BUILDING A CONTENT ORGANIZATION

Frank PipoloDirector of Internet Strategy

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• Introduction and Overview

• What Makes a True Content Organization?

• Defining Content Strategy Goals

• Hiring the Right People

• Best Practices and Standards

• Results and Successes

• Company Wide Adoption

BUILDING A CONTENT ORGANIZATIONBreakout Agenda Overview

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• Bisk Education is a worldwide leader in online education located in Tampa, FL founded in 1971.

• For over 40 years Bisk has focused on providing lifelong-learning opportunities that enable working adults to reach their personal and professional goals.

• “To be the end-to-end solutions provider of lifelong learning that allows adult learners to reach their personal and professional goals through education.”

• Bisk Education works with a handful of top-tier universities: Villanova University, University of Notre Dame, Michigan State University, University of Florida, University of South Florida, Florida Institute of Technology, and U.S. News University Directory.

• Since its inception in 2008, the web presence management team at Bisk Education has grown exponentially from just 2 people to a staff of 25+ people by the year 2014.

BISK EDUCATIONBrief Introduction and Company Overview

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The 6 Principles of Excellence That Drive Student Success

• Strategic Planning

• Program Development & Instructional Design

• Systems and Integrations

• Brand and Image Management

• Enrollment Management

• Relationship Management

BISK EDUCATION VALUE CHAINExcellence in Online Learning

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• A true content organization is a collective that has the processes, resources, structure, and proper practices in place to create and distribute valuable and compelling content to attract, acquire, and effectively engage audiences into driving business actions.

• In other words, a content organization is a collective that can own media as opposed to renting it.

WHAT MAKES A TRUE CONTENT ORGANIZATION?Finding Inspiration and Getting Started

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• Our web presence management team was divided into several groups.

• Using criteria from the book, teams were tasked to create a presentation of a complete content marketing plan to apply to any of their brands’ products.

• The winning group’s work went on to be featured as a recurring brown-bag lunch presentation shown to other depts.

• This exercise empowered our content organization team to feel pride of ownership in all processes of their work.

CONTENT ORGANIZATION TEAM CONTESTReal World Application Exercise

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• During the pre-Panda era, many organizations in the industry were working with e-zine sites and other forms of mass content farms.

• There was strive to separate and distinguish our voice from among the crowds.

• Our Web Presence Team’s Strategy Goals

– Become leading ideological influencers by frequently and consistently creating engaging quality content.

– Further our universities’ prestige and brand reputation by strengthening our authority and credibility in our respective discipline spaces.

– Use our distinct voice, identity, and quality content (with the help of Conductor Searchlight) to drive results and accomplish the goals of our business.

DEFINING STRATEGY GOALSFoundation for Success

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• Web presence management tech team consists of 2 Supervisors, 3 Senior Techs, 5 Techs, 2 Associates, and several outreach specialists.

• Web presence management content team consists of 3 senior editors, 2 editors, 2 associate editors, 2 in-house writers and 20+ freelance writers.

• We highly recommended hiring those with creative writing and journalism backgrounds.

• It is important to allow them to be creative and write freely to get the most genuine tone as this will allow your content to create a sincere connection with your audiences.

HIRING THE RIGHT PEOPLEEstablishing A Strong Foundation

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• Get involved and get your team excited about content

marketing.

• Instill confidence in your content organization through

ownership.

• Equip your organization with the right resources (

Searchlight).

• Have a content calendar to ensure organizational

accountability.

• Plan your content around specific strategic times and

events.

• Emphasize that ownership does NOT end after publication.

• Foster an environment that promotes innovation and

creativity.

BEST PRACTICES AND STANDARDSEstablishing Strong Precedents

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CONTENT CALENDAR EXAMPLEAccountability in Schedules

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EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SEARCHLIGHT (CONT.)Content Insights Example - Performance

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EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SEARCHLIGHT (CONT.)Content Insights Example – Performance Distribution

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EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SEARCHLIGHT (CONT.)Content Insights Example – Optimization Opportunities

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EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SEARCHLIGHT (CONT.)Content Insights Example – Segmentation Comparison

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• Having a calendar will allow your content organization to be held accountable and take full ownership of the content curation processes.

• Conductor Searchlight content insights provides the data and information that will allow your content team to make informed decisions and get them fully invested in content performance long after publication.

• Quantifiable and Measurable Actions

ORGANIZATION ACCOUNTABILITY AND OWNERSHIPPutting It All Together

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• Traffic Performance Numbers

– Villanova University [775,000+ Traffic]• 83% Increase Year Over Year / 17,000+

Leads

– Florida Institute of Technology [750,000+ Traffic]• 33% Increase Year Over Year / 16,000+

Leads

– Jacksonville University [250,000+ Traffic]• 129% Increase Year Over Year / 5,000+

Leads

– University of San Francisco [200,000+ Traffic]• 76% Increase Year Over Year / 1,400+

Leads

– University of Notre Dame [125,000+ Traffic]• 132% Increase Year Over Year / 2,000+

Leads

RESULTS AND SUCCESSESHow Searchlight Helped Facilitate Our Web Prescience Successes

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• Top Quality Content Successes

– Infographics were featured in magazine.

– One of our editors received an inquiry to be appear on a New York TV news show.

– Team members have received requests for speaking engagements at conferences.

– We have also received multiple citations for our content on various .GOV sites, .EDU sites, healthcare organization sites, the U.S. army career website, and the U.S. Library of Congress’s website.

RESULTS AND SUCCESSES (CONT.)Successful Content Performance Examples

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• Setting strong consistent precedents make it easier to secure the necessary buy-in from your local resources and from your company’s executive core.

• Use your performance results to justify the expansion and diversification of the types of content you can offer.

• Leverage your findings to build a case for ROI. This is what allowed us to go to the decision makers at Bisk which ultimately led to further growth and expansion of our department.

COMPANY WIDE ADOPTIONExpansion and Evangelism

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Instill a confidence and a strong foundation by getting involved.

Start your organization with slow and simple processes.

Make sure your content goals are clearly defined. (Rent vs. Own)

Create a strong support structure by hiring the right people.

Know your audience and get the most from your buying personas.

Follow best practices and maintain standards of excellence.

Build a case for ROI to present to your executive core. (Searchlight)

Leverage your successes to evangelize company wide adoption.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYSHow To Build A Content Organization

FRANK PIPOLOEmail: frank-pipolo@bisk.com Twitter: @frankpipoloLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fpinternetmarketingspecialist