Confessions of a Content Strategist: Chris Turner

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Educating others about the value we bring to projects is a critical part of being a content strategist. This month, I’m going to share the story of Chris Turner with you, a man who is teaching an entire organization the value content strategy can bring.

While many of us have been practicing content strategy for years, very often those around us don’t truly understand what we do. More importantly, they may not value our roles—either within companies or as a part of larger web projects—simply because they don’t truly understand the effect content strategy can have.

Different Content Experiences Breed Content Strategists

Chris Turner truly understands this challenge. He started as a filmmaker in North Carolina, then worked at a software company, and also served as a script supervisor at a video game company.

In all of those roles, Chris learned a lot about different parts of content strategy. But, until he began at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) as a content strategist, Chris didn’t know how to articulate what he did. And, more to the point, he wasn’t sure about how to get buy-in from others so they could value the impact content strategy can have for an organization—not just at the project level.

Chris describes his first year at BCBSNC as “squeezing blood out of a turnip.” Content strategists the world over can empathize with Chris.  What is even more important about his story is how effectively he made inroads at a huge organization in just four years, growing his team of content strategists from one to four.

What Is The Best Way To Get Buy-In For Content Strategy?

Chris spent his first year laying the vital groundwork for organizational buy-in around content strategy. He used a systematic process:

1. Educate stakeholders and leadership about content strategy and why it provides value
2. Articulate pain points within the organization that influencers could understand
3. Demonstrate that siloed environments were no longer working

 

A Stroke of Brilliance

Chris describes a wildly brilliant approach to how he spent that first year:  “I had to combat the perception that I was just a copywriter. Rather than trying to attack top-level leadership, and show them I was more, I tried to find smaller departments and areas in the organization that had a medium size presence and were looking to improve and refine some things. I approached them and said, ‘As a content strategist I can help refine your content, make it more consistent and together we can make this a more engaging and beneficial experience for your customers.’ These were stakeholders within the organization that were thrilled that someone from the web team was paying attention to them.”

The outcome of those successful projects was that several of those stakeholders were promoted. When bigger content projects came along, they remembered Chris, called and said, “We want you to start the whole project with us—not just bring you in for the writing piece—because we see the value of having you look at it from a holistic perspective.”

Tips for Content Strategists

After four years at BCBSNC, Chris is able to get the right people in the room to break down the siloes. As he described, “the lights start going on in their eyes.”  He thinks content strategists in big organizations need to remember the following:

• The ship turns slowly— “When you’re dealing with a large organization it takes a while for people to buy in and embrace [these concepts] so that it just isn’t theoretical.”
• Find the business case in why you are important—For Chris, who is working for a major healthcare insurance company, the Affordable Healthcare Act is a major impetus to get the content part of the house right.
• Education is key—Ensure your team is evangelizing content strategy by educating the organization about why it’s so important to have harmonious and consistent content at each consumer touch point.

Chris demonstrates that slowly and strategically, content strategists can reshape people’s notions about content. The contribution we have to make is great—and learning from each other is a wonderful place to start.

Want to be featured in Confessions of a Content Strategist? We run the column once a month on the blog and are looking for content strategists the world over to share about their practice. Leave a comment below and we'll contact you!