I can see it now... a content vision

I recently read a blog post all about content strategy: defining a vision and sticking to it throughout your messaging.

I've written before about tone of voice (not here, elsewhere) and how the personality of your brand must be continued throughout the culture and content of your business, but where does this come from? How do you decide what that voice will be?

A brand's "voice" sometimes comes quite naturally. Other times, it comes from carefully crafted, thoroughly managed strategy. You tailor your word choice and phrasing and mediums of messaging to meet your strategy. Want to be seen as a hip, cool digital company? Would your audience and industry prefer a more traditional, professional approach? It's all about understanding who you are, how you want to be perceived, and what your target audience expects from you in order to put their faith (read: money) in your business.

As the A List Apart blog article suggests, it's crucial to identify the goals of your message, the vision behind every move you make. Author Russ Starke says, "the vision isn't just a list of goals; it’s a narrative that shows the organization’s future from the customer’s perspective."

• What do your customers need to understand about you?
• Where are you, as a business, going in the future?
• Will your customers understand and respond to this narrative?

It can be easy to look at this concept - big, scary "content strategy" - as something only big corporate companies do. And, while it's true that big businesses like Google and Apple and Target are highly invested in defining their voice and crafting the right message, it's equally important for smaller businesses to consider as well.

Every business has a personality. Make sure that personality comes through in your messaging (customer emails, in-store/office culture, billboards...) and achieves your goals.

The aforementioned blog post has some great info on the nitty gritty of defining your content strategy. For the step by step, read on! Defining a Vision: Making Sure Your Work Matters