shifting language practical content strategies for the web

Shifting LanguagePractical Content Strategies for the Web

Brendan DellandreaCASE Online Strategies

November 2 2007

Overview

• Introduction• 5 Core strategies for effective web

pages• Leveraging social media

– Wikipedia– Facebook– Alumni Communities

• Case Study: University of Toronto

(1)Web readers are scan readers

This means:

• Web is not print

• Different expectations apply

Scan-friendly writing

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate.Rough winds do shake the darling buds of

May,And summer's lease hath all too short a date.Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;And every fair from fair some time declines,By chance, or nature's changing course,

untrimm'd;But thy eternal summer shall not fadeNor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;Nor shall Death brag thou wand'rest in his

shade,When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18(1603 – 1609)

Why you’re better than a summer day:

– You’re better looking– You’re nicer to me– You’ll stay with me longer– You’ll always be beautiful– You’ll live forever through my

poetry

Click Here for More

Writing for Scan Readers

• Short sentences• Break up large paragraphs • Use headlines, sub-heads• Use bullet points• Link to more information where

necessary

A real-world example

Athletic CentreContinue to enjoy the outstanding facilities of U of T'sAthletic Centre. With squash courts, a 200m indoortrack, two swimming pools, exercise equipment, fitnessclasses and more, the AC is a great place to exercise,learn and play. Also available is a Strength andConditioning Centre with Nautilus, Hammer Strength,free weights, barbells and dumbbells. The David L.MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic (416-978-4678) hassport physicians, chiropractors, athletic and massagetherapists, physiotherapists and an orthopedic surgeonavailable for consultation and the treatment of sportrelated injuries. For alumni who have graduated withinthe past 24 months and who wish to acquire amembership, the fees are $325 for a full-yearmembership or you may pay in 12 monthly installmentsby credit card at $30 per month. For all other alumni,the membership costs are $480 per year or $43 permonth by credit card. All memberships of less than 12 months are $69 per month. Visitwww.utoronto.ca/physical or call 416-978-3436 (press"0") for more information.

www.alumni.utoronto.ca/privileges/clubs.asp

Stay fit with U of TEnjoy cutting-edge facilities at the U of T AthleticCentre, including:• 200m indoor track• 2 swimming pools• Exercise equipment (Nautilus, Hammer

Strength, free weights, barbells, dumbells)• Fitness classes

Learn more…

Get the best in sports medicine treatment from theDavid L. MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic:• Sport physicians• Chiropractors• Massage Therapists• Physiotherapists• Orthopedic surgeon

Learn more…

Get the membership that’s right for you• $325 per year for recent grads (2 yrs from

graduation)• $480 per year for all other alumni• $69 for a single month membership

Sign up now

Pages need to be readable

• Form after function– High contrast text– Avoid the PDF monster– Avoid splash pages– Avoid massive header graphics– Never embed important text in a graphic

Be Direct

• Use ordinary words– “acquire a membership” -> “sign up”– “centennial” -> “100th anniversary”– “your alma mater” -> “your university”

• Don’t bury the lead

(2)Content should be

targeted, dynamic, relevant.

Engage your readers.

Know your audience

- What information are they looking for?

- Need to know vs. Nice to know- Forget who you work for

Address your audience

• Assume nothing, not even an education

• Write from the viewpoint of your audience– Avoid jargon– Connect with your readers’ expectations

Leverage your data

• Education, degree types

• Grad year• Giving history

– Designations– Levels

• Clubs, athletics

Research, constituency news

Reunions Campaign news

– Achievements, asks

– Benefits

Events, scores

Enable self-service

• “Manage my subscriptions”• “Manage my interests”• “My feeds”• “My account”• “My groups”

Call to action

• Content should always entice or direct the user to do something– Avoid stale “about us” pages– Every page should have at least one call

to action

• Draw the reader in, setup a desirable outcome

(3) Organize your material

Not once.Always.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Make an FAQ, and make it loud• Poll the sources:

– Telemarketing & call centres– Help desk– Front-line staff– E-mail inquiries– Forums, yahoo answers, etc.

Create intelligent links

• Links as neural networks:– Those that fire together, wire together

• Self-organization (Tag clouds)

• In other words:– What is the dominant site traffic/behaviour?

• Review raw page hits: top 10?• Review internal referrals on a per-page basis

– Re-wire accordingly– Increase linkage for popular actions– Demote linkage for unpopular pages– Combine related actions

Make a list… Check it every month.

• Review the top 10 pages each month– What gets the most traffic?

• Raw stats• Internal referrals• Viral marketing

– How easy is it to navigate to these pages from your index?

• What pages need constant updating?

(4) Hire a specialist

This is a big job…

You’ll need:

• Vision• Dedication• Insight• Understanding• Inter-disciplinary expertise• Advocacy

Sample:Manager, Interactive Communications

…responsible for overseeing the development and strategic direction of the University’s central alumni & friends website content, e-mail marketing content, and online engagement initiatives.

The incumbent is required to be very hands-on, providing leadership in areas of effective web-based

content.

…develop compelling web-based content for the central alumni and friends website, and to editexisting & proposed content for clarity, coherence, relevance, and usability …. maximize theeffectiveness of the Division’s interactive communications by ensuring that they address and

satisfyuser expectations, thus positioning the Division to better achieve its alumni communication andoutreach objectives.

… ensure that Divisional website content is organized according to best practises and researchfindings.

…act as a strategic resource… will be responsible for researching and planning new website strategies which attract and engage a greater portion

of the University’s alumni, donors and friends.

This is a communications, editing and copy-writing position, rather than a webmaster or systemAdministrator position. Computer programming experience is not required.

(5)Integrate with existing content

resources

The content already exists:

• Magazines• Newsletters• Research news• Upcoming events• Sports results

• Use RSS to bring it in!

Use the web to shape print publications

• Viral marketing– “Send this page to a friend”

• Page views• Visit duration• Localization of viewership

– IP address geography

Resources

• Traffic monitoring:– Clicky: www.getclicky.com– Google analytics:

www.google.com/analytics• Web Editing:

– www.webstyleguide.com• Examples & strategic direction

– www.supportingadvancement.com– www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com– CASE

Overview





Wikipedia

• The potential:– Globally-oriented resource– Readership among desired demographic– High search engine ranking

Wikipedia

• The need:– Ensure factual accuracy– Remove inappropriate content– Reinforce your brand

Wikipedia

• The approach:– Monitor– Contribute

Monitoring Wikipedia

• Appoint staff to “watchlist” articles– A checkup takes approx 5 seconds

• Could be done daily

• Review the article history

Contributing to Wikipedia

• Things to add:– Campaign history– Campaign announcements– Endowment statistics– Scholarship statistics– Enrolment statistics– Rankings – Awards– Institutional history– Campus photos– Research news

Learn the Rules of Wikipedia

• Neutral Point of View– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:NPOV

• Notability Criteria– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:NOTE

• Reliable Sources– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:RS

• Verifiability– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:V

WP:NPOV

• Wikipedia articles aspire to a NPOV– Adjectives & adverbs are automatically

suspect:stunning unfortunate spectacular unlucky

amazing undeniable glorious terrible passionately fantastic lousy unfortunate unlucky

• Issues must be represented from all sides– If you can’t eliminate bias, balance it!

WP:NOTE

• Wikipedia articles should by worthy of notice:– “this guideline properly considers the

long-term written coverage of persons and events”

• Passing controversies usually are NN by this standard

WP:RS

• Sources should be trustworthy and authoritative

• Campus newspapers are iffy• Self-published sources are out

– E.g. Myspace, student blogs, forums, bulletin boards, etc.

• “Propagandized” official publications may be suspect too

WP:V

• Information must be verifiable– “The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia

is verifiability, not truth.”

• Rumours, speculation, gossip should be removed

• Leverage press releases to provide content

A Practical Guide to Wikipedia

• Take responsibility• Create a user account, identify

yourself– If you don’t, someone else will

• http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/

• Get critical: re-write & remove• Revert vandalism & inappropriate

additions• Use the Talk Page to build consensus

on difficult issues!

Overview





Facebook

• Is it the be-all and end-all?– No.

• Can you afford to ignore it?– No.

Position your institution

• Create “groups” for your institution, alumni associations, etc.

• Inforce your brand• Same content principles apply• Link to more information

Promote your group

• Magazines, newsletters, e-mail• Drive everyone to one place

Remedial work:

• Eager alumni may have already created a group for your institution– Uncontrolled message– Wrongful appearance of authenticity– Brand mismanagement

• This situation requires tact:– These alumni could be a vital resource!

Facebook is about fun…

• Tone should be casual• Plug your events, giveaways, etc.• Encourage networking

...it’s also about Information

• Find lost alumni• Send targeted blasts to alumni

groups• Plug other social initiatives

– networking, media, marketing, activism

Practise makes perfect

• Play with the system for a while before you go official

• Make a decision about your group:– Should it be inside a network? Global?

• Test the group messaging tool, then use it sparingly

Overview





Why an Alumni Community?

• Closed and Branded: – User authentication against true identity– Branded for a specific organization– Based on trusted University brand

• Control over messaging• Data Collection• Offer a higher level of service

– Professional networking– Alumni programming, etc

Networking Opportunities

• See and be seen– Look up old friends, classmates– Be looked up– Reconnect

• Professional networking– Mentorship – Career postings– Find local alumni

Overview





The Components

• Integrated solution by iModules:– Content management– Mass e-mailing– Social networking– Event registration & management– Online donations

The Vision:

• One site. Many users.• Prepopulation of data & “roles”• Integration across internet & intranet• Seamless transition across the

divisions– Consistent look & feel, central branding

• One portal for all alumni interactions– Giving, events, news, networking, careers

Personalized Content

• Address user by name• Target specific content, based on:

– Grad year– Academic & institutional relationships– Co-curricular relationships– Giving history– Self-identified interests

Dynamic Content

• Many techniques available to keep content dynamic:– Randomization– Instantaneous response to user activity

• E.g. giving, event registrations, news prefs

Relevant Content

• Timely• Targeted• Informed by statistics:

– Web stats

Some project focal points

• Off-campus hosting• Privacy• First-time login • Marketing• Scalability• Staffing• Training• Staged Launch

Wrap-up & questions:

• Presentation & MP3 will be available:– http://advancement.utoronto.ca/case

• Contact:– [email protected]– 416-978-7154

shifting language practical content strategies for the web

Documents

hammer strength

sports medicine treatment

free weights

outstanding facilities

eternal summer

summer day

summers day

u of t athleticcentre