The Video Dilemma

We recently launched a video campaign on our website. Our developer found a great player and set up the media to stream from our site. While this was a great solution and works well, in the background both of us were screaming, "just put it on You Tube!"

If you really want a video to be seen, you pretty much have to put it in the social space. Don't expect people to come to your website for random content. They might be interested, but how will they know you provide that information (especially in our case where we hadn't before).

Looks like I'm not the only one with video-hosting woes. Ragan's forum has some good tips from PR pros on You Tube v. Hosting. You can also check out this blog that describes one company's switch to all You Tube hosting.

Mirroring Sept. 21 Message

Ad Age ran an article about the reasons corporations WON'T use social media. It's a nice complement to my Sept. 21 blog on company newsrooms.

"Listen up: Every person with a computer and even a tiny skill level has the tools to make their opinion about your brand heard by other people. They're already talking about you.

Message control is an illusion. Give it up."

Like I said, you have to take control of your social media presence, or someone will do it for you.

Navigation Challenges

I'm on the verge of a major web redesign for my company, and my biggest problem is not content or figuring out what all our stakeholders want. What's really weighing on my mind is NAVIGATION.

Navigation is tricky and is the make or break of any site. So much is riding on a short list of words that in all actuality aren't very descriptive.

This article from Smashing Magazine offers some basic guidance and examples of "good" navigation, but there is a lot missing. The challenges of your navigation will go way beyond layout (although good design is key as well).

A few things you have to consider:
- What are the main categories of my links?
- Are there enough categories in which to arrange all my pages?
- Are the categories and link names universal or only internally relevant?
- Is it intuitive to click on A to get to B? (for secondary navigation)
- Does my primary navigation fulfill my audience's basic needs?
- Will I need to build upon (expand) my navigation in the future? (more challenging to do so with a horizontal format, generally)
-What's my competition doing, and does it work?
- What politics or legal issues may result from the wording used in navigation? (This always seems to be a roadblock for me)

There are no hard, fast rules for navigation. As with anything that falls in the marketing arena, you have to "know thy audience." What are they looking for and how do they use the web. If you know that and tailor your navigation to the audience's needs, you'll get the most benefit from your navigation structure.

Company Newsroom Redefined

One thing my company has been in dire need of is an online newsroom. Our current system of static pages of news content is so antiquated it's needed an overhaul for years. But, as with many companies, more important projects and lack of funds to upgrade have always stood in the way.

Perhaps there is a simple solution. Mashable offers tips for creating a Facebook newsroom. http://mashable.com/2009/09/18/facebook-newsroom/

A Facebook fan page is quick to set up and offers you a wealth of options to integrate blogs, RSS and more. You can even tie to a Twitter feed to get daily, time-sensitive updates in quickly.

Slick PR

A friend of mine was talking to me about her previous boss and his PR preferences--make it "slick." As with many Boomers and to some extent, Gen Xers, I have a feeling he still thinks of PR as a room full of smooth talking spin doctors who can make any message sing.

If you are reading this, I don't have to tell you that disseminating a message has changed. The days of slick PR and lengthy press releases to get to a mass audience are over.

Today, people want to be on the "inside." They don't want to just think they are getting the whole truth, they want to KNOW they are getting the truth. They want companies to be open and honest with all communications. If you don't give them the truth...they will find it. Or, they will follow some opinion leader on twitter who will.

Social media will give PR professionals the exposure they have long salivated for...but it will only work if companies learn that being open with your public is the only way.

Elementary

There are a number of guidelines for how to make your web content better. But let's start at the beginning and build from here

1. Web content is NOT print content.
   Copy and paste jobs will leave you branded "brochureware." It's an ugly word! Readers may need the same information but they don't want it in the same format.
   
2. Know thy audience.
   As true for web as it is for print.
   
3. Think about the TASK.
   What is your user trying to do? What are they looking for? Can they easily find it or does your content hinder them?
4. Keep it simple, stupid.
   People want to know, but they don't want to have to wikipedia everything you write. If you can combine brevity and clarity you'll have the best content!
   
5. Bullets, bullets, bullets
   Don't overdo it, but bulleted copy can make for an easy reading experience and help users quickly determine if they've found the right content.
6. Use simple, yet descriptive words for navigation headers.
   Easier said than done. Pretend you don't know what the site is about and ask yourself: Does this word mean anything out of context?--more tips on this later.
   

Content for the Supreme User

Since I've started working in web content management and website architecture I've learned one very important rule: No matter the message, it has to work for YOUR audience. So, does your site?

I've found many companies don't quite get it...they are worried about pleasing internal "clients," CEOs and the like. Web professionals have to take a stand! We need our sites to work for the user and around the user first and foremost. It's our job to make sure our clients, bosses and all those who don't quite understand the world wide web are educated.

In this blog, I hope to provide you with resources in the form of information, research, news and colleague experiences that will help you help your company.

If the customer is king, then the user is the supreme emperor. The right information in his hands could lead to more sales, better understanding of your company and a bigger ROI than the best advertising campaign.