Developing a Content Strategy

A content strategy is a description what your account posts. It might detail things such as:

• the theme of a post
• the resources it takes to produce the content
• the frequency with which it is produced and shared
• the objective of its production
• the audience for the post
• the tone that should accompany the content

"The perceptual account, and all things posted on it, are imperfect copies of intelligible Forms and Ideas that exist in your content strategy." Plato

Why bother?

From an outside perspective, having several categories defined keeps the type of posts you are putting out coherent and keeps you focused on the goals of your communication. It will help decide the frequency with which you discuss certain topics and help you choose appropriate formats in which they will go out.

Internally it helps with planning as it indicates the amount of resources and effort to direct to a piece of content. It is useful when delegating work too, allowing your team to schedule and prioritise more effectively.

It can also be useful for brainstorming content within your team and wider organisation. Even those who are not as familiar with social media will know what you mean when you need something explained or a historical story, thus driving the discussion. Your categories can be circulated within your organisation for suggestions and it can help your colleagues keep your needs in mind in the long run.

Having clear but flexible categories will help keep your content vibrant while sticking with the topics that your audience expects from you. It’s best to consider your content divided across a scale of quality, effort and frequency - but all working towards your strategic goals.

What does a content strategy look like?

Below is an example of an outline for a public sector institution dealing with agriculture on Twitter.

1. Curated content and announcements: This is the lowest effort and the most common type of content on your account. It includes shared content from key stakeholders, journalists, NGOs and other institutions relevant to your followers, as well as your own announcements. The curated content is gathered from a series of either private or public lists. The current affairs content are short messages linking to the most relevant content for your stakeholders - web pages, articles or other things to stay up to date. High frequency content - every day. Objective: To establish the account as a hub of trusted information, to network and build good relations with stakeholders by sharing their content.
2. Impact stories: This category shares stories of the real impact of policy created by this institution. It is conversational in tone. Usually these stories will come back to the institution in the form of reports on investment or impact to alert them to the topic. The social media team can request photos or graphics on the topic and link to a relevant website/blog/account. Relatively low effort, this content is in part about developing an internal culture that keeps an eye out for stories that will resonate. High frequency content - multiple times a week. Objective: To highlight the impact of the organisations activities to key audiences, to deliver examples to journalists and other opinion leaders for use in their coverage.
3. Explanatory content: This type of content consists of a specially prepared blog, web page or video that explains the work of the institution in simple words, written in a conversational tone. It takes a little more effort to develop, as it involves liaising with experts and breaking down complex ideas into simple words. The upside is that this content is highly recyclable. If you write a blog explaining agricultural subsidies, it can be put out as background any time there is an announcement related to the topic - or indeed just as an interest piece during weekends or quiet periods. Medium frequency - multiple times a month. Objective: To demystify the work of the organisation, to highlight where key audiences can influence and become involved.
4. Historical stories: Written in a lighter or nostalgic tone, this content includes interesting photos and stories from the sector. This involves reflection on how the sector has developed over time, how practical things in the agricultural sector have changed, stories about the personalities involved and other interesting stories that engage people’s imagination. These pieces can be put out at relevant moments such as anniversaries or just as filler content. The topics can be recycled and the posts rewritten for different moments. Medium to low frequency - ideally a couple of times a month. Objective: Building trust with key audiences by highlighting value brought to the community, longstanding partnerships and pivotal moments in the organisation's history.
5. Specialist content: This content is written for a particular moment such as a report release or a major policy proposal. The tone is usually a bit more serious, but also tries to capture the momentous occasion. It could be part of a package of content including videos, graphics, text posts, photos and GIFs that try to explain the subject from several different angles for different audiences. Low frequency - ad hoc. Objective: Varies by moment, but always should be linked back to the overall objective of the launch.

Here is what these categories might look like applied in your editorial calendar: