Post on 01-Nov-2014
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Content strategy for business sellerseBay Europe
A use case .::. Content strategy applied conference
Nikki Tiedtke . EU Senior Content Strategist
Lucie Hyde . Head of EU Content
Contents
1. The need for a content strategy
2. Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team
3. The context: Online communication for business sellers
4. From chaos to content strategy
5. Where are we now? A content strategy framework
4. Examples of our content strategy
:: Process: workflows & roles:: Brand opportunity & communication strategy:: Messaging hierarchy & Information Architecture:: User research & logfile analysis:: Content template
2Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
The need for a content strategy
A content strategy approach was already established for eBay US for creating user interfaces and managing Help.
In Europe, we started to establish a content strategy approach in the Marketing & Communications team for business sellers.
Why there?
It was a new, international team.
It was a new communication approach.
It needed content for many communication channels.
It involved localization and content management.
It was a fast pacing, complex environment.
It needed all tools and methods of content strategy – a perfect pilot for implementation.
3Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team
Content strategist as usability consultant:
• Identify internal and external customer needs first, beforedefining processes, strategy and tools
• Address and help resolve conflicting customer interests
• Test & refine before implementing
Content strategist as change manager and networker:
• “Test and refine” approach allowed for continuous improvement
• Team could see benefits of content strategy step by step
• Help build relationships and communication within teams
• This was key for us: 11 teams in 5 countries and 7 languages.
Content strategist as content lead:
• Identify the “what, how, where, when and who” side of content creation.
• Create editorial guidelines based on customer needs, usability standards and brand objectives.
• Manage copywriting process and writers.
4Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
What do
you
need?
Content
strategistStakeholder
Contents
1. The need for a content strategy
2. Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team
3. The context: Online communication for business sellers
4. From chaos to content strategy
5. Where are we now? A content strategy framework
4. Examples of our content strategy
:: Process: workflows & roles:: Brand opportunity & communication strategy:: Messaging hierarchy & Information Architecture:: User research & logfile analysis:: Content template
5Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
Our customers
• About 500.000 eBay business sellers in EU.
• Only a small amount of sellers are business sellers, but they create more than 2/3rd of eBay‟s GMV.
• Very important customer group for our business.
The project: Creating business seller news
• All changes for business sellers are combined into a release and communicated 2-3 times a year as “seller news”.
• Communication for 12 websites, 7 languages, different formats:
• Marketing newsletters: Tailored to segments (up to 10 – 15 different newsletters)
• Onsite banners
• Online news pages (~ 400.000 unique users in UK; ~ 1.15 Mio in DE)
• Help pages
• Printed “seller report” (sent to about 30.000 EU PowerSellers with highest GMV)
6
The context: Online communication for business sellers
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
The topics of business seller news
• New selling formats and tools
• New ways of managing inventory
• Policy or legal changes
The business objectives
• Create customer-friendly communication which matches user and business needs.
• Drive awareness and adoption of changes, build a trusted relationship with sellers, help them to be successful.
The team
• 11 teams in 5 countries (London, Zürich, Berlin, Dublin and San Jose)
• Core team: 25 members across all locations and languages
• Wider team is even bigger (web development, marketing execution, customer support, etc)
7
The context: Online communication for business sellers
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
Contents
1. The need for a content strategy
2. Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team
3. The context: Online communication for business sellers
4. From chaos to content strategy
5. Where are we now? A content strategy framework
4. Examples of our content strategy
:: Process: workflows & roles:: Brand opportunity & communication strategy:: Messaging hierarchy & Information Architecture:: User research & logfile analysis:: Content template
8Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
9
In the beginning: Huge team, only few processes
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use caseImage from: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/12/rubber-ducks.jpg
No editorial
guidelines
No editorial
process
Unclear roles &
responsibilities
Do I know you?
Teams with weak
relationshipsNo tools & templates
No match between
business objectives
& user needs
No quality
management
No process
documentation
10
The team: virtual and international
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
Brand Marketing (Zürich)
Seller Communication (London, Berlin, San Jose)
Seller Marketing (Zürich)
Customer Support (Dublin, Berlin)
Content Management (London, Berlin, Zürich)
Copywriters (London, Berlin)
Localization (San Jose, Berlin)
User Research (London)
Business Management (London)
Web Development (Zürich)
What do
you
need?
Content
strategistStakeholder
Legal (London, Berlin)
11
From chaos to content strategy
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
1. Built strong relationships between teams.
2. Identified stakeholder and customer needs.
3. Defined editorial process, roles & responsibilities and
tools.
4. Defined messaging hierarchy & information
architecture.
5. Tested all the above. Refined. Tested again.
6. Created editorial guidelines based on stakeholder
and customer needs, messaging hierarchy as well as
brand objectives.
7. Defined quality measurements for content.
Images from: http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2008/12/rubber-ducks.jpg and http://www.gettyimages.com
Tweet! We„re
following a content
strategy
12
Timeline
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
Jan Feb JulyJuneMayAprMar OctSepAug Nov Dec
2010
Built relationships with teams (11 teams, 5 countries)
Defined editorial process
& tested approach
Refined editorial
process & tested againFinalised and
documented process
Documented usability
standards for web content
Analysed regular market & user research. Integrated findings into editorial guidelines
Created editorial
guidelines
Defined quality standards for content
Created EU editorial style guide based on usability
standards, user research & editorial guideline.
Style guide trainings
for EU teams
Refined editorial
guidelines
Refined editorial
guidelines
Contents
1. The need for a content strategy
2. Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team
3. The context: Online communication for business sellers
4. From chaos to content strategy
5. Where are we now? A content strategy framework
4. Examples of our content strategy
:: Process: workflows & roles:: Brand opportunity & communication strategy:: Messaging hierarchy & Information Architecture:: User research & logfile analysis:: Content template
13Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
Deliverables build framework
for a repeatable process.
Can be applied to other
projects and teams.
Enables us to continuously
improve, react fast and
structured within virtual,
international teams.
14
Where are we now? A content strategy framework
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
Delivered in 2010:
• Process documentation
• Documentation of whole content strategy
for business seller communication
• EU editorial style guide
• Style guide trainings for key stakeholders
• Quality standards for online content
• Documentation of business objectives &
user needs and how they translate into a
editorial strategy
• Content audits & inventories
• Content & briefing templates for copywriters
Discover
Define
DesignDevelop
Deploy
Govern
15
Repeat and refine: Continuous improvement
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
Discover
Define
DesignDevelop
Deploy
Govern
Content Strategy
• Understand business
objectives and user needs.
• Content inventory and audit.
Identify gaps.
• Understand briefing from
stakeholders. Identify gaps.
• Define content
deliverables and
scope effort.
• Define projectplan.
• Brief copywriters
• Create messaging hierarchy &
Information Architecture.
• Create or use user-centered templates
for drafting content.
• Translate business objectives into key
messages and call to actions.
• Create & review copy for all deliverables
and channels.
• Use quality standards to measure copy
quality.
• Translate & localize copy.
• Define quality
assurance standards
and test online
pages.
• Deploy / launch
online pages and
communication.
• Define and manage content
lifecycle (update or end-of-life).
• Analyze user research, logfile
analysis and success metrics.
Contents
1. The need for a content strategy
2. Key learnings: content strategy in a complex team
3. The context: Online communication for business sellers
4. From chaos to content strategy
5. Where are we now? A content strategy framework
4. Examples of our content strategy
:: Process: workflows & roles:: Brand opportunity & communication strategy:: Messaging hierarchy & Information Architecture:: User research & logfile analysis:: Content template
16Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
Highest Level Major Seller Release Responsibility Map TO BE (Proposed)
Cu
sto
me
r
Se
rvic
eP
rod
uct
Co
nte
nt
ma
na
ge
me
nt
Se
ller
Ma
rke
tin
g
Se
ller
En
ga
ge
me
nt
Se
ller
Pro
po
sitio
n A
Confirm
information
about the
proposition to
be included in
the release.
B 1
Kick off the
process. Set the
direction for the
communication.
C
Write copy for
EU specific
initiatives.
Localise copy
for global
initiatives.
E1
Get the Micro
Sites copy
translated via
L10n
D1
Information
Architecture.
Design the
Micro Site
F1
Put the
translated
content into the
Micro site
G2
Live to Site
Checkpoint Go/
No Go
H
Manage Post
Launch Fixes
G1
QA Content
F3
CS Preparation.
Templates,
scripts,
outbound call
schedule
I
End of life for
obsolete content
J
Post Launch
Review
D2
Information
Architecture.
Design the RM
channel
structure.
F2
Put the
translated
content into the
DM structure
E2
Trans creation of the DM
B 2
Confirm
marketing
response. Brief
contributing
teams.
17
Process: Workflows 1/2
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
We first defined the
overall process steps.
And then the process
within each step.
18
Process: Workflows 2/2
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
Example: Detailed
process within one
step.
19
Process: Roles and responsibilities
Content strategy for business sellers: eBay Europe – a use case
In addition to the process
documentation we defined the
detailed roles and responsibilities for
each process step.
Business objectives & editorial strategy
Professional seller proposition:
Be a trusted, reliable business partner for sellers to enable great profits and
sales velocity.
We will present timely, relevant information, that is easy to understand, helpful, and easy to access…
• Targeted & personalised
• Focussed on their key needs
• Clear and plain language
•Scannable page structure
• Visual aids and not just
text
• Easy to use
• Concise
• Reduce clutter
• Call to action
highlighted
• Correct
communication
channel and format
• Optimised for
search engines
• Easy to find on
eBay
… allowing sellers to take action to change their business and sell more efficiently.
Advanced
notice
Reasons to believe :
20
Of course we documented
the editorial strategy to meet
these goals in much more
detail (i.e. style guide).
Messaging hierarchy*
eBay Inc confidential 21
Secondary
message
Who?
How?
When?
How much?
Primary
message
What?
Why?
* From Karen McGrane, Bond art + science: http://www.slideshare.net/KMcGrane/why-ux-design-needs-content-strategy
Call to action What do I
need to do?
Information architecture 1/2
eBay Inc confidential 22
Messaging hierarchy
defined our information
architecture. From index
page…
Information architecture 2/2
eBay Inc confidential 23
… to single subpage.
eBay Inc confidential 2424
* From an online survey to a sample of business sellers. Sent after communication launch.
Question: Which of the following words or phrases do you think describes all the communications you have received from eBay?
User research: 2009 to 2010 comparison*
Business sellers
Negative feedback
Positive feedback
2010 results
2009 results
2010 results
2009 results
eBay Inc confidential 25
Logfile analysis
We analyze online pages
regularly to understand
how customers use them.
eBay Inc confidential 26
Content template: One example
Just one of many
templates we created.
From 2009…
eBay Inc confidential 27
To 2010: our business seller news
eBay Inc confidential 28
Thanks for listening. Questions?
eBay Inc confidential 29
Nikki Tiedtke | EU Senior Content Strategist | eBay GmbH
Phone: + 49. 30. 8019. 5361
Mobile: + 49. 151. 52 66 15 92
Skype: nikkitiedtkeebay
E-Mail: nicole.tiedtke@ebay.de
Web: www.ebay.de
Marktplatz 1 | 14532 Europarc Dreilinden | Germany