Natalie Marie Dunbar, Senior Manager of Content Design at Walmart, discusses content strategy and how to establish a content strategy practice in an organization. She explores the differences between content strategy and information architecture. Dunbar also talks about her journey in content strategy, the role of content in supporting end-to-end experiences, and transitioning from an individual contributor to a manager in design. She shares insights on scaling up practice and provides book recommendations.
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Quick takeaways
Content strategy focuses on the narrative lens of conveying information, while information architecture focuses on creating the structural design and labeling within an environment.
Building a sustainable content strategy practice involves making a business case, building relationships with cross-functional teams, and measuring success.
Deep dives
Introduction to Natalie Marie Dunbar and her book on content strategy
In this podcast episode, Natalie Marie Dunbar, author of 'From Solo to Scaled, Building a Sustainable Content Strategy Practice' and senior manager of Content Design at Walmart, discusses the concept of content strategy and how it differs from information architecture. Natalie shares her journey into content strategy, transitioning from marketing communications and journalism. She highlights the importance of understanding different disciplines within the UX space and how content strategy supports user experiences. Throughout the conversation, Natalie emphasizes the need for organizations to build a sustainable content strategy practice and explains the benefits of doing so.
Exploring the overlap between content strategy and information architecture
Natalie and the host discuss the relationship between content strategy and information architecture. They highlight that while there is overlap, content strategy focuses on the narrative lens of conveying information, while information architecture focuses on creating the structural design and labeling within an environment. They emphasize the importance of cohesion and creating a seamless user experience through effective content strategy and information architecture collaboration.
The construction metaphor for building a content strategy practice
Natalie explains her use of the construction metaphor throughout her book on content strategy. Drawing inspiration from her experience in building management and learning about construction, she highlights the parallels between constructing a building and constructing a content strategy practice. She discusses the steps involved in building a practice, such as making a business case, building relationships with cross-functional teams, and measuring success. Natalie explains how using familiar terminology and frameworks helps bridge gaps in understanding and gain alignment among team members from different disciplines.
The relevance of building a content strategy practice for organizations
Natalie discusses the importance of organizations building a content strategy practice internally. She highlights that content strategy goes beyond creating copy and focuses on planning and structuring content to support user experiences. Natalie emphasizes the need for organizations to have the right content, in the right format, for the right person at the right time. She explains how content strategy contributes to the overall business goals, supports visual design, and enhances the user journey. Natalie also addresses the misconception that content strategy adds time to the development process, clarifying that it actually saves time by providing a plan from the beginning.
Natalie has asked me to let you know that rosenfeldmedia.com has a promo code for The Informed Life listeners. The code is INFORMEDLIFESTS, and it’s good for 20% off the purchase of any Rosenfeld Media book until December 31, 2022.