Getting to the core of a content strategy

Roll your content strategy up into one sentence

By Team CSI
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Oct 23 2017
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Categories: Articles

The idea of a core content strategy statement comes from Brain Traffic’s content strategy quad. Melissa Rach describes the statement as “the central idea for using content to achieve an organization’s business goals” and around which are the components substance, structure, workflow, and governance.

In our new model for content strategy, the core statement is central to the strategy component.

It’s a guiding statement that connects business goals to audience and/or employee needs. In practical terms, your core content strategy statement should inspire and align your content team. It keeps the strategy clear and the people on board.

So, what makes a good content strategy statement? How does one roll up 15 recommendations into one sentence?

Your core strategy statement should:

Be balanced between business goals and audience needs.

Like the big picture content strategy, the core statement should take both your business and your audience into consideration. Remember your audience can be external (customers) or internal (employees).

Be unique to your company.

If it weren’t, all core statements would probably be something along the lines of, “Our content is clear, concise, and takes into account both our business goals and our user needs.” The statement should clarify your specific audience and goals and be on-brand for your company.

Be memorable and inspiring.

Think of it as the mission statement for your content. It should garner rally cries of not just the writers, but of the whole team.

Be tightly packed with meaning.

Each word in the core statement is specifically chosen. The meaning should be so packed, you’ll have to use text boxes and arrows to explain each phrase.