How do you optimize content for all users?

Start with simple language, avoid jargon, and keep it snappy. Break up the text with subheadings and bullet points to make it digestible. Use images and videos to spice things up, but ensure they're accessible. And don't forget the mobile crowd—keep it responsive. Test, tweak, and repeat until it's a crowd-pleaser.

1000% the right starting point, and far too often neglected in the "What" driven quest to promote and sell our brand, products, and services. Often, this is because of a lack of people, time, resources (or all of the above) - coupled with the perpetual "whip crack" of lead generation or numbers chasing. In the absence of time and hands, third party research tools like Winter, Forrester commissioned reports, eMarketer, and others can do a lot of the heavy lifting so long as there's budget. In the absence of budget, intentional conversations with customers and partners is the best place to start, backed and augmented by actionable data insights.

If you’re going to design content for consistency and you want it to be accessible to all regardless of device or format, start with the Adobe mantra of “create once, publish everywhere”. Your language, paragraphs, headings and sections are best created and formatted in a text editor like Word. So if you then decide to create HTML, a PDF or a script for a video you have somewhere to start in consistency and accessibility.

Summarizing the "lines I color in" for business and tech audiences (to keep content clear and consistent)... For business audience: - Personalized hook, not puffery. - Succinct, not 'kitchen sink'. - Plain speak, not jargon. - Bottom line. Mic drop. CTA. For tech audience: - Bottom line. No BS. - Prove you know what you're talking about. - Validate with data and documentation. - Personalized use cases. POC/MVP concept. CTA.

Unless it's a PDF, assume the reader will be viewing your content on a mobile device. Which means you need it to be a comfortable experience on a mobile device. Simple words. Short paragraphs. Captions & subtitles. You don't want your content to disappear into the phantom zone of bookmarks.

I always approach it as K.I.S.S. - keep it simple stupid. Most readers want easily accessible and readable content. Using that approach makes it easier to deliver content with so many of us limited by time constraints.

This is a great checklist for localization/globalization, but I would argue this needs to be top of mind from the outset, not an afterthought / fourth step (if thought of at all, as is too often the case in sales and marketing content). If you have ALL audiences in mind from the start, you enable parallel work to be done, while ensuring no one is left waiting and/or the strength of your story isn't weakened by language translation-only personalization. *Web copy hack: Longer headlines and hero words do not always translate well in non-English, are often much longer once translated, and can cause poor mobile UX.

When viewed through the lens of content users, as opposed to content readers, your content needs two things. Simplicity and intuitiveness. People need to know what to look at, where to go, and what to do. And they need it unneeded distractions or clutter getting in the way.

Also, test with actual users. You can meet all of the guidelines, and your content can still be inaccessible because you added a marketing popup that that user can't escape from with a keyboard.

Whatever the goal might be, you want to see if it is generating the desired results that you had documented as your strategy. If the checkmark is not there, then it’s not working. And it's usually due to one of three problems: #1 – awareness problem, that is, not enough traffic coming to the website #2 – consideration problem, that is, website visitors aren’t converting #3 – decision problem, that is, the entire strategy is not working Measuring the effectiveness at every single stage will help you identify exactly where the bottleneck is. I call those areas “leaks” in the pipeline. And every particular problem is going to have a different solution. Their are methods and techniques start figuring out how you can fix it.

Crafting a content strategy document empowers us to optimize content for all users. It's our guide to creating accessible, inclusive, and user-centric content. By considering diverse needs, we ensure everyone can engage with our brand. From SEO to readability, it's a compass for delivering value to our entire audience. Inclusivity isn't an option; it's our commitment. ????

Doing all of the above does not equate to content optimization for all users. Doing all of the above - for each audience, campaign, and asset - is how you truly optimize content for "all" users. Obvious? Should be. In my experience that head knowledge needs to move down to the heart to see it executed in practice. It's a lot more work, so if you're not passionate about personalized/genuinely localized storytelling for humans (not data points), you're more likely to produce a one-size-fits-all puff piece that is called, "Good" because it checks all of the above boxes.

In optimizing content for diverse users, it's also crucial to consider cognitive load management, a concept rooted in understanding how information processing impacts our mental capacity. This approach involves designing content that aligns with the user's cognitive abilities, preventing information overload while enhancing comprehension and retention. For instance, breaking down complex information into smaller, digestible chunks can significantly improve understanding. This can be achieved through the use of bullet points, concise paragraphs, and clear headings. Additionally, integrating interactive elements like quizzes or short surveys can facilitate active engagement, helping users process and retain information more effectively.

Generally, we used to measure customer or user journeys in three different stages. First, is our awareness stage where we present our content to an unknown reader. The next step is considering one where we present our content to make it considerable, and the last one is to purchase, where we advertise our product to help him in purchase. Following all these stages, can help you increase the retention of the customer, and also help you in presenting your context to a vast audience.

Hm. Educate and inform in a way that even a 10-years old kid understands. Improving readabilty is an easy and fast task nowadays. (Hello ChatGPT) Complex sentences, jargon, too long paragraphs = way to hell...