{"id":4418,"date":"2020-08-07T16:39:45","date_gmt":"2020-08-07T20:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/?p=4418"},"modified":"2020-08-08T12:25:56","modified_gmt":"2020-08-08T16:25:56","slug":"driving-value-as-a-tiny-ux-content-team-how-we-spend-content-strategy-resources-wisely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/2020\/08\/driving-value-as-a-tiny-ux-content-team-how-we-spend-content-strategy-resources-wisely\/","title":{"rendered":"Driving Value as a Tiny UX Content Team: How We Spend Content Strategy Resources Wisely"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"graf graf--figure\">\n<p><div style=\"width: 1273px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"graf-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/1263\/1*D7cWFKgispLwui3Bp9fXkg.jpeg\" alt=\"Photo of a small ant carrying a green leaf across the ground.\" width=\"1263\" height=\"842\" data-image-id=\"1*D7cWFKgispLwui3Bp9fXkg.jpeg\" data-width=\"3664\" data-height=\"2443\" data-is-featured=\"true\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Vlad Tchompalov, Unsplash.<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"imageCaption\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Our tiny UX content strategy team works to deliver the right content to the right users at the right time. We make sure product content is useful, necessary, and appropriate. This includes everything from writing an error message in Firefox to developing the full end-to-end content experience for a stand-alone product.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Mozilla has around 1,000 employees, and many of those are developers. Our UX team has 20 designers, 7 researchers, and 3 content strategists. We support the desktop and mobile Firefox browsers, as well as satellite products.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">There\u2019s no shortage of requests for content help, but there <em class=\"markup--em markup--p-em\">is<\/em> a shortage of hours and people to tackle them. When the organization wants more of your time than you actually have, what\u2019s a strategic content strategist to do?<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--h3-strong\">1. Identify high-impact projects and work on\u00a0those<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">We prioritize our time for the projects with high impact\u200a\u2014\u200athose that matter most to the business and reach the most end users. Tactically, this means we do the following:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"postList\">\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Review high-level organizational goals<\/strong> as a team at the beginning of every planning cycle.<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Ask product managers to identify and rank order<\/strong> the projects needing content strategy support.<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Evaluate those requests <\/strong>against the larger business priorities and estimate the work. <em class=\"markup--em markup--li-em\">Will this require 10 percent of one content strategist\u2019s time? 25 percent?<\/em><\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Communicate<\/strong> out the projects that content strategy will be able to support.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">By structuring our work this way, we aim to develop deep expertise on key focus areas rather than surface-level understanding of many.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--h3-strong\">2. Embed yourself and partner with product management<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">People sometimes think \u2018content strategist\u2019 is another name for \u2018copywriter.\u2019 While we <em class=\"markup--em markup--p-em\">do<\/em> write the words that appear in the product, writing interface copy is about 10\u201320 percent of our work. The lion\u2019s share of a content strategist\u2019s day is spent laying the groundwork leading up to writing the words:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"postList\">\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\">Driving clarity<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\">Collaborating with designers<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\">Understanding technical feasibility and constraints<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\">Conducting user research<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\">Developing processes<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\">Aligning teams<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\">Documenting and communicating decisions up and out<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">To do this work, we embed with cross-functional teams. <\/strong>Content strategy shows up early and stays late. We attend kickoffs, align on user problems, crystallize solutions, and act as connective tissue between the product experience and our partners in localization, legal, and the support team. We often stay involved after designs are handed off because content decisions have long tentacles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">We also work closely with our product managers to ensure that the strategy we bring to the table is the right one. A clear up-front understanding of user and business goals leads to more thoughtful content design.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--h3-strong\">3. Participate in and lead\u00a0research<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">A key way we shape strategy is by participating in user research (as observers and note-takers) and leading usability studies.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"graf graf--blockquote graf--startsWithDoubleQuote\"><p><em class=\"markup--em markup--blockquote-em\">\u201cI\u2019m not completely certain what you mean when you say, \u2018found on your device.\u2019 WHICH device?\u201d\u200a\u2014<\/em>\u200aUsability study participant on a redesigned onboarding experience (User Research Firefox UX, <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--blockquote-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@davidson.jennif\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@davidson.jennif\">Jennifer Davidson<\/a>, 2020)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Designing a usability study not only requires close partnership with design and product management, but also forces you to tackle product clarity and strategy issues early. It gives you the opportunity to test an early solution and hear directly from your users about what\u2019s working and what\u2019s not. <strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Hearing the language real people use is enlightening, and it can help you articulate and justify the decisions you make in copy later on.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--h3-strong\">4. Collaborate with each\u00a0other<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Just because your team works on different projects doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t collaborate. In fact, it\u2019s more of a reason to share and align. We want to present our users with a unified end experience, no matter when they encounter our product\u200a\u2014\u200aor which content strategist worked on a particular aspect of it.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"postList\">\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Peer reviews. <\/strong>Ask one of your content strategy teammates to provide a second set of eyes on your work. This is especially useful for identifying confusing terminology or jargon that you, as the dedicated content strategist, may have adopted as an \u2018insider.\u2019 Reviews also keep team members in the loop so they can spread the word to other project teams.<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Document your decisions and why you made them<\/strong>. This builds your team\u2019s institutional memory, saving you time when you (inevitably) need to dig back into those decisions later on.<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Share learnings.<\/strong> Did you just complete a usability testing study that revealed a key insight about language? Share it! Are you developing a framework to help your team think through how to approach product discovery? Share it! The more we can share what we\u2019re each learning individually, the better we can learn and grow as a team.<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Content-only team meetings.<\/strong> At our weekly team meetings, we bring requests for feedback, content challenges we\u2019re struggling with, and other in-the-weeds content topics like how our capitalization rules are evolving. It\u2019s important to have a space to focus on your specialized craft.<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Legal and localization meetings. <\/strong>Our team also meets weekly with product counsel for legal review and monthly with our localization team to discuss terminology. What your teammates bring to those meetings provides visibility into content-related discussions outside of our day-to-day purview.<\/li>\n<li class=\"graf graf--li\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--li-strong\">Team work days. <\/strong>A few times a year, we clear our calendars and spend the day together. This is an opportunity for us to check in. What\u2019s going well? What would we like to improve? What would we like to accomplish as a team in the coming months?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"graf graf--figure graf--layoutOutsetCenter\">\n<p><div style=\"width: 1438px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"graf-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/1895\/1*RopTEuAieIjSDrQnP54m6g.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of a Slack message asking another team member to review a document about desktop and see where its aligns or diverges with mobile.\" width=\"1428\" height=\"238\" data-image-id=\"1*RopTEuAieIjSDrQnP54m6g.png\" data-width=\"1428\" data-height=\"238\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cross-platform coordination between content strategy colleagues<\/p><\/div><\/figure>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--h3-strong\">5. Communicate the impact of your\u00a0work<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">In addition to delivering the work, it\u2019s critical that you evangelize it. Content strategists may love a long copy deck or beautifully formatted spreadsheet, but a lot of people\u2026don\u2019t. And many folks still don\u2019t understand what a product content strategist or UX writer does, especially as an embedded team member.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">To make your work and impact tangible, take the time to package it up for demo presentations and blogs. <\/strong>We\u2019re storytellers. Put those skills to work to tell the story of how you arrived at the end result and what it took to get there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><strong>Look for opportunities in your workplace to share\u200a<\/strong>\u2014\u200alunch-and-learns, book clubs, lightning talks, etc. When you get to represent your work alongside your team members, people outside of UX can begin to see that you aren\u2019t just a Lorem ipsum magician.<\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--h3-strong\">6. Create and maintain a style\u00a0guide<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Creating a style guide is a massive effort, but it\u2019s well worth the investment. First and foremost, it\u2019s a tool that helps the entire team write from a unified perspective and with consistency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Style guides need to be maintained and updated. The ongoing conversations you have with your team about those changes ensure you consider a variety of use cases and applications. A hard-and-fast rule established for your desktop product might not work so well on mobile or a web-based product, and vice versa. As a collective team, we can make better decisions as they apply across our entire product ecosystem<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">A style guide also scales your content work\u200a<\/strong>\u2014\u200aeven if you aren\u2019t the person actually doing the work. The reality of a small content team is that copy will need to be created by people outside of your group. With a comprehensive style guide, you can equip those people with guidance. And, while style guides require investment upfront, they can save you time in the long-term by automating decisions already made so you can focus on solving new problems.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"graf graf--figure\">\n<p><div style=\"width: 1273px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"graf-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/1263\/1*BWBbDGZw7oNxEAEUOujWOQ.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of the punctuation guidelines for the Firefox Photon Design System.\" width=\"1263\" height=\"896\" data-image-id=\"1*BWBbDGZw7oNxEAEUOujWOQ.png\" data-width=\"2062\" data-height=\"1464\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Firefox Photon Design System includes copy guidelines.<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"imageCaption\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--h3\">7. Keep track of requests, even when you can\u2019t cover\u00a0them<\/h2>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Even though you won\u2019t be able to cover it all, it\u2019s a good idea to track and catalogue all of the requests you receive. It\u2019s one thing to just <em class=\"markup--em markup--p-em\">say <\/em>more content strategy support is needed\u200a\u2014\u200ait\u2019s another to quantify it. To prioritize your work, you already had to document the projects somewhere, anyway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Our team captures every request and estimates the percentage of one content strategist\u2019s time that the work would require in a staffing spreadsheet. Does that mean you should be providing 100 percent coverage for everything? Unfortunately, it\u2019d be impossible to deliver a 100 percent on all of it. But it\u2019s eye opening to see that we\u2019d need more people just to cover the business-critical requests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">Here\u2019s a link for creating your own <\/strong><a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/18TL6i_smcpc1ef7a5ec2SpowMNXApEK-g_zaX8BdAps\/edit#gid=1686889967\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/18TL6i_smcpc1ef7a5ec2SpowMNXApEK-g_zaX8BdAps\/edit#gid=1686889967\"><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">staffing requests tracker<\/strong><\/a><strong class=\"markup--strong markup--p-strong\">.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 1905px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"graf-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/1895\/1*gA8tqUWobxv4DlmOWkWWSw.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of a spreadsheet for tracking staffing requests.\" width=\"1895\" height=\"659\" data-image-id=\"1*gA8tqUWobxv4DlmOWkWWSw.png\" data-width=\"1920\" data-height=\"668\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Template for tracking staffing\u00a0requests<\/p><\/div>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2 class=\"graf graf--h3\">Closing thoughts<\/h2>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">To realize the full breadth and depth of your impact, content strategists should prioritize strategically, collaborate deeply, and document and showcase their work. When you\u2019re building your practice and trying to demonstrate value, it\u2019s tough to take this approach. It\u2019s hard to get a seat at the table initially, and it\u2019s hard to prioritize requests. But even doing a version of these things can yield results\u200a\u2014\u200amaybe you are able to embed on just one project, and the rest of the time you are tackling a deluge of strings. That\u2019s okay. That\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h4\">Acknowledgements<\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Special thanks to Michelle Heubusch for making it possible for our tiny team to work strategically. And thanks to <a class=\"markup--anchor markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@happy_stomach\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@happy_stomach\">Sharon Bautista<\/a> for editing help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our tiny UX content strategy team works to deliver the right content to the right users at the right time. We make sure product content is useful, necessary, and appropriate. &hellip; <a class=\"go\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/2020\/08\/driving-value-as-a-tiny-ux-content-team-how-we-spend-content-strategy-resources-wisely\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1624,"featured_media":4419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[246],"tags":[],"coauthors":[52917,440641],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4418"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1624"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4418"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/ux\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}