In 2013 Santa brought this little Jewish content strategist an extra-special present: a content strategy Secret Santa game. The instructions were simple:
- Sign up via Twitter and get the name of another content strategist
- Write a blog post or article before December 23
- Receive an anonymous post or article, and post it to your blog
Though the instructions were simple, I and many other perfectionist content strategists struggled. What were we supposed to write about? Should we mimic the recipient’s style? Should we be funny? Serious? Ultimately we had to face the difficult truth: there was no wrong answer.
Blog Secret Santa did a great job of organizing us, maintaining a fun demeanor via Tweets, and publicizing the finished posts. I’m already signed up to participate again next year, and I’m already looking forward to it. But the other day I found a special treat – a post from Santa himself, recapping the entire experience. Perhaps this is my Valentine’s Day gift from Santa; if nothing else, I found it engaging, enlightening, and enjoyable. Here’s an excerpt – though I highly recommend reading the full article. It’s a valuable look at the state of content strategy, useful for strategists and clients alike:
“But clients look to us as consultants who come in to their organisation and help them out. To be their rock, a solid foundation of experience and knowledge who will guide them through stormy seas. Being tentative, having self-doubt or seeming lost ourselves can erode their confidence in our ability to do our job.”
I love that Blog Secret Santa let this blogger call us out before (well, hopefully before) we overdo the touchy-feely vulnerability thing. I also love that they immediately follow this up with a vulnerable admission:
“I don’t have the answer to this conundrum.”
If you do have the answer, Unknown Blogger, I hope you’ll write it down.