University websites host a vast quantity of content, aimed at a diverse audience. Higher education (HE) institutions are huge organisations, often operating as isolated departments or faculties. We have seen how this organisational structure can disrupt clear communication between a university and its students online.
As competition grows within the HE sector, nationally, internationally and online, applicants are becoming more and more discerning. Increasingly, universities are pressured to quantify the value of studying in terms of employment and return on investment. In their report on ‘Future-proofing the University’, KPMG highlights the challenge of meeting ‘the needs of students, communities and taxpayers, both now and in the future’. What’s more, with ever-evolving regulations to comply with and an uncertain political and economic climate, universities are in a unique state of flux.
Working within such a volatile context, higher education institutions must embrace efficient working practices wherever possible and find a way to stand out from the noise. A clear Content Strategy helps to achieve just that.
Here I’ll outline our process for developing a university Content Strategy, including some tips, tricks and insights from our expert content team.
First thing’s first: a Content Strategy is more than just a plan for your upcoming content calendar.
An efficient and successful Content Strategy must combine the substance and structure of your written content with the workflows and governance that make this content manageable.
Content is only as valuable as it is visible. Therefore, Content Strategists must consider what prospective students are searching for, and where they expect to find it. You must also account for university staff: content editors can only edit and improve content if they know where it is kept and what it should say.
A university Content Strategy must combine SEO and content marketing with user experience, from both an audience and editor’s perspective. As such, Content Strategy is both an integral part of initial discovery research and a valuable approach to continual improvement.
The foundation of successful content can be separated into four (seemingly simple) steps:
Once you know the scope of your content, you must establish a process for creation, publication and continuous optimisation.
Universities and HE institutions are often comprised of thousands of staff and tens of thousands of students. When communicating both online and in print, the sheer scale of the organisation can lead to inconsistency.
Clarify your messaging by agreeing a centralised aim and identity. This clear intention will form the core of your Content Strategy. It will also help to identify your institution in the increasingly crowded HE market.
Condense your research and ambitions into a single, annotated sentence that will be at the forefront of everyone’s minds:
OUR CONTENT MUST AIM TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT SOMETHING, TO BE SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE
It can be overwhelming to sift through branding documents, personas and user research every time you write or edit content. Instead, include a few brief annotations, to clarify your ambitions and factor in wider questions or considerations. Make it even easier to adhere to this core message with clear, digestible guidelines and content creation checklists. Doing so will help staff and students to represent the university as a cohesive whole.
Example Sitemap navigational structure for arranging content on a university website
The organisational structure of a university may seem obvious to those within it. However, it is unlikely that many prospective undergraduates will know to look for a Maths degree under the Faculty of Science and Engineering.
Arrange your content according to a user’s expectations rather than the organisational structure of the university. This content model must be defined during development, so that the CMS is set up to support your Content Strategy efficiently.
When discussing content structure, remember: content should never exist in isolation. To guide prospective students through a university application, you must link your content clearly. Align your sitemap and navigation with priority user journeys. A strategic internal linking structure will improve user experience and optimise your site for search. Focusing on links will also highlight any gaps in the chain, where you require new content.
Traditionally, large higher education institutions manage content in isolation. Each faculty, school and department create content according to different approval processes. This isolated approach leads to duplication of effort and risk of inaccuracy.
Define how and who will manage content production. You must establish a clear workflow process for creating, approving and publishing each content type. What’s more, you must determine, from the outset, how regularly this content must be updated and who is responsible for maintaining it.
Approval process diagram for content production, featuring a three-tiered editorial group structure
In our experience, in the Higher Education sector and beyond, we have found that content often gets lost in a bloated, slow website. On one university site, we uncovered that 91% of content accounted for just 12% of page views. University staff could archive a vast majority of content with low impact for most of their audiences. Doing so, would improve content management, as editors have far fewer pages to maintain. A smaller content library will also improve site speed, promote positive usability and simplify compliance with Advertising Standards regulations.
Ratio of content to page views for a vast university website
Although every Content Strategy should be unique to the institution, here are some general rules that we encourage all universities to follow:
To discuss your Content Strategy or to learn more about our work with Higher Education Institutions, get in touch with our expert digital strategy team.