Insight

Filtering Your Content Strategy Filtering Your Content Strategy Insight: What role do data and analytics play in content strategy? Restle: The "strategy" part of content strategy is predicated on the idea that you know and understand your audience. If that audience isn't sitting across the table from you, you may still be able to accumulate facts about that person, but it doesn't mean you understand them or their needs. Data and analytics give you the ingredients, but you need to transform those to insights in order to make the most compelling, resonant content. Insight: How has accessing quality data and analytics changed over the years? Restle: I'd like to say it's gotten easier but that wouldn't be entirely true. It's more like cable TV. There are a lot more channels, but they're not all necessarily good. Accessing data has gotten vastly better in the past decade, but the amount of data that is being actively collected is staggering. Everyone is sort of playing the odds that there may be a commercial value to the data they collect, and they are all trying to sell it to you—but that doesn't mean it's going to provide valuable insights. As an organization, you need to have a certain amount of expertise to filter out what is worthwhile and what is noise. Insight: With all this noise out there, what are some of the key data points to find before delving into content strategy? Restle: Generally, you need to first understand whom you are talking to in terms of status: current customer or prospect, where they are in the decision- making cycle, how they want to be communicated to. In any scenario, you can think of two goals you have to achieve— need and want. Predictive analytics are great at identifying need. Insight development tells you about want. If you can address both of those things in your content strategy, you will be successful. If you only address one or the other, you will succeed by sheer luck. Insight: How can data be used effectively throughout the entire content strategy process? Restle: The most effective strategy process requires that you map out all the potential decision points, and collect the data at each one. You design it in such a way that you can track it—building out the decision-tree based on what the consumer can choose to do and understanding what content you need to deliver next to get them where you need them to be. If your content strategy contains multiple blind spots where you can't connect the dots, you will struggle. Insight: Since there is plenty of content saturating the marketplace, how can data and analytics help content break through this clutter? Restle: Timing is everything in this. Data and analytics create filters to identify the right people and can help us create the most effective content, but it is essential to develop insights regarding the moment of need. Need is completely time-based. I may be a good candidate for something, but if you don't talk to me at the exact place and time that I need it, you're wasting your money and both of our time. CHRIS RESTLE, TRUE NORTH CUSTOM'S DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION, EXPL AINS HOW TO CONVERT DATA AND ANALYTICS INTO AN OPPORTUNITY TO REACH YOUR INTENDED AUDIENCE. Chris Restle Strategic Development and Innovation T R U E N O R T H C U S T O M TRUENORTHCUSTOM.COM INSIGHT V12N2 11 Converting Data into OPPORTUNITY By Trevor Willingham

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