the flea market website dilemma

Eat MediaIan AlexanderVP of Content

How to Avoid The Flea Market Website Dilemma

(Content) Strategy

Who we are. Eat Media is a NY based Content Agency focused on the full life-cycle of content. From strategy to development to upload, our content expertise spans digital and print.

Britta Alexander is a professional editor and writer who has worked with bestselling authors as a literary agent and some of the world's largest brands as an agency copywriter.

Ian Alexander speaks many practices: Content Strategist/IA/Techie/Editor. He is a regular on the content strategy circuit and a sought-after speaker.

What we do.

> Content Strategy

> Content Development

> Trending/Research

> Information Architecture

> Content Management

> Content Curation

I realize we're only going to spend about 15-minutes together. And while I can't solve all your content problems in that timeframe, I'd like to tell you about Flea Market Websites and how Eat Media can clean them up.

The Flea Market Website Dilemma

>

Why are flea markets always a mess?

> Multiple vendors

Why are flea markets always a mess?

Why are flea markets always a mess?

> Multiple vendors> Undefined departments

Why are flea markets always a mess?

> Multiple vendors> Undefined departments> Unclear map

Why are flea markets always a mess?

> Multiple vendors> Undefined departments> Unclear map> Little to no info about items

Websites with flea market web strategies are eerily similar.

> Multiple vendors

Websites with flea market web strategies are eerily similar.

> Multiple vendors> Undefined departments/taxonomy

Websites with flea market web strategies are eerily similar.

> Multiple vendors> Undefined departments/taxonomy> Poor Information Architecture

Websites with flea market web strategies are eerily similar.

> Multiple vendors> Undefined departments/taxonomy> Poor Information Architecture> Unclear or inconsistent content

Flea market

Similar tactics produce similar results.

Similar tactics produce similar results.Website

While lots of stuff is available and an afternoon at the flea market can be fun,

While lots of stuff is available and an afternoon at the flea market can be fun,

it's a lot of forage and hope to find.

Forage and find is cool for the flea market. But not so good for your website.

Users don't want to forage for their local forecast.

Isn't that why users are here?

But at weather.com users are forced to find and then deconstruct this confusing search/navigation.

Disney World?

Photos of what?

The primary focus of weather.com should be the user's local weather. Design, IA, UX and content should all be working in harmony to present that experience. But that's not happenin'.

Show me my weather!

Instead the user is forced to forage through tertiary information. Local weather = relevant, focused, targeted content. Not a link for a Wedding Planner.

Ok, so irrelevant content isn't an option.

"You don't share every detail about your life during an introduction, do you? Well then...tell me why the majority of companies' website homepages are cluttered with text and information

that doesn't matter."

Eric KarjaluotoSpeak HumanOwner of SmashLab

Your business is yours. Your website is your users.'

Websites need relevant (on topic and on time) content. Without it, the web may as well be a search box and a checkout cart.

No content = Pretty dull.

Content Inventory

No content = More dull.

Looks like no content isn't an option either.

So if content is a must-have, how do you ensure the content you create for your site encourages users to buy, signup or login?

Well lucky day. It just so happens that Content Strategy informs design, and, in tandem with Information Architecture, it addresses content issues and forms a framework for your website.

Well lucky day. It just so happens that Content Strategy informs design, and, in tandem with Information Architecture, addresses content issues and forms a framework for your website.Boo-ya!

Content Strategy is a "simple is always better" solution. Review your project with these 3 steps in mind. Your business objectives will thank you.1. Content. 2. Strategy.3. Design.

1. Content

Look at what you have. Qualify it. Quantify it.

1. Content

Look at what you have. Qualify it. Quantify it.Perform your content inventory first. Your current content, microcopy, email, error messages and web copy are critical to understanding where you are and why. Understand where you are to get where you want to be.

2. Strategy

Review content against business objectives.

2. Strategy

Review content against business objectives.

What was the motivation for creating a new website? Rebrand, technology change, underperformance? Is this website strategy a global strategy that spans across all digital and print assets, or a one-off? Why?

3. DesignAdd visual elements. Don't half ass it.

3. DesignAdd visual elements. Don't half ass it.If Gore Vidal authors your content and it looks like crap, no one will read it. Design opens the door but content sits users at the table. UX/design and Content Strategy are not "either or" choices. They must be performed in concert.

Always design from the content out."Think and speak strategy, not tactics; design from the content out."

Jeffrey ZeldmanHappy CogA List Apart

"Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration."

Jeffrey ZeldmanHappy CogA List Apart

Really, always.

"...Some designers rush to figure out their grid, then maybe their color scheme, then perhaps the logo, without first considering the content the site is intended to convey."

Jeffrey ZeldmanDesigning with Web Standards

"All too often we sacrifice usability and accessibility for a sexy look and feel."

Morville and CallendarSearch Patterns

Content Strategy is not another line item. A content strategist is not just another vendor to manage.

Content Strategy is not another line item. A content strategist is not just another vendor to manage.

A good content strategy should cut across all departments and reduce the workload of internal resources as well as other vendors.

Content Strategy is not another line item. A content strategist is not just another vendor to manage. A good content strategist should build bridges between all the practices.

The content strategist should not be a consultant who drops a report on your desk and sails into the ether.

The content strategist should not be a consultant who drops a report on your desk and sails into the ether. A good content strategist is both macro and micro whose job ends when the #'s go up.

The content strategist should not be a consultant who drops a report on your desk and sails into the ether. A good content strategist should be the first one in and the last one out.

A Content Strategist needs to be part tour guide, part sprinter.

The tour guide needs to understand and then engage the user with relevant content.

The sprinter needs to rush ahead find out what users want to see before they go look at something else.

Content Strategy needs to speak many languages and play well with others. DesignIA/UXITManagementMarketing/BrandingSEO

Content Strategy needs to speak many languages and play well with others. DesignIA/UXITManagementMarketing/BrandingSEO

"We need blueprints that show the complex relationships between form, function, structure, process and goal."

Peter Morville

Our Methodologies

Content StrategyContent DevelopmentContent CurationContent Management

Our Methodology: Content Strategy

On every project we begin with:

-Search Strategy-CTA identification-Content Audit/Assessment-IA/Design Audit

Content Strategy/Strategists are only as good as:

-The questions they ask.-The questions they answer.

Get more info about Content Strategy

Our Methodology: Content Development

Our content editors manage:

Content Creation (video, audio, editorial)Multimedia storytellingStyle Guide creation and managementEditorial Calendar managementGap Analysis Editing/Proofreading

Content Development alleviates the pressure on marketing, design, editorial and strategic departments.

Get more info about Content Development

Our Methodology: Content Management

"All done" is a term that rarely relates to content.

Content Upload (CMS)Process Creation/DocumentationCMS Installation/Upgrade/MaintainenceSocial Media BroadcastingSEO

Content Management multiplies CS efficiencies.

Get more info about Content Management

Our Methodology: Content Curation

The assets exist. Your brand needs the page to evolve.

Asset auditInternal/External content retrievalStory creationInformation Architecture

Content Curation helps you tell better stories.

Get more info about Content Curation

The Flea Market dilemma is not a website problem. It is an opportunity to evolve. Content strategy and change management can help.

Thanks for watching.

Ian Alexander@eatmediaian@eatmedia.net646-530-8664 x2

Contact Info.Eat Media: For the Content Hungry

www.eatmedia.net/blog