Nathan's Portfolio Build

Background

Create a framework that guides the creation, distribution, and management of content for Built In Africa, a media platform that aims to introduce Africa's startup ecosystem to a global audience.

Challenge

A content strategy that attracts the right audience and drives monetization.
A consistent voice across website copy, content, social media channels, newsletters, etc.
A scalable editorial process that allowed new content creators to onboard.
A flexible and scalable information architecture.

Timeline

2 months

Skills

Content strategy
UX Design, wireframing,
information architecture.

Tools

Figma
Webflow
Jira

Research & Discovery

Competitor analysis & Content audit

Before determining the overall content strategy for the platform, I conducted an in-depth competitor analysis of existing media platforms focused on tech in Africa. The following questions guided my process.

Who is their audience?
What type of content do they produce/curate?
How and where are they distributing the content?
What is their positioning within the industry?

This exercise allowed us to uncover the industry's recurring theme. I found that most of the content focused on African startups that raised money, participated in one of the premier startup accelerators (like YC), or was started by a non-African founder. Also, there was no space dedicated to sharing the stories and highlighting the builders. i.e., the engineers and designers. The people with the technical skills fueling the continent's startup growth.

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User interviews

I developed three personas and conducted interviews to validate assumptions and get a better sense of each persona's desires, concerns, goals, and attitude towards the concept of Built In Africa.

Personas:

African techies (developers, designers, data scientists, etc.).
African techies in the diaspora who are interested in learning about tech in Africa.
Angel investors interested in investing in African startups.

Planning & Creating

My findings from the research and discovery stage informed the type of content to create and attract the attention of our intended audience:

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SEO

Performed keyword research and developed SEO strategy for articles.

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Content framework and standard

Created templates, checklists, and guides for article contributors.
Documented clear responsibilities for each person involved in the content creation and distribution process using a content matrix.
Developed measurement framework to measure content success and evaluate how to improve. (pages per visit, returning visitors, time on site, newsletter open rates.)
Established voice and tone guidelines.

Design

Information architecture

Once I understood our overall strategy, users, positioning, and content model, I developed the website's information architecture. To figure out how to organize and structure the platform to ensure I met the business goals and user needs.