This opening keynote for LavaCon 2019 was by Jen Schaefer, Head of Content Design at Netflix. First became a customer early on, they joined them to work there. Relatively new team, before, no content designers, we partner with UX to create experiences.
Do lots of A/B testing of content, Important to be strategic in testing. By having a hypothesis about everything we test, it allows us to have guidelines for content.
We define the Netflix brand voice as being human and conversational.
The things in a style guide help drive trust in a product.
The content design is embedded deeply into all of our verticals. The content design team covers the end-to-end experience.
Shared challenges, because we're lone representatives on the various teams. The 4 biggest strategies to work through these:
"Nobody ever understands what I do." Lean into your unique superpower. Our superpower is content strategy. Embrace being a pioneer. Educate others, which is a huge part of the job. Share at every opportunity. Customize the message. Capture the successes. Take before & after screenshots. Save success stories in one place.
"I'll never get it all done. There are 7 of them and 1 of me." Almost always outnumbered, and can feel overwhelmed. Make tough choices. Accept that you can't do it all. Much better to do fewer things well than to do all things half-heartedly. Align priorities. Respectfully say no. Teach others to fish. If you have a style guide and other resources, they can get their own copy closer to the mark. Keep track of what you can't support.
"I didn't get invited to the meeting---probably on purpose." Be courageous and vulnerable. Start from a place of empathy. Assume good intentions unless proven otherwise. Consider your rationale. Are you really needed? Can you review the notes and protect your time? Have an honest discussion. Remind them that you're a core partner. Be present. Be involved. Will make you memorable for the next meeting.
"My co-workers don't speak the same 'language' as me." Find your friends. Build a content collective. Even if you're the only content strategist, there are people in other groups who understand the power of words. Join an online community. Helps keep your skills sharp and abreast of things going on in the industry. Attend local meetups. Keep going to conferences and events such as this.
By viewing yourself as a content strategy hero, you're better able to advocate for the real heroes: users.
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