Content strategy for Local Government Information Unit
LGiU is a membership organisation that produces content for its members. It set out to overhaul its content strategy to produce more consistent, high-quality content aligned with its mission to inform, educate, and celebrate local government. Crocstar spent six months leading then embedding this strategic initiative.
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This membership organisation has a long history of producing relevant content on a global scale that contributes to the better understanding of local government.
The publishing team has a range of materials to produce, often with tight turnaround and a range of production processes.
The wider team wasn't clear on whether or how to contribute.
Over time, roles and responsibilities had changed, leading to a lack of clarity, resulting in overlap and duplication.
Materials had become outdated, including the style guide, rates and contracts.
While there was a stable group of regular contributing writers, there was a need to increase the diversity of this pool and hear from new voices.
The organisation had a strong ambition to better understand how their audience engaged with content, so they could focus on what people want and need.
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Crocstar was brought in to ideate, lead and deliver an updated content strategy, as well as provide coaching to the content team.
We created a content strategy that covered:
what the core content team does
what the content commissioners do
how this team works with the rest of the org
how the rest of the org can feed ideas in and support the editorial direction
a refresh of all documentation
refresher writing training for the team
There were also a few bonus outcomes, better internal communication and an improvement in morale, plus the launch of three guiding content principles:
Inform: Timely local government news.
Educate: Deep dives into complex issues.
Celebrate: Highlighting success stories and innovations.
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A confident team.
Alignment across the three areas (core content team, greater content team and wider org) in terms of what quality content looks like.
A streamlined content creation process.
A plan to increase contributors.
Refined content process for consistency and quality.
Enhanced collaboration with better-defined roles.
Improved efficiency with clear briefs and a commissioning board.
Institutionalised knowledge via internal documentation.
Greater team cohesion through workshops and a shared content vision.
LGIU’s content strategy overhaul streamlined operations and also contributed to a more collaborative culture.
IN BRIEF
A light-touch content strategy that works for the organisation by simplifying process - not adding it.
Buy-in, input and agreement from all stakeholders across the organisation.
Clearer roles, responsibilities and people working to their skillsets.
Updated contracts and supporting documentation for contributors.
Refreshed style guide and tone of voice.
Refresher training sessions delivered for the content team.
Client feedback
“Our content team is in a much stronger position now”
“Working with Christine has been an absolute pleasure from start to finish and a fantastic move forward for our content team and services. From the get-go, she integrated smoothly into the team, really taking the time to understand our team dynamics and the organisation's challenges and goals. Over the six months, she delivered a thorough and tailored content strategy that spoke to our immediate needs and long-term vision. She has a wealth of knowledge, and our content team is in a much stronger position now thanks to her insights, guidance and expertise.”
Freya Millard, Head of Content