Content Strategy: What it really is (and what it isn’t)
The question I kept getting asked
Since I started my Master’s in Content Strategy at FH Joanneum Graz, one thing happens almost every time I tell someone what I study. They nod, and then they ask: „But what exactly is that?“ As it turns out, even within the world of communication, not many people really know what content strategy means. Reason enough to have a clear answer ready.
So, what is it?
Maybe the easiest way to start is to first ask: What is Content? According to Abel and Bailie (2014) it is anything people can consume (for e.g. text, images or video) that helps them understand. The second step would be to frame it with strategy. This involves planning and analysis to create a system that manages content through its entire lifecycle (Bailie & Urbina, 2013). Planning, creation, publication and governance are key terms that describe what content strategists do (Getto et al., 2023). In short: content strategy looks at what content an organization already has, identifies what’s working and what isn’t. In the end plans the path from the current state to a better one, both on the editorial and the technical side.
Older than you’d think
One thing that surprised me early on: content strategy is not a new discipline. Rahel Bailie (2020) traces its roots back to the 1940s and 1960s, when early practices in content planning and organization laid the groundwork for what we call content strategy today.
Why „what“ isn’t enough
What the what perspective doesn’t fully capture is the why behind every content decision. That’s where Margot Bloomstein comes in, she teaches the course on Brand Values & Message Architecture in the first semester. Her starting point is not what content to create, but what an organization wants to communicate. And the message architecture is how that gets defined. (I got to apply this in my first project work, you can read about it here.)
„A message architecture is a hierarchy of communication goals; as a hierarchy, they are attributes that appear in order of priority, typically in an outline.“ (Bloomstein, 2012, p. 20)
The output is a prioritized list of communication attributes, a shared understanding of what and how the company wants to communicate: themes, messaging priorities and tone.
“A single message architecture […] drives all tactical components of communication: visual, verbal, and interactive. One set of brand guidelines applies to the entire company.” (Bloomstein, 2012, p. 23)
In her first course session, she put it simply: if you don’t know what to communicate, how will you know if you succeed? That question has stayed with me. So, it’s all about making sure every piece of content is useful, usable and appropriate – that every decision behind it connects back to the organization’s goals.
That’s content strategy.
Sources:
- Abel, S., & Bailie, R. A. (2014). The language of content strategy. XML Press.
- Bailie, R. A. (2020, September 2). An uneven history of content strategy. Medium. https://rahelab.medium.com/an-uneven-history-of-content-strategy-d514cfd7eee5
- Bailie, R. A., & Urbina, N. (2013). Content strategy: Connecting the dots between business, brand, and benefits. XML Press.
- Bloomstein, M. (2012). Content strategy at work: Real-world stories to strengthen every interactive project. Morgan Kaufmann.
- Getto, G., Labriola, J. T., & Ruszkiewicz, S. (2023). Content strategy: A how-to guide. Routledge.