User Interface Design - "Promotion" vs. "Access"

Content-rich user experiences are generally designed to serve two masters: 

> The user - who is coming to the experience with specific needs and expectations, with respect to the content.
 
> The editorial staff - who wants to direct the user to consume specific content assets based on an agenda.  

Although the aforementioned stakeholders have objectives that may seem to be at odds, the user interface must be able to strike the right balance between "access" (meeting the end-user's needs) and "promotion" (meeting the needs of the editorial staff).  The challenge is knowing which agenda to prioritize, and at what point in the user experience to satisfy it. In order to address this challenge, it is helpful to answer the following questions:
 
1. Is it likely that users will find the content they are seeking? No?? - If, after conducting research to assess user needs, it is discovered that the user experience will not contain the content that the end-user is seeking, consider designing a more "guided user experience." For instance, create lots of opportunities for the editorial staff (and the user's own social network) to make recommendations. Another opportunity is to use predictive search to promote assets which are available, as the user is typing a query. That way, the experience can more effectively drive the user to a content result. Nothing is more frustrating than "null results."

2. How relevant to the user, are promoted assets? - Conduct analytic measurement to assess the effectiveness of promotional tactics. No one engaging with that giant "A-spot" on key landing pages? Chances are, the content that is being presented provides little relevance to end-users. If this is the case, you may not know your end-users as well as you thought you did. Conduct research to better understand their needs and expectations from the experience.

3. At what point in the user experience, are promoted assets relevant to the user? - Go through the exercise of developing a mental model for each key page of the user experience. Develop empathy for the end-user, by asking, "what type of content/service would a user be looking for at this exact moment?" Model the asset promotion/content strategy based on this dynamic mental model.

4. How relevant to the brand, are promotional tactics? - Much of what is considered relevant to users, in terms of content and content promotion, is relevant because of the way they expect to engage with your brand. While it is vital to conduct user investigation to determine content relevance, it is also vital to understand how promotional tactics and content aligns with your brand. Does the promotional tactic make sense for you brand? Time for introspection.

5. How often will the editorial staff refresh content recommendations? - Be careful when developing a system that automatically recommends content based on an algorithm. Chances are, if you aren't paying attention, content isn't being refreshed thoughtfully or regularly. Being promotional, these days, requires a full-time, dedicated staff to constantly make the experience fresh and new to end-users.

The ultimate goal for any content-rich user experience is to provide content that users want to consume. Once the right content is acquired, produced, or identified, the user experience should be optimized so that it is easy for users to find the content they are seeking. You may find, once you've acquired valuable content to end-users and improved access to it, that you need less promotional opportunities, as a result.