Category: Measurement


Turning Card Sort Lemons into Content Strategy Lemonade

The first rule of card sorting is…

No. I can’t do it. I refuse to do the Fight Club joke.

There are rules, though. Unwritten rules, yes, but rules all the same. And that first rule is the one we’re all taught to revere from the beginning: you don’t facilitate a remote card sort unless you absolutely have to.

Card sorting is a science that requires interaction and arguing and probably a few sandwiches and Diet Cokes. You do it in a room, on a table, on a chalkboard, behind smoky glass, out in the open; WHATEVER. Just make sure it’s live.

In theory, yes. This makes perfect sense.

But. BUT.

Budget, distance and sample size often get in the way, making the dream of in-person, get-to-know-you card sorting unattainable.

So you turn to remote card sorting, and you shield your eyes. Because while you’re going to get a lot of answers for a lower cost, you’re also going to get some serious stinkers. There are going to be some “Just get me through this so I can get a chance to win an Amazon.com gift card” stinkers. There are going to be some “I don’t really understand this process” stinkers. Most of all, there are going to be some “Who really gives a crap?” stinkers.

Good. Embrace them. We need to accept the fact that, no matter what, there are people who just don’t give a shit. Because those people are users, too, and we STILL need to sell them widgets.

Rach on “The Value of Content”

So, nearly 21 months after writing her introduction post on The Value of Content, Brain Traffic VP Melissa Rach finally gets to Part Two.

The wait? TOTALLY worth it.

From “The Value of Content, Part 2: Nobody’s Perfect:”

Start by defining what you’re measuring

Ok, so how do you reduce uncertainty? The first thing you need to do is decide what you’re measuring. It might sound simple, but it’s actually one of the trickiest parts of the process. The key is to get as specific as possible, because the more specific you get, the more uncertainty you’ll be able to eliminate.

One thing we’ve baked into our initial audiences/outcomes discovery document here at Blend is a definition of how we’ll measure our client’s outcomes. It’s one thing to say “we want more customers” – it’s another to say “we want to see a higher number of leads from the website as measured by referral codes.”

That being said, measuring content value is the hardest thing we do as content strategists, and it’s refreshing to see such as simple – not to mention adaptable and usable – mini-methodology to justifying the cost of content.