How can a Content Strategist work effectively with a Technical Writer?

Content Strategists in general are thinking about reaching an audience, playing to their emotions, and creating impactful content that makes them feel a certain way. Technical writers on the other hand are thinking about delivering a specific message and information. It's important for these teams to understand the differing goals, and align in the middle on a set plan against what you are looking to accomplish, and more importantly HOW you plan on executing against the plan, so you come back with work that entices consumers, but also delivers an impactful message

Working together, content strategists and technical writers can create a powerful combination that delivers exceptional content experiences. Their collaboration allows for the creation of content that not only informs but also engages and delights the target audience. A content strategist brings expertise in content strategy, audience analysis, and information architecture, while a technical writer excels in writing standards, accuracy, and documentation. There's much energy waiting to be tapped in this synergy.

Content strategists and technical writers often have the same job (just at different levels of granularity) -- to guide the user on a journey somewhere. If you keep that in mind, and communicate in those terms, you should be able to get along and work well together.

Understanding the intended target audiences is critical. The content must ‘talk’ in the right tone to its audience - don’t show off your expertise or insult the intelligence of the readers.

I will directly jump into an example. Had a technical writer who was expert in Data Analytics. But the style of writing was very technical and audience couldn't connect. Content Strategist joined hands. Both of them arrived at a plan 1) Purpose- Help audience understand the data led outcomes better 2) How? Through Data Driven Storytelling 3) Where? Multiple formats across multiple media: Long form on emails, shorter posts on social media 4) Frequency to boost recall- Once a week for 3 weeks. Different message each time. Also used A/B testing. 5) Test results and refresh The content stratrgist can understand the essence of the technical details and carve out a narrative that resonates with audience.

At the beginning of the project, it's important for the Content Strategist and Technical Writer to establish key objectives, strategies, deliverables, deadlines, and benchmarks. Both parties should discuss tone, voice, audience, goals, and platforms to ensure they are on the same page. Also, the best channels for communication and file types for deliverables should be decided upon.

Here’s some thoughts: - Establish a reliable communication channel. Be it email, phone, chat, or video call, ensure it’s accessible and used regularly to share updates, seek clarifications, and resolve issues. - Agree on a common language. Harmonize the terminology, tone, and style to ensure a cohesive content narrative. A style guide or glossary can help. - Share your content strategy, goals, and vision with the Technical Writer. It’s a two-way street; value their feedback and suggestions - This isn’t about averting confusion or content gaps, but about building a collaborative milieu where ideas flow seamlessly. When both roles are in sync, the content produced is not only accurate and consistent, but also resonates with the audience.

The content strategist should lead technical writers by developing with them a consistent terminology and style. Then all communications will be in step to help the basic rules to promote clear, simple delivery of potentially complicated concepts.

If you're lucky enough to have both roles, then collaborating should be the foundation of both roles. Advocate for each other and be unified in your content strategy and approach. Make sure to divide up your tasks and assign responsibility for shared tasks. In terms of gaining traction, communicate on your calendars to find out where to advance your ideas. For example, if the technical writer gets more time with developers, align on common goals and push for them from a content perspective. If the content strategist is having more high-level discussions, make sure to include any requirements from documentation. Meet often, share blockers, and pool resources to prove the high impact both roles can have in an organization.

Here’s some thoughts: - Craft a content plan together. It’s your blueprint defining scope, purpose, audience, format, and delivery. It aligns both roles. - Shape the content structure collaboratively. It’s about organizing, labelling, and linking content elements in a way that’s intuitive. - Prioritize and allocate resources jointly. This ensures a balanced approach to tackling content tasks, optimizing both your efforts. - Employ a content management system or collaboration tool. It’s your shared workspace for storing, editing, reviewing, and publishing content, keeping everyone on the same page. This joint endeavor not only meets project goals and technical specs but also creates a content ecosystem that resonates with users.

This is an excellent point, support each other's strengths. Collaboration will take you farther further, to start with support understand what each of you want support on and where feedback would be beneficial. What has worked for me in the past is to create mutual milestones together within your strategic or project plan that leave time for discussion and insight fishing (or feedback) that lead to successful iterations. Additionally, get curious with your collaborative partner. When they disagree with you ask why as opposed to defending yourself. Understand that you are both coming from a good place and want to achieve the common goal.

Something I've found enormously useful is to understand and learn a little more about each others' process... not too deep, just enough to know what would make both our jobs easier. For example if they expect a detailed and technical product demo before starting to write, we can incorporate it into the timeline at the planning stage. Also if something does go wrong it helps to analyze the situation and not blame a person.

It’s highly likely that the people occupying these two roles will have very different personality types. Mutual respect is crucial. Being really clear about the boundaries for each role and staying in your lane will help build trust. Not expecting the other person to think or work like you is also important. If you’re both working on a project it’s because someone values and has invested in your complementary skillsets. That in itself is worth celebrating!

In addition to having a solid content plan, the writers and strategists must be willing to participate in improving quality of each iteration. If needed, revisit the client needs, user experience and winnability of content. Ask if it is solving the current problems and what is needed on ground to validate the execution approach. Better quality=Better hits and more wins!

This is a generalization, so there will be exceptions, but Content Strategists tend to be more creative, whereas Technical Writers tend to be more analytical. I've been both, so I know this is a broad generalization. However, when you take into account the differing perspectives of these two ways of thinking, you can create synergies that make the most of both worlds.

O redator técnico tem um profundo conhecimento do produto ou servi?o, uma vez que ele descreve ao usuário ou cliente as características necessárias. Sendo assim, pode auxiliar o estrategista em conteúdos aprofundados mais voltados ao fundo de funil.