Today marks the first week of the Digital Content Strategies course (and coincidentally, my first week of graduate school). This first week has been all about reframing what I thought I knew about content strategy.

What did you read or watch that surprised, delighted or disappointed you? Why?

Until this point, I understood the “content” in “content strategy” to mean just writing or text. To think about it also encompassing video, images, PDFs, and so on was something that hadn’t crossed my mind. Perhaps not a big revelation, but it was one thing learned in this week.

Slightly embarrassed to admit, but I initially expected a course on content strategy to explain how to make or present general content—say, tutorials or an article—more effectively online. What I didn’t realize was how much content strategy would be so focused on a business’s goals or outcomes and how important a good strategy was for increasing business value. It is much, much bigger than what I was thinking.

It was also interesting to hear how often there is a content disconnect between technical writers and marketing communicators within a business. This is not that surprising, since it makes sense that different perspectives and department goals influence what content is generated. I can see that this disconnect, however, can impact client and customer satisfaction, which financially hurts a business. This topic in particular did lead me to a conversation with a colleague about this.

So far, I have mostly talked about what has stuck with me from Module 1 (M1), but Module 2 (M2) had some important things to note. I am a planner, and so anything related to planning or project management I typically find interesting. I am pleased to find some introduced concepts to be things I have awareness of or think I already know. For example, I have heard of the agile method before in terms of project planning. As a current tech writer, I think its not too surprising that I know this.

Of the things covered from M2, I liked the simplicity of the Kanban board. Sometimes I think a slightly simpler planning approach is better for certain projects. Since our course project will start with one, I am curious to see it in action.

What was most meaningful for your own career goals? Why?

I do already see some concepts from M1 and M2 that will help me in my current role. For example, I definitely think some of the project planning techniques or software will help with future projects I am assigned to or even lead.

This early into the class, I am not sure where content strategy fits in my career. But I am looking forward to discovering more about it and really getting started with out client’s content strategy.