Editors Note: This Content Strategy template is one in a series of templates to help readers plan and manage communications and content management activities, resources and deliverables. We welcome ideas and suggestions for other TechWhirl Templates Library materials.
Definition:
The content strategy encompasses the high-level factors, goals, objectives, approaches and rationales for creating, managing, producing, and delivering content on behalf of the organization.
Purpose:
Content strategy lays the groundwork for tactical execution of content delivery across the organization, by helping content teams define coherent, comprehensive and consistent processes and messaging that aligns with overall business and functional objectives of the organization.
Relevance:
In organizations where content creation and delivery happen on many levels, across many channels and for consumption by many different audiences, a content strategy provides a way to streamline processes, encourage cross-team collaboration, and reduce redundancies, errors, and gaps in published content. This content strategy template compiles factors, issues, policy, goals and trends from key functional parts of the organization that are essential to determining what content should be produced, maintained, or discarded. Some of the sections uses Brain Traffic’s Content Strategy Quad to illustrate the guidance in ways that integrate the needs of various organizational functions.
Not all elements will apply to all organizations in all circumstances. But the content strategy template does bring together key considerations for enterprise content that can support successful customer experiences and the achievement of organizational goals and objectives.
Using the Template:
- Download the Content Strategy template in MS Word.
- Begin researching current strategies, plans, and processes that will impact or be impacted by content strategies.
- Consider initiating a content audit to determine what content exists, as well as channels and formats for the content, and keep/discard recommendations.
- Organize meetings to gather input on goals and objectives, current organizational factors, trends and issues.
- Work with content teams and key stakeholders to draft a version of the content strategy, revising sections as needed to accommodate your organization’s priorities, projects, and practices.
- Use track changes as the content strategy document goes through review to record requested revisions.
- Follow department guidelines for maintaining versions and version history.
- Obtain final sign-off from relevant stakeholders.
- Upload the document to the relevant records and project management systems and and organizational repositories.
- Reference the strategy before implementing major revisions to content plans or editorial calendars.
- Revise as needed to reflect changing organizational priorities and goals.
Related Resources:
- Meeting Agenda and Minutes template
- Style Guide template
- Content Quality Review template
- Documentation Plan template
Do you have other templates that work well for the products or services you support? Suggestions on how we can improve this template? Feel free to contact us and submit your templates. We’ll provide credit to you for assisting the TechWhirl community and contributing to the TechWhirl Templates Library.
