the confederated tribes: content strategy
This week, I completed a content strategy report for the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation (CSKT). The report highlights the challenges with their current website network, which is fragmented across 17 different sites with little navigation between them. The design lacks coherence and functionality that adheres to current web development standards. The report proposes merging the websites and reconstructing them on a robust content management system (CMS) platform to support CSKT's diverse divisions and departments in the future.
The content strategy aims to effectively communicate with the target audience and align with the website's goals. The report narrows down the main target audiences to residents, visitors, and government officials, and proposes merging the archives of CSKT into a single domain with intuitive navigation to eliminate frustration and confusion for users.
There are several opportunities for improvement, including the lack of linking between the different domains, difficulties in finding specific pages, disorganized brand identities, and duplicate content. By overhauling and auditing the content, we suggest creating a unified, user-driven experience that aligns with the organization's goals.
The report emphasizes the importance of a well-defined content strategy in conveying the brand's value proposition and aligning with the website's goals. We recommend developing a writing style guide to unify the voice across all pages and channels, retaining a semi-formal and informative tone.
The report also discusses the significance of search engine optimization (SEO) and accessibility. It suggests optimizing the site's design, maintaining a clear and detailed brand guide, ensuring mobile optimization, and adhering to modern accessibility standards. High-quality content is crucial for SEO, and the report highlights the need to address issues such as missing meta descriptions, duplicate page titles, and missing alt text for images.
The core strategy statement emphasizes simplicity and consolidation of content to minimize frustration and maximize clarity for users. The report suggests prioritizing content based on its importance to both the organization and the user, while minimizing less important content.
We also recommend considering how users discover content and building user scenarios to understand their needs. By prioritizing content and structuring it based on user needs, CSKT can provide a user-centered experience.
Ultimately, the report highlights the importance of a well-organized website in improving user experience, ranking in search engine results, and maintaining brand consistency. Website organization facilitates content creation, maintenance, and updates, ensuring the website remains fresh and up to date.
