Customers expect to interact with content. People still use the web as a source for receiving information, obviously, but it’s now also a place to share their information and expertise and to learn from other people like them.
If appropriate, consider offering your customers a way to provide content for your site. There are different models for this, from “anybody can contribute” to “we’ve selected a few people to provide content.” Anytime you have a community-contribution content model, you must consider how you will manage the content for appropriateness, accuracy, and adherence to standards.
Wikis are a great example of a community creating content—anyone can view wiki content and, generally, anyone can contribute or edit wiki content. In theory, the community of wiki users manages the content. In practice, most wikis also have assigned editors, content managers, or councils to ensure that the wiki content is appropriate, to encourage use of the wiki, and to arbitrate disagreements.
If you have an enthusiastic community, such as a highly engaged technical community with lots of expertise to share, consider developing a wiki. And remember, the community doesn’t mean just customers outside your organization—it can include internal employees such as customer support services developers, testers, marketers, salespeople, or anyone else who has a vested interest in your wiki.
Many types of content are appropriate for a wiki, but they depend on your audience. Types of content and coverage areas that work well on wikis include the following:
Troubleshooting and workarounds
Tips and tricks
Best practices
Interoperability information
Scenario or solution-based content
Product evaluations
Beta content
White papers
Community or wiki lists
Learning roadmaps
A wiki might not be the best method for communicating the following:
Information that needs to be localized
Release notes or other information that’s essential to defining how the product works (because a wiki can be modified)
Consider using a private wiki that is limited to a designated group of internal or external users for content that cannot currently be released.
With wikis, as with all web content, you need to think about the best ways to organize your content and make it discoverable. Most wikis don’t have a standard TOC structure. You can, however, create your own navigation articles that act as a TOC and provide links to your articles. Consider creating multiple TOC articles that are specific to your users. For example, you might want to have a TOC article that is oriented toward a specific type of customer, such as a software developer or an accountant, and another TOC article that links to topics specific to a solution or scenario and isn’t role-specific.
Consider using social media both to promote your wiki content and to encourage community contribution to your articles.
For more information, see Social Media Optimization (SMO), and for more information about making wiki content discoverable, see Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
There are a number of strategies you can use to encourage contribution. Use “stub topics” that are partially filled in to encourage community additions and enhancements. Start with content that encourages contribution, such as troubleshooting, or tips and tricks. Be willing to experiment with content types (with the understanding and support of your product, legal, and localization teams), and be open to changing your approach to wiki content and community contributions based on the feedback you receive from the community. For more information, see Getting Over the Barriers to Wiki Adoption (Alan Porter, 2010); http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2010/02/getting-over-the-barriers-to-wiki-adoption.ars.