategies connects business goals to user needs. Additionally, it allows a set of integrated choices between the following separate yet related activities.
These are not different disciplines of content strategy, but rather business and/or design functions that all impact your content. Content strategy manages the relationship between them.
Content strategy is important for user experience because it focuses on creating and managing a helpful user experience. By establishing a content strategy, we ensure that content reaches the user in the appropriate format, at the right time and place; is compatible with visuals and branding; is useful and accessible, and supports business objectives.
Content can mean different things so we will begin by defining it. Content marketing strategy involves creating and managing text, images, video, audio, data, and social media content to achieve specific objectives.
At Agency 39A, we define content strategy as a process of creating high-quality content with a clear governance structure, based on an audience's needs, and created in an efficient manner. A useful content delivery system is one that delivers the right information at the right time and on the right platform to the right person.
Using UX tools, user personas, user flows, and journeys, the content strategy process identifies the needs and goals of the target audience during a discovery phase. Next, identify the channels they use and when they use them. The tools used to fully understand the target audience include user research, marketing research, interviews, and focus groups. In essence, whatever tools are available.
This process includes identifying what content currently exists and analyzing its usefulness and findability. A gap analysis determines what content needs to be created to meet the personas' needs.
Also, it shows who has control over what content within an organization, as well as the current workflow. This will provide insight into how these processes can be improved.
It is now possible to develop a strategy based on this information. Strategies include instructions on who creates what, a better workflow for content production, a content plan for sourcing information, as well as determining what content should be published where and when (editorial calendar), and according to what taxonomy should be applied.
A migration plan if systems are changing, a metadata plan, and much more are also part of the phase. Next is content creation. Content is created and delivered based on search engine optimization and insights into the target audience.
UX writing has become a distinct content writing area and involves creating copy for user interfaces (UI) that make it easier for users to use with digital products (websites, apps, online tools, etc.).
UX writing was often seen as unimportant by many digital product teams, and was often done by developers who only had a basic understanding of the product.
Even if a developer created the product, they may not be the best people to write the UI copy. Since many developers are familiar with technical vocabulary, they may write complex language. A digital product that has UI copy that sounds like Windows 98 instructions will not attract many users.
By focusing on the user experience, UX writers can fix this problem by making sure digital product copy is easy to understand. Here are some things UX writers do to do this:
In order to write user-focused copy, UX writers conduct research in order to understand the needs, expectations, and issues of the product's target audience.
Work with developers. The people who created a digital product can provide a lot of valuable information. A UX writer's understanding of a product is enhanced by interacting with developers, designers, analysts, marketers, and other professionals involved in its creation.
The most important rule for making UI copy user-friendly is to make it as understandable as possible for the target user.
There is a tendency for content strategy to be viewed as redundant to a UX project because it does the same thing as any good UX project. You need to identify your audience and make sure they can access the content they need in an accessible format. However, even the most attractive and intuitive designs and layouts cannot guarantee a positive user experience without quality content within that framework. Successful UX relies on content strategy.
In spite of the differences between the two fields, they ultimately work toward the same business goals. With UX writing, content efforts can be significantly increased, resulting in higher brand awareness, engagement, and loyalty by making every ordinary interaction engaging.
Including UX writing in your overall content strategy can ensure that digital products support your business goals. Combining content strategy and UX writing can be an excellent way to improve your bottom line.
