Our Brisbane editor Lani Pauli says Sally Bagshaw, Brisbane-based copywriter and content strategist, is one of the first people she noticed actively talking about “content strategy” before it was hip. We sat down to talk to Sally about her niche in content strategy and what it all means.

Website: www.snappysentences.com and www.webcontentstrategy.com.au

Where does your passion for content strategy come from and what keeps it going?
I’m passionate about content strategy because it treats content as a business asset, not just pretty words on a web page. It aligns everything you do regarding content—from its planning, to its development, management and maintenance—to the overall goals of the business. In a world where we are all publishers, good content strategy is a way to stay focused and put your energy into the right areas. I also like that it shines a light on the business processes and technology needed to do these great things with content.

Who do you think is doing cool stuff in our industries?
That’s a tough one, there are cool things happening in different areas. Some people are doing great things with technology, some with voice and messaging, and some with cross channel content. Online retailers are often ahead of the game with content, especially as it’s easy to measure the ROI for great content (more sales).

What was your first job?
My first ever job was at the Eumundi newsagency on Saturday mornings for the markets. The early starts were hard, but it was a fun place to work and it taught me to count change very quickly!

What’s the biggest misconception about content strategy?
The biggest misconception is content strategy is content marketing. Content strategy is broader and can go across many traditional silos like IT and marketing. That said, content strategy isn’t only for big business. Smaller businesses can be smart with content too; it doesn’t have to be complex.

What’s the biggest opportunity and challenge for content strategy to be more consistently employed by businesses?
Even though content strategy has a higher profile than it used to, it still can be a hard sell to senior executives who are used to thinking of content as an operational (rather than strategic) part of the business. The big opportunity is the way technology is evolving so quickly, it’s not realistic to keep repurposing content for all of these different platforms anymore. It’s causing a shift to smarter thinking around content.

What’s next?
I’m starting a meetup group to bring together all Brisbanites interested in content strategy. The first catch up is planned for early June and will be a debrief about Confab – a content strategy conference that I’m going to in Minneapolis. I’ll announce further details soon on Twitter via @ContentBNE and the Brisbane Content Strategy Group meetup page.

You can follow Sally on Twitter here.