How can you create a flexible content style guide?

Before we put our content into the world, we need to be clear about what we want our content to be about. Questioning ourselves about what kind of content we want to publish, who are our target audience, and what are we trying to achieve with our content, when we have clear answers to these questions, we are all set to put ourselves out there. If we do not have clear answers, it's okay. We can sit down, plan, and think about it. Asking ourselves these questions will lay a firm foundation for our content.

?? Clearly define the purpose and objectives of your content style guide. ?? Determine what you want to achieve with your content and how it aligns with your brand or organization. ?? Consider the needs and preferences of your target audience to ensure your content resonates with them. Example: If your goal is to establish a consistent brand image across all communication channels, your content style guide could focus on maintaining a cohesive visual identity, tone, and messaging.

Consistency comes first. Document your style decisions, so everyone else can follow suit. A style guide's job is to answer the questions that have already been asked, so they don't have to be asked again.

To create the successful content, the goals and objectives of the proposed content need to concise and easy to understand towards the target audience. Besides, the relevant information of the pertinent writing should be area specific and indeed fulfil the unique audiences demand. However, based on the professional and academic experiences relating to the content creation, I'll inevitably emphasise on writing styles and usage of relevant words for generating the effective contents. Most importantly, the strengths of the appropriate vocabulary and the suitable grammatical inputs are undoubtedly significant to enhance the success of the proposed content, which could further attract the target audience at the right time at the right place.

??? Identify the personality and character you want your content to convey. ?? Determine the appropriate tone for different types of content (e.g., formal for official announcements, conversational for social media). ?? Provide guidelines on specific language choices to reflect your brand's values and desired perception. Example: If your brand aims to be approachable and friendly, your content style guide may recommend using conversational language, incorporating humor when appropriate, and avoiding jargon or overly technical terms.

??A flexible content style guide must have a defined voice and tone. Define your main voice and tone's messaging. For example, the main voice of your brand is to give hope and humor to your customer's everyday challenges or pain points. Then, give examples on what words, phrases, or sentences the writer can use to achieve that.

Proper grammar ensures that our content communicates ideas clearly and effectively. A content style guide includes guidelines on grammar rules, such as subject-verb agreement, proper sentence structure, and punctuation use. Readers may question the accuracy of the information if the content is riddled with grammatical errors.

?? Establish guidelines for spelling, punctuation, and grammar usage. ?? Specify preferred style guides (e.g., AP Stylebook, Chicago Manual of Style) to ensure consistency. ?? Define any industry-specific terminology or acronyms that should be used consistently throughout your content. Example: Your content style guide could specify that you follow AP Stylebook rules for capitalization and punctuation, and provide a list of frequently used industry terms with their preferred abbreviations.

Don't be flexible here. Put rules in place and stick with them. Structure is not something you can compromise on. Why? Because structure is the backbone of your publication. Now, you can allow some room for creativity. Of course, every now and then you may want to approach things differently. That's fine as long as the structure remains intact. If someone wants to do it differently, they must make it clear what their proposed structure is. But there must be structure!

Decide how you'll format your headings, subheadings, bullet points, and other elements. This will help ensure that your content is easy to read and scan.

Your style guide is a living document, so it's important to update it as needed. For example, if you start using a new social media platform, you'll need to add guidelines for how to create content for that platform.

Imagine you're whipping up a fiery Szechuan stir-fry. The initial burst of chili heat needs balance, a slow simmer of soy sauce and sesame to round out the flavor. It's delicious, but your taste buds might crave something different tomorrow – a sprinkle of black pepper and a dash of ginger. That's how your content style guide should be: a dynamic dance of spice and depth, constantly evolving to satisfy your audience's changing appetites. Use Google Analytics and Search Console to see which content works for you. Keep a tab on your competitors to see if they are bringing any changes to their style. Try different forms of content like guides, Q/A, or topics coming under tangential SEO to experiment with your content type guide.

Make sure everyone who creates content for your brand is familiar with your style guide. You can do this by providing training and by making the guide easily accessible.

??Not everyone will be updated or will have the same understanding of the content style guide. This is why meeting with the team and reviewing the style guide together is important. ??Reviewing it also doesn't have to be boring - gamify your sessions or have interactive review sessions that helps people remember the style guide better.

Writers, editors and content managers should keep in mind that style guides are exactly what the name is, “a guide”, to help you understand a brand’s tone, style and desired results. They shouldn’t strip writers of their creativity. People who write style guides should make it easy for the users by formatting it in an easy-to-read manner. Make it concise and straight to the point. Reading a style guide of 100+ pages can be overwhelming for a writer.

The first line on your style guide should be: "CRTL+F is your friend." Style guides can be tough to navigate. If you make it hard on your writers to navigate your style guide, it's going to be a source of friction. Formatting, easy searching, and aesthetics matter. Don't ignore the visuals and the UX just because you're a word person.

To create a flexible content style guide, start by establishing core guidelines for tone, voice, and formatting. Allow for adaptability by providing examples and explaining the principles behind the rules. Encourage creativity within defined parameters and periodically review and update the guide to accommodate evolving needs. Foster collaboration by seeking input from content creators and ensure the guide reflects your brand's identity while allowing room for diversity in expression.