What's the difference between a Content Strategist and a Web Editor? (#cslondon10)

16 Apr 2010

What's the difference between a Content Strategist and a Web Editor? (#cslondon10)

I've seriously been wondering what the difference between a Content Strategist and a Web/Content editor really is...

I went to the Content Strategy, Manhattan Style event this week. I'd been excited about talking content and finding more about why content strategy was 'the next big thing', but I left feeling a bit flat.

Why? Because despite all the clever and talented people there, I can honestly say that I didn't hear anything new or anything that a good web editor doesn't do already.

Maybe I missed out on the revolutionary stuff too because of the poor acoustics, but what I did hear were three things that will be very familiar to most web editors:

1. 'Content does not have to be a shitstorm at the 11th hour' (I think Karen McGrane said that) - Yep, that old chestnut. Of course you shouldn't leave content to the very last minute - anyone who doesn't know that kind of deserves to fail. I think most businesses have moved a long way away from the idea that writing content is just filling in the blanks. Content IS your website - it's how you communicate with your customers, so of course it matters. The part that needs perfecting is getting content people, designers, developers and UX people to collaborate effectively from the beginning of a project and see things from each other's perspective.

2. Do some analysis - again, this isn't anything new. Of course you need to go back and do some analysis after you write some content, otherwise how do you know whether it works or not? It's also central to working out how to improve and develop your ongoing approach to content. Analysis is important - that's gospel, but the metrics that matter...that's a whole different story. Trying to convince someone commercially minded within your business that conversion isn't always the most important measurement of success, and then finding the numbers to support your argument, now that's the tough bit.

3. Maintain and update your old content - This was the one that really made me groan. I just don't think this needs to be said anymore. Again, anyone who doesn't know it deserves to fail. It's not content strategy, it's a matter of respect for your customers and pride in your website to edit and update your static content. The issue is how you manage the process - I'm a content team of one person, with a website of about 400 static articles to manage. I try my best to keep everything up to date, but now and again I'll come across something neglected that makes me wince with embarrassment. The hard part is finding time to do it and putting a procedure in place so that no page gets left behind.

I think the issue for me is that at events like this, the bias is almost always toward the agency side of things. The focus seemed to be on what content strategy means for people who are thinking about going out and providing this as a service to a client, rather than on in-house folk who are probably doing it already. Those three ideas might sound like a great 'Why didn't I think of that before?' formula to a potential client who has never 'done' content before, but for someone like me, it's just stating the obvious.

about 2 years ago Kenneth Yau responded:

Hi Lauren,

Great post. I can see where you're coming from and I have my own theories as to why 'content strategy' is met with scepticism in some quarters.

At the risk of stating the bleeding obvious, I think the main difference between content strategists and web editors, copywriters, content managers, &c. is that content strategists are focused on strategy and all the other people I've just mentioned are focused on executing against that strategy (or just executing, if you don't have a strategy).

I think the confusion comes because content strategists are often the same people as web editors (et al), or have come from those areas. The answer to the question, I think, is clearer if you reframe it as 'what's the difference between content strategy and web editing?' For me, content strategy should be considering offsite and offline content of all types (so there's an overall brand element to the job), and it isn't necessarily just about web sites. I don't think web editing would necessarily consider how it works alongside offline advertising or PR, for example. If it did, then I'd argue it was doing so as part of a strategy.

You mentioned at one stage that 'The hard part is finding time to do it and putting a procedure in place so that no page gets left behind.' Well, doing the strategy would help you put the procedure in place so that this isn't such a pain. Promoting content strategy as a discipline addresses your point about 'getting content people, designers, developers and UX people to collaborate effectively from the beginning of a project', whereas at the moment some projects just see content as something to be done by the web editor near or even after launch.

As for your point about the agency focus, there were good discussions in the Content Strategy Forum in Paris about whether it's easier to push content strategy in-house or via an agency. My personal take is that it's easier to bring in an external consultant for a number of reasons, one of which is that there's just time for someone external to do strategic work without being distracted by the execution. I believe it's also easier for agency consultants to get the budget and time to go and speak at events, so it's natural that they'll be the ones you hear from.

Just my two penn'orth.

about 2 years ago RellyAB (Twitter) responded:

Let me say right off that you are pretty much on the money.
When I was freelance, right up until very recently in fact, I was a writer, strategist, web editor, butcher, baker and candlestick maker and I really enjoyed it - but there was a limit to what I could do on my own.

I moved to an agency to work with bigger clients in a consulting role to act as an advocate for content right at the beginning of projects, bringing together web editors or content creators from across a company to work together.

There is some truth that a company ignores a problem until a consultant says they need to fix it - which isn't to say that their own staff haven't been saying exactly the same thing, in the same way.

I often go into places as a facilitator of sorts. I start the conversation between different stakeholders and interest parties and put forward the reason for change in the content, budget allocation etc.

I'd love to stay on and personally write and edit all the content on every project because I do love doing it but in reality I hope to make a good roadmap for changes and future content for web editors to work with.

I think in an SME a content strategist can help with content at the site creation (or refresh) stage. For instance, at Headscape, I work with our IAs and designers and developers from the very start of a project. I then hand over (hopefully) to a content creator / web editor to continue the work.

Bigger enterprises, say IBM or similar, can probably take on a dozen content strategists to keep on top of auditing and commissioning refreshed and new content without having them twiddling their thumbs. This doesn't take away from the work the web editor does in creating or adapting this content for new use.

There were some hoary chestnuts at the CS event the other night but sometimes I think we need some reassurance that we are doing it right. It was more of a rallying cry than breaking new ground. That work is probably still to come.

On the plus side, I know that I am (and so I assume many other CS peeps are too) out there talking to potential clients that really haven't considered content as a valuable part of their business and starting to convert them. As a web editor I'm guessing you are already talking to people who think content is important enough to have at least one person look at it. I wish that was true for every pitch I looked at :/

La Pope - La Blog

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