I was talking to a senior executive from a STEM organisation recently, and when I mentioned the importance of creating compelling content, they looked at me skeptically. “But Kylie,” they said, “we have a website with plenty of content and we are on all the social media websites, publishing daily”.
My challenge to that person and to everyone in the STEM sector is to look at content a bit harder. All types of content are being lumped together and the user experience is turning people away and undermining the impact of your research.
Let’s look at the type of content on your website and social media.
Firstly, there’s promotional content (PR) – this puts the institution’s needs at its heart. It is effectively a press release that talks about you and your achievements. Converting this to a social media campaign or video doesn’t change the nature of this content. While it’s important you are never going to build audiences based on PR. It’s about you, not audiences’ needs or interests.
Secondly, there’s informational content designed for future students, patients or collaborators so they can work with you, understand your strategy, enroll in a clinical trial or study with you. Also important, but it’s transactional, once again not designed to build audiences.
And then there is the audience-focused content; the type of content you’d consume from your favourite publication. The type of content that draws you in and keeps you coming back for more.
Take a look at your website and see if you can find the audience-focused content like topic explainers, opinion pieces, a question and answer series, feature stories that look at the implications for society of research. Anything that doesn’t centre on your organisation.
How much is there and how easy is it to find? Is it lumped in with PR?
Does it provide what your audience wants to read, listen to or watch?
Would you go to your website in the same way people do for publications like New Scientist, The New York Times, Marie Claire, Golf Digest, Cycling Weekly, NME or The Economist?
Look at your user statistics: what are audiences consuming? Are they coming back to your website over a long period?
And does your content align with your audience and business objectives?
These questions aren’t generally asked or explored as the STEM sector still regards content as simply a marketing tool, rather than a critical part of its corporate and business development strategy. For a media company, publishing content is in fact a business used to create a revenue stream.
For a university, research institute or hospital, that revenue stream could be industry collaborations, more students and donors, greater awareness amongst potential collaborators and influencers, more patients, or increased profile and influence. That is exactly what a publisher thinks about when they plan content. It is not a PR exercise – it’s about creating an engaged audience that brings influence and revenue.
With over half of the world’s population using social media, there has been a radical shift in how people source and share information. Where once traditional media was the sole trusted provider of editorial information, the landscape has been re-shaped.
Think of the extraordinary global awareness of the Mayo Clinic.
In a few short years the Mayo Clinic has become a household name. It is the third most trafficked health website in the world, receiving tens of millions of unique visitors a month.
They own health issues in the English-speaking world. Why do they do this? They are building trust and a community. They want the Mayo Clinic to be top of mind when you think of donating. They know their website is a mirror of their quality. And that’s what your website is – a reflection of the quality of your research and work. It doesn’t have to be stunningly beautiful, but it has to have the content that tells your audience you are the authoritative place to be.
If, like the Mayo Clinic, you want your organisation to be known as a thought leader in a particular area, if you want audiences to think of you when they’re looking for information, guidance and expertise, you must create content that will work alongside your marketing collateral, and follow the tried and tested principles of online engagement.
This is where a content strategy comes in.
A content strategy is an essential part of a modern institutional business strategy.
A content strategy will enable you to create brand affinity and engagement by tapping into the emotions, passions and needs of your target audiences, and giving them a reason to think of you first when seeking answers to today’s big issues.
A content strategy directs the planning, creation and delivery of relevant and engaging content that aligns with a specific business objective.
It ensures that all content:
- is deliberate, strategic, and targeted
- aligns with your brand message, values, and expertise
- actively reinforces your credibility
- presents you as the destination point for a particular topic – ahead of your competitors.
In addition, a content strategy prevents you from doing the following:
- wasting limited resources creating generic content that does not engage or reach key audiences
- creating reactionary content that does not adhere to best practice principles of publishing
- creating one-sided content that ignores the needs of key audiences and therefore alienates your stakeholders.
A content strategy guides you in how to deliver different types of content over a long-term period, setting you up as a one-stop-shop for information and influence around a topic that is important to your business objectives.
For a content strategy to be successful, it needs commitment from the top: the CEO, Institute Director or Vice-Chancellor.
It needs appropriate long-term funding, expert resourcing and organisational buy-in. Everyone needs to understand what you are doing and why.
When you look at your website and the content you publish, would you spend time on it if you didn’t work there? Are you getting an adequate return on investment? Do you know your target audience? Do your target audiences visit your website? Is your work appearing on the first page of Google searches? Does your website reflect the quality of your work or research? Are you missing out on key funding and opportunities because key audiences don’t know who you are?
If your answer to any of these questions is no, then it’s time to prioritise a content strategy.
In the coming issues we will talk about how to create a content strategy, so stay tuned!
Opinion by Kylie Ahern, Publisher of The Brilliant and CEO of STEM Matters