What is Content Strategy?

Posted on | May 16, 2012 |

I’m in the throes of researching and putting together a new training module about Content Strategy and Marketing so I thought I’d share some of my thinking over a a few posts as the module unfolds.

Let’s start with the basics - how is Content Strategy defined? There seem to be many definitions out there which reflects that content strategy is a diverse practice with several areas of specialty. The basic definition I’ve landed on is:

Content Strategy is planning for the creation, aggregation, governance, and expiration of useful, usable and appropriate content in an experience.

Fundamentally it’s key for content - and the culture or workflow that produces it - to be appropriate to the brand that offers it. Genericism makes for a weak user experience and boring web.

I’ve also been wondering if content strategy and content marketing are simply two sides of the same coin? And then I remember The Art of War. “Strategy without tactics is the long road to victory; tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat,” proclaims Sun Tzu. Action without a plan—blogging without communication goals, if you will—is simply noise, and there’s already enough of that on the web.

Content marketing makes good on content strategy, manifesting the strategy through sustainable content creation, aggregation and curation. Content strategy should give purpose consistency and cohesion to content marketing efforts - vital, especially if you’ll do it over time or share the work between multiple stakeholders.

Would love your thoughts on content strategy and content marketing - does your organisation have a content strategy?

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