{"id":6020,"date":"2015-11-16T06:00:35","date_gmt":"2015-11-16T14:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/?p=6020"},"modified":"2015-11-16T13:35:35","modified_gmt":"2015-11-16T21:35:35","slug":"content-creation-spanishdict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/development\/content-creation-spanishdict\/","title":{"rendered":"Invest in Content Creation to Enhance Your User Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a result of\u00a0investing greater time and effort in their own content, SpanishDict has created a more comprehensive, fulfilling experience for users.<\/em><\/p>\n

SpanishDict<\/a> is the world\u2019s largest Spanish-English dictionary, translation, and language learning website and mobile app\u00a0with more than 12,000,000 unique visitors per month.<\/p>\n

This kind of on-the-go resource can prompt fleeting\u00a0interactions with users. But\u00a0SpanishDict has increased engagement by expanding their educational focus, revamping their blog efforts<\/a>, and taking on the very ambitious task of creating their own dictionary.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re controlling every bit of content creation\u00a0from start to finish, leading to\u00a0more freedom for the company and a more memorable\u00a0experience for users.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Content<\/p>\n

We spoke with SpanishDict product associate Helena Witte<\/a> and product growth lead Ali Zelek<\/a> about their efforts to build a unique experience.<\/h3>\n

As product associate, Witte guides apps through prototyping, design, testing, development and finally, deployment. On the growth side,\u00a0Zelek manages the blog and user engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n

From Reference to Learning<\/span><\/h2>\n

Unlike many tech products on the market, which have been around for just a few months or maybe a couple of years, SpanishDict has been on the scene for well over\u00a0a decade.<\/p>\n

One attempt to keep the company fresh came last year when they offered the $15k #LoveSpanish scholarship in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month and their 15-year anniversary. Students applied by writing a Tweet or Facebook post sharing why they #LoveSpanish.<\/p>\n

The scholarship was such a success (garnering over 3,000 applications) that they offered it again this year. The campaign was even promoted by the White House<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\"Content<\/a><\/p>\n

Education is a big part of SpanishDict’s mission as 60% of users are using the service\u00a0to supplement a Spanish class they’re taking. They\u00a0try to foster\u00a0an ongoing learning environment that not only teaches definitions and conjugations\u00a0but also\u00a0provides\u00a0context surrounding\u00a0the language.<\/p>\n

One way they do so is by encouraging\u00a0users to discuss the accuracy and idiosyncrasies of the language using Q&A Forums on their\u00a0website. With at least 100,000 questions and answers available,\u00a0they\u00a0“aim to cultivate a fun and active community where members can ask and answer questions, practice with each other, and experience the joy of using a new language.”<\/p>\n

But they wanted to create even more opportunities for\u00a0engagement that would\u00a0make a lasting impact on how (and why) people learn Spanish. To do this, they\u00a0looked to their blog to capture the historical influences and cultural impact of the Spanish language.<\/p>\n

\"Content<\/a><\/h2>\n

Better Blogging<\/span><\/h2>\n

Like other web company blogs of the Dot Com Era, SpanishDict’s early blog posts focused primarily on product announcements. Accordingly, most\u00a0posts were internally-oriented, focusing on the company rather than\u00a0the user.<\/p>\n

Even in 2015, it\u2019s a common mistake that startups continue to make. As a founder, you’re devoting all your resources to building products users love<\/a>, so of course it makes sense that you want to shout it from the rooftops when a product \u2014 or even a new feature \u2014 launches.<\/p>\n

But, while product announcements may be exciting for members of the company,\u00a0not all of them are post-worthy for users. And they\u2019re certainly not blog-sustaining.<\/p>\n

This summer, SpanishDict started creating content better targeted to\u00a0their user, beyond ways that are directly tied to Spanish learning. Specifically, they began exploring\u00a0the history of the Spanish language, plus Spanish culture, travel, and food.<\/p>\n

Such posts covered topics like: \u201c5 Things You Need to Do in Barcelona,\u201d \u201cWhat Latin American Movie Should You Watch Tonight?,” and \u201cHow Learning Spanish Boosts Your Brain Power.\u201d<\/p>\n

This approach provides\u00a0Spanish-learning students with a\u00a0broader perspective on\u00a0what they\u2019re working toward, which also makes it easier to\u00a0look past the more immediate\u00a0frustration that can accompany verb conjugations.<\/p>\n

SpanishDict now maintains\u00a0two blogs with weekly posts: one is in English<\/span><\/a><\/span> and caters to English speakers learning Spanish, and the other is in Spanish<\/a> and caters to Spanish speakers learning English.<\/p>\n

Zelek said that lists and quizzes have been the most successful so far.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>We are analyzing pageview data for each article, as well as tracking which articles are shared the most on other websites and across social media platforms,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re able to spot trends regarding\u00a0which articles are popular\u00a0with your audience, you can start to find common ground in their pain points as well. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, data showed that the post \u201c<\/span>10 Words and Phrases to Know Before Traveling to Argentina\u201d really resonated with readers. With further research and data, they may find that travel articles far exceed other efforts.<\/p>\n

A good way to take advantage of this could be to create specific language guides for Argentina, write a post with translations of common menu items, or suggest historical sites for people to check out\u00a0while they’re visiting the country.<\/p>\n

Managing Writers<\/span><\/h3>\n

Zelek puts a lot of energy into\u00a0recruiting and managing writers who, in turn, roll out quality pieces every week. Right now, they\u2019re working with four writers and inviting readers to contribute guest\u00a0posts, as well.<\/p>\n

Writers are able to pick from a list of topics or come up with their own.\u00a0Zelek works to ensure that there is no overlap, then edits and publishes the posts.<\/p>\n

Creating a workflow with your writers that allows a couple weeks of backlog is pivotal for maintaining a high level of quality and avoiding\u00a0publishing under pressure. It\u2019s also important to listen to\u00a0ideas from your writers, as that will give you a broader sense of how people think about\u00a0your topics in the wild, rather than\u00a0just through the lens of your product.<\/p>\n

One way we implemented that here at ThinkApps was with a post called “Startup Advice from House of Cards\u2019<\/i> Frank Underwood<\/a>.”\u00a0We published the post in conjunction with\u00a0the season three premiere to capitalize\u00a0on the buzz already surrounding the hit Netflix show.<\/p>\n

By remaining open to ideas that were slightly outside the scope of our typical posts, we were able to create content that was original\u00a0but still highly relevant to our audience.<\/p>\n

\"Content<\/p>\n

Writing a Dictionary<\/span><\/h2>\n

Until recently, SpanishDict\u2019s one\u00a0million translation entries have been sourced from various dictionaries. This process is complicated and can lead to a lack of\u00a0cohesion and quality control.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why they\u2019re taking on the extensive task of creating their own dictionary \u2014 NeoDict. Not only will they have complete control over quality and use cases, the process is ultimately simpler and easier to scale.<\/p>\n

Your company’s self-authored masterpiece may not be a dictionary but instead a unique API<\/a> or personalized\u00a0activity feed functionality<\/a>. Whatever your most valuable resource, do what you can to build it from scratch and customize it to the exact needs of your business.<\/p>\n

As you might imagine, writing a dictionary is a tedious undertaking, so SpanishDict has been working on it since last year and taking the project quarter by quarter. To manage the immense workload, they’ve hired contract writers and formalized a review process so the\u00a0content team has more capacity to work on the dictionary exclusively.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur dictionary entries include multiple examples, extensive conjugation data, and pronunciation examples to help our users use the Spanish and English languages with confidence,” said product associate Witte.<\/p>\n

“Our hope is to facilitate communication where it matters most \u2014 when you\u2019re traveling in a new place, acing your Spanish class, or using Spanish on the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

What’s Next<\/h2>\n

SpanishDict has taken on several new projects\u00a0in the past year, all in an effort to adapt to their users’ needs and create\u00a0more freedom and flexibility for the company to pursue future endeavors.<\/p>\n

On\u00a0the horizon, they’re going to build on their minimal Apple Watch app<\/a> as they continue to learn how users interact with it.<\/p>\n

With their own collection of unique definitions in NeoDict and the growing influence of their blog, SpanishDict can continue to ensure their users are\u00a0getting a top notch experience that’s completely unique to their service. From here on out, their content creation efforts will build on the strategy of these pivotal projects.<\/p>\n

Featured image\u00a0credit<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a result of investing greater time and effort in their own content, SpanishDict has created a more comprehensive, fulfilling experience for users.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":6101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[80,280,79,470,284,117,471,484,472,324,93],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInvest in Content Creation to Control Your User Story<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As a result of investing greater time and effort in their own content, SpanishDict has created a more comprehensive, fulfilling experience for users.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/development\/content-creation-spanishdict\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Invest in Content Creation to Control Your User Story\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a result of investing greater time and effort in their own content, SpanishDict has created a more comprehensive, fulfilling experience for users.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/development\/content-creation-spanishdict\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Build Blog by ThinkApps | Content on Entrepreneurship, Mobile Apps, Web Platforms and more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-11-16T14:00:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-11-16T21:35:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/08172117\/Screen-Shot-2015-11-08-at-5.20.53-PM.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katelan Cunningham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katelan Cunningham\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/development\/content-creation-spanishdict\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/development\/content-creation-spanishdict\/\",\"name\":\"Invest in Content Creation to Control Your User Story\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/development\/content-creation-spanishdict\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/development\/content-creation-spanishdict\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/16140035\/Content-Creation-SpanishDict.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-11-16T14:00:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-11-16T21:35:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/localhost:8080\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/96a17bf90b1201fdabb0dce65f9e28ed\"},\"description\":\"As a result of investing greater time and effort in their own content, SpanishDict has created a more comprehensive, fulfilling experience for users.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/development\/content-creation-spanishdict\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/development\/content-creation-spanishdict\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/development\/content-creation-spanishdict\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/16140035\/Content-Creation-SpanishDict.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d1vqbpto5tbbz0.cloudfront.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/16140035\/Content-Creation-SpanishDict.jpg\",\"width\":3000,\"height\":2000,\"caption\":\"Content Creation - 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