Content Strategy

Taking a MOOC through Northwestern University on Content Strategy.  From the introduction to the class:

The term “Content Strategy” became common in the late 1990s. It referred to the planning, development, and management of content in written or digital media. While content is still managed and developed, Content Strategy in Organizations focuses on how enterprises use stories and smart-data to communicate strategic information to important internal and external audiences.

Around the world, for-profit, non-profit, volunteer and government organizations know that the people they want to reach have less and less time. Unless an organization can reach those people with content that matters to them — where, when and how they want it — those individuals won’t give their time and attention to engage with the content that is critical to the organization’s success.

To accomplish this, content strategists must have a far deeper understanding about their audiences — what they care about and are willing to pay attention to. They must use that knowledge to create engaging, credible, trustworthy and transparent content that enhances their target audiences’ ability to make important decisions in their work and personal lives. When that happens, content advances the organization’s strategic goals.