Content strategy

Today, every individual and organisation is a publisher. You want everyone in your organisation to be a potential ambassador. And every employee has something to gain from raising their profile and showcasing their expertise.

An effective content strategy allows you to deliver compelling stories to your audience in the most seamless way possible to make an emotional connection. This requires a mix of passion for the subject matter, a deep relationship with your audience, robust production processes, and the right tools.

With a background in journalism and technology, we’ve worked on many projects that combine the two – including overseeing the iPad edition launches for Condé Nast in the UK, product ownership of a Digital Asset Manager for Condé Nast International, and developing and delivering content training for telco VEON.

Publishers and brands we’ve worked with include WIRED, Time Out, GQ, Vanity Fair and Vogue – as well as solo entrepreneurs and startups who are trying to cut through the noise and get their message heard.

In this course we'll cover the key elements of an effective content strategy: how to plan across multiple platforms, and how to implement your blueprint without exhausting yourself or your team.

Sample learning content

Session 1: Planning a content strategy

  • Mapping and understanding your audiences.

  • Defining your content objectives, for you or your organisation.

  • Common pitfalls with poorly targeted content.

Session 2: A content creation framework

  • Finding ideas to generate a consistent stream of content.

  • Idenitfying angles that will help you stand out from the crowd.

  • Using different formats across multiple channels.

Session 3: Keeping it going

  • Simple processes to help hit deadlines and publish regularly.

  • Balancing content creation and content creation.

  • Creating a mix of evergreen and timely content.

Session 4: Measurement and iteration

  • Useful (and useless) metrics for content producers.

  • Handling comments and joining the conversation.

  • Iterating your content strategy based on feedback.

Delivery

We deliver our courses over Zoom, to maximise flexibility. The training can be delivered in a single day, or across multiple sessions. All of our courses are live and interactive – every session includes a mix of formal tuition and hands-on exercises.

Tutor

Alan Rutter is the founder of Fire Plus Algebra. He is a specialist in communicating complex subjects through data visualisation, writing and design. He teaches for General Assembly and runs in-house training for public sector clients including the Home Office, the Department of Transport, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Health Foundation, and numerous local government and emergency services teams. He previously worked with Guardian Masterclasses on curating and delivering new course strands, including developing and teaching their B2B data visualisation courses. He oversaw the iPad edition launches of Wired, GQ, Vanity Fair and Vogue in the UK, and has worked with Condé Nast International as product owner on a bespoke digital asset management system for their 11 global markets.

Testimonial

“The EMpower Network commissioned the content creation workshop to understand how to communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders. In light of covid-19, it’s more important than ever to communicate clearly especially as we’ve moved to remote meetings. The workshop was very insightful and Alan was a very engaging speaker making sure all attendees contributed and worked through real-life examples. Attendees praised the usefulness of the workshop and especially liked the content generation framework with one saying 'It has changed the way I think about communicating and given me a toolkit that I will use in both my work and personal projects'.”

Shade Nathaniel-Ayodele | EMpower Network, Southwark Council