What steps are involved in a content strategy?

What's included when you request a content strategy? Sure, it depends on your company and your goals. You'll find a lot of great in-depth details from  content strategy books. As a shortcut for a new client, I drew this web content strategy chart.

Content Strategy Success in Five Steps

 If you can't read my handwriting, here's a transcription:  START with your business goals and objectives.  TALK about these goals with your content strategist.

The Content Strategy Process

Your content strategist will then oversee this process:

1. Content Audit: This is to discover what content you already have. This is usually content that's live online, but can cover other types of content, such as print brochures and whitepapers.
2. Content Analysis: Is all of this content relevant? Does it align with your current goals? Is it up to date? Also, what's missing? Start with your Core Messaging Priorities.
3. The Plan: This is where your content strategist will collaborate with other key players -- such as SEO experts, usability managers, and marketing managers -- and create content recommendations for you.
4. Execution: Of course, you can't stop at #3. You need a process, schedule, and resources to make the content plan happen. Your content strategist can help oversee the execution, point you to resources, and even get the content created for you.
5. RESULTS! It's important to check in regularly to ensure your content is still doing what it's supposed to -- across all platforms. If you have a content manager and a web analyst on staff, you're in great shape. Take these results and information learned and ...

Check for alignment with your current objectives, make any adjustments needed, and repeat steps #2-4. Voila. You have an ongoing content strategy process in place.