Content Strategy, a designer’s reflection
What I learned from content strategy
As my elective course, TECM 5200: Content Strategy, comes to an end, I’ve enjoyed learning about the alignment between content and design strategy. I've also developed a deeper appreciation for the value of cross-functional skills and how they can be a significant asset in any career.
Reflecting on this course, I’ve identified a few highlights for anyone considering learning about content strategy, especially from the perspective of someone who doesn’t work directly in this field. I’ll share some key insights from the course, focusing on how content strategy enhances critical thinking, informs business decisions, and strengthens collaboration.
Whether you're directly involved in content or work in a related field like design, the lessons from content strategy are invaluable for improving individual contributions and overall team success. Understanding content strategy is essential not only for improving the quality and effectiveness of content but also for aligning it with business goals to drive meaningful outcomes.
What's the most important thing someone learning about content strategy should do?
When learning content strategy, I’ve found the most important thing to do is understand how the content you're working with shapes the user experience at specific touchpoints in the product or service and identify how it’s connecting directly to your client’s business goals. Discovering how to strategically align content to meet user needs and business objectives is critical. You need to identify gaps where the business can improve content quality to increase revenue, decrease expenses, and decrease risks. This approach is vital to driving real business value.
For example, during my group content inventory and audit report, we evaluated the structure, clarity, and effectiveness of existing content from both a user and business perspective. Using tools like a content inventory spreadsheet and a gap analysis framework, I learned how to assess content performance across different metrics, such as readability, accessibility, and conformance to the content style guide. This hands-on project reinforced the importance of strategic focus when reviewing content.
Additionally, the lectures by Professor Dr. Kim Sydow Campbell and guest speaker Val Swisher, Founder and CEO of Content Rules, Inc., provided valuable insights into how content strategy is not just about the information we create but about ensuring that every piece of content serves a more significant business purpose. These ideas finally clicked for me while working on my strategic content roadmap, especially during the development of my SWOT analysis. I applied the insights from Val Swisher’s lecture to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to determine some strategic directions and tactics to implement for my client’s content strategy. Through her lecture, I had a breakthrough in the realization that the goal of content strategy is to maximize shareholder value fundamentally.
What's the most important thing someone learning about content strategy should not do?
The most crucial thing someone learning content strategy should not do is jump straight into content creation without first analyzing existing content and comparing its performance in alignment with the business's goals and user needs. From what I’ve learned, diving headfirst into producing new content without conducting a thorough content inventory and content audit can lead to severe misalignment. You risk creating redundant or irrelevant content that neither supports business objectives nor addresses user needs and wants.
For example, in my team's content audit and analysis report, we used tools like Flesch-Kincaid tests to determine readability scores and the Axe Core 4.10.0 web checker from Deque to evaluate how well existing content performed against critical metrics like accessibility. Creating new content that underperformed in the same areas would be easy without this foundational work. These methods and others helped me see the importance of evaluating what already exists before moving forward with new initiatives.
A video titled "How Projects Really Work" illustrates the ‘tree swing analogy,’ highlighting how teams can diverge in interpreting information. Each team might approach the challenges differently, leading to fragmented solutions. This miscommunication can lead to failing business goals, as the project deliverables fail to meet the customer’s expectations. The same pitfalls happen in content strategy if you skip the foundational steps. Engaging in stakeholder interviews and content assessments to understand the user and business needs is critical to avoiding misalignment and ensuring the content strategy effectively addresses the underlying problems.
Brief thoughts on the use of AI in content strategy
The role of AI in content strategy will likely become more significant, particularly in how it supports content creation, personalization, and data-driven decision-making. The line becomes fuzzy when AI automatically analyzes user behavior and feedback to identify pain points and content gaps to provide quicker content creation and refinement turnaround times.
It feels odd to use AI to determine patterns in human behavior and thought, which usually come from a very emotional place. From my perspective, using AI in content strategy seems acceptable for brainstorming, refining ideas, fine-tuning research questions, and gathering information on relevant topics and issues. While AI offers incredible possibilities, it's important to remember that it’s a tool for augmenting, not replacing, human creativity and strategic thinking.
In the future, I might use tools like ChatGPT to assess the organization and argumentative structure of my writing and review grammar and style. This would ensure that my research-based reports adhere to the appropriate guidelines, particularly as I transition into a design leadership role and higher stakes are involved when presenting my ideas accurately to senior leadership.
What was most meaningful about content strategy for your own career goals? Why?
Early in my career, a manager advised me to become irreplaceable for sustained growth and to earn a seat at the leadership table, which felt overwhelming at the time. I thought it meant having all the answers, but I’ve since realized that it isn’t about expertise in multiple fields—it’s about applying knowledge across different disciplines and solving problems by making meaningful connections.
Content strategy has played a crucial role in this growth. The skills I’ve gained have allowed me to contribute more broadly within my role. I've already begun using this knowledge to engage with and contribute across various disciplines within my organization, making me a more valuable team member—something I believe leadership has recognized. This ability to bridge fields has helped position me for future leadership opportunities. Ultimately, this course has given me a deeper appreciation for content strategy and how it complements my design work. I’ve gained content inventorying, auditing, and strategy skills, but more importantly, I’ve learned how to apply these skills beyond my immediate role.