|
Go online
with a goal
Commercial Web sites
Sales
 | Image-building |
| Two-way relationship with
customers |
| Software Web sites –
variety of ways to get help on-line
 | Saves company and
customer the cost of support calls |
|
Media Contacts
via the Web
On-line media centers
| Corporate info, background,
FAQs (media kit) |
| News releases — current
and archive of past releases |
| Photo archive for
downloading |
| Email directory |
Dilemma: Local scope of many
companies and NPOs, but web provides global audience
| Some info more appropriate
on Intranets or passworded sites where access can be anticipated and
controlled |
Problems created by Web
sites:
| 24-hour news cycle |
| [This Corporation] Sucks
parody web sites – problem for many corporations |
| Easy theft of intellectual
property |
| Assumption that everything
in the world is on the Web |
Nonprofit sites – purposes
more difficult to pin down
Purposes
| "Sales" – info
on programs and services for those who may need them |
| Image-building for
organization |
| Building sense of community |
| News of organization –
bulletin board |
| Recognition – (questions
of personal identity) |
| Employee recruitment |
| Fund raising |
Wilcox on Web sites
Communicating with journalists
| 92% of newspaper
journalists use WWW for news gathering |
Advantages
| Fast response when
journalist needs info |
| 24-hour availability ... |
| Fits new 24-hour news cycle |
| Can get word out to media
IMMEDIATELY in hot situations |
| Archive of past news
releases, backgrounders, FAQs and tech info |
| Great delivery method for
photos |
| Journalists select what
they want |
| Downloads from site —
especially photos |
LIMITING FACTOR – who do you
reach online?
| 50% Minnesota households |
| Most newspapers and
journalists are online... with some surprising gaps (Channel 10, Fox
News) |
Disadvantages
| Limits PR’s personal
contact with journalists |
| Much harder to know what’s
being written/broadcast |
| Include media GUEST BOOK |
| PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP –
still an essential aspect |
Web communication vs.
traditional media for LAY AUDIENCE
Web can ...
| Provide great depth for
those with "big appetites" for data. |
| Provide an overview for
scanners and searchers |
| Deliver your message as
you frame it |
Web can’t ...
| Deliver info in context
(usually) |
PUSH — (traditional
communication)
| Information is delivered
(pushed) by communicators to a largely passive audience |
| Information arrives without
your having to go get it (more or less). |
| Includes direct mail ...
most mass media to a lesser or greater extent
TV and radio are most passive |
PULL – audiences play the
active role in seeking out messages in which they are interested
| Web is largely a
"pull" medium. |
| They’re SEARCHING |
| They qualify
themselves by looking for info. |
BUT – you need to PUSH to
get that PULL
| Search engines &
registration |
| Directories and spiders |
Web medium requires ceaseless
promotion in all other communications.
| Direct mail |
| Advertising |
| Email lists (get people to
sign up) |
| Newsletters (email and
traditional) |
| Constant cross promotion
(using each channel to promote the others, or cross-selling other
services to current customers of one product or service |
Web sites: what works, what
doesn’t
The web is a text-based medium!
Quality copy is essential.
Tips from
Crawford Killian, author of Writing on the Web
1. Requires orientation,
information and action.
| Provide background |
| Navigation aids |
| Way for reader to respond |
2. Should be understandable at
first glance
| Avoid cluttered layouts! |
| Avoid jargon or define
(strength of Web) |
3. Should be the least # of
words in which you can deal with the subject.
| We read up to 50% slower on
monitor. |
| Writing should be AT LEAST
50% shorter. |
4. Display positive attitude
toward problems.
| Offer positive way to deal
with injustices (action, relationship) |
5. Present facts and ideas in
terms of the reader’s advantage
| BENEFITS, not FEATURES |
| Tone focuses on audience:
"You" and "your" (not "we" and
"our") |
6. Accuracy is paramount!
| Facts & figures |
| Names & dates |
| Grammar, spelling and
consistent style |
| ... May be EVEN MORE
IMPORTANT online than in print because your site visitors can't
judge credibility from reputation, etc.
| They make nstant
judgments |
| They can easily compare
your information with other sources of info |
| Their confidence in
what you say isn't affected by longevity, local importance,
personal relationships or other factors that color most other
communications. |
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