In a recent episode of the Fourth Wall Content Podcast, I spoke with Lauren Pope, a content strategist specialising in nonprofits, charities, and arts organisations. Lauren shared her experience working with an internal communications team at a large charity, helping them tackle an overwhelming content ecosystem. This conversation provides valuable lessons in prioritisation, stakeholder engagement, and long-term strategy.
Lauren's project involved supporting an internal content team responsible for a sprawling site with over 10,000 pages. The site had grown unchecked, creating numerous challenges:
- Outdated content posed organisational risks by providing incorrect information.
- Siloed content creation led to inconsistencies and knowledge gaps.
- Disorganised navigation made finding information difficult and eroded user trust.
- Ownership issues left critical areas of the site unmanaged.
These challenges not only affected the team’s efficiency but also risked undermining the organisation’s ability to serve its staff and end users effectively.
Understanding the problems through discovery
The team began with a comprehensive discovery phase, which included:
- Content audits to assess the site’s size and structure.
- Data analysis to identify high-usage areas.
- Stakeholder interviews to understand contributors' needs and challenges.
- User surveys and interviews to uncover issues with usability and trust.
Main findings included widespread distrust of outdated content, duplication of effort due to siloed tools, and a lack of user-focused organisation within the site.
Building a strategy: Prioritisation and purpose
Faced with the overwhelming scope of the project, Lauren worked with the team to develop a clear strategy:
- Define a purpose: Narrow the scope of the site to ensure it serves a focused function.
- Start small: Use a pilot project to test processes and learn before scaling efforts.
- Eliminate unnecessary content: Reduce the site from over 10,000 pages to just 400.
- Focus efforts: Use the “concern, influence, and control” model to prioritise work within the team’s power.
This approach allowed the team to focus on high-impact changes while deferring or delegating less critical tasks.
The importance of stakeholder engagement
Lauren emphasised the role of ongoing stakeholder engagement in driving success:
- Transparent communication: Sharing research insights and strategy helped gain buy-in from sceptical stakeholders.
- Listening to stakeholders: Valuable input, such as one stakeholder’s insight into organisational needs, shaped the strategy and information architecture.
- Continuous engagement: Regular updates and clear communication ensured alignment throughout the project.
Outcomes: Simplification and improved usability
Although the project is ongoing, key successes include:
- Content reduction: The site was streamlined to 400 pages, improving usability and reducing management burden.
- Enhanced information architecture: Testing showed significant improvements in task completion rates.
- Positive user feedback: Redesigned content types received high praise for accessibility and clarity.
Lessons in prioritisation and saying no
Lauren highlighted the importance of saying no strategically:
- Data-driven decisions: Using evidence to justify priorities made it easier to decline low-impact requests.
- Focusing on core responsibilities: The team paused other work for six months to dedicate resources to the project.
- Collaborative decision-making: The prioritisation framework enabled effective communication and alignment across teams.
Lauren’s approach to transforming an overwhelmed content ecosystem provides a blueprint for tackling similar challenges. By focusing on purpose, prioritisation, and collaboration, teams can turn content chaos into a streamlined, user-friendly resource.
For further insights, check out Lauren’s prioritisation guide for content teams.
