Reel Grrls Content Strategy Report
January 2013 - March 2013
My Work: Work included an inventory of website pages and social media presences, interviewing a person related to the organization, comparing the website to websites of similar organizations, and the creation of a content strategy report.
Skills Applied: Competitive Analysis, Content Inventories, Content Strategy, User Personas, User Research, User Experience
Group Members: The course included group collaboration for some assignments, with deliverables and the final content strategy report created individually. Members are Joseph Bull, Eun Rha, and Nathaniel Williams,
Overview
The INFO 498C: Content Strategy course focused on the analysis of the website for Reel Grrls, a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower young women by training them in media production and analysis.
Reel Grrls wanted to improve its website and online presence to be more effective at informing others about their organization. The non-profit wanted outside input on how to improve its website, including the kinds of information shown and the website layout.
The solution was to create a content strategy report for the organization, which would include an analysis of the website layout, analysis of website content, and comparisons with websites of similar non-profit organizations. The report would also include recommendations to improve the website.
Home Page During Analysis
The Process
Content Inventory
As part of analyzing the website for improvements, an inventory of the organization's website pages and its social media presences was made.
This content inventory includes a list of the Reel Grrls website’s pages, organized into categories and with alternate URLs when available. The list includes active and disused pages, and linked PDF files.
Also included in the inventory is a list of the organization’s social media channels and profiles, with number of followers and typical post frequencies. The inventory was created manually, with manual searching of pages with partial aid of a search engine.
Content Inventory of Web Pages
Content Inventory of Social Media Profiles
Persona
In addition to the content inventory, a persona was created based on a group interview with someone interested in Reel Grrls. The person interviewed was a board member of the organization, and is interested in furthering its goals and mission.
The persona includes a user description, demographics, interview quote, technical/channel profile, user/audience goals, and business goals/objectives.
User-Based Persona
Competitive Analysis
The competitive audit/analysis compared the website for Reel Grrls to the websites for five similar organizations: Ghetto Film School, Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, Powerful Voices, Global Action Project, and TVbyGIRLS.
The audit analyzes the the six websites by using 29 relevant heuristics in 6 categories. These comparisons are organized in a spreadsheet with applicable notes. Also included in the analysis documentation are descriptions of the five other organizations with screenshots of their home pages.
Competitive Audit/Analysis Spreadsheet
Page Description Diagrams
Two page description diagrams were created which organize page elements based on priority to the user.
The elements are ranked by high, medium, and low priority, and include notes on the pages and their elements. The pages analyzed are the Home page and the Stay in Touch page.
Home Page Description Diagram
Stay in Touch Page Description Diagram
The Outcome
From the research and analysis of Reel Grrls' website, a content strategy report is created for the organization. The report contains:
- An executive summary
- A current situation description
- A similar website comparison
- Recommendations
- Prioritization of recommendations
- A competitive audit and analysis spreadsheet
- Page description diagrams
The report includes four recommendations for Reel Grrls to improve its website:
- Modify the content on the home page to lower the amount of content but raise its effectiveness, by choosing and consolidating page content and elements.
- Add more news features and posts to the home page by utilizing the existing Tumblr blog and its posts, to give the home page more current activity.
- Change the left column found on most pages so it would show announcements and upcoming events, instead of the current redundant links.
- Add additional social media button links such as links to Flickr, Pinterest, and YouTube, so some social media presences are not left out.
The recommendations and solutions presented in the report can be used by Reel Grrls to improve its website for a better user experience and a more effective conveyance of its mission and purpose.