The 5 Things We learned at LavaCon 2021
Every once in a while, a group of content folks, documentation managers and technical writers look up from their style guides and technical writing subreddits to connect with like-minded peers. And they call it LavaCon.
LavaCon 2021, which took place virtually the week of October 24th, marked the conference’s 19th year. It’s the place where rockstars of content strategy gather to share best practices and lessons learned, network with peers, and build professional relationships. This year’s topic was Mastering the Content Development Cycle, focusing on how enterprises can create and share content. And the conference did not fail to deliver its promise!
Zoomin is proud to continue to sponsor LavaCon, and support the community of documentation experts. We always look forward to meeting new folks and sharing our view of the trends and themes in the technical publication industry,
This year, Zoomin’s President Joe Gelb gave a talk sharing Zoomin’s vision of how companies should use content to drive customer loyalty. He shared his perception of what drives customer loyalty, the vital stages to building customers’ trust, the future of customer journey, and what technical content documentation experts should consider looking into the 2022 trends. If you attended the conference, you can view the talk here.
In addition to hearing great best practices on everything from subject lines and CTAs to personalization, to inclusive and accessible content, for us attending the conference was also an opportunity to see what other organizations are focused on as well as where they’re struggling.
These are our week’s worth of insights condensed into 5 quick snippets:
The good news is that some of these problems are solvable - from giving customers a more consistent digital experience to measuring content across the entire lifecycle to showcasing clear value from content for the organization. (And, wouldn’t you know it, that’s what we do at Zoomin.)
But the bad news is that some of these issues can’t be solved through software, consultants, or DITA maps. They are things that we and the organizations we work for need to prioritize. Like how we ensure open, inclusive language. Or how we recognize the people who create content that drives these journeys. Or how we continue to serve customers after they convert.
These are the things we need to keep talking about. See you at the next one!