|
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
NETTING SOME ATTENTION
Netting some attentionYou knew it would happen—your company has finally gotten up to speed and the opportunity to promote your part of the organization on the World Wide Web has arrived. What are some of your options for establishing your presence on the Net? And what are some of the things you need to keep in mind as you venture into cyberspace?
First, know that you are not alone. According to industry analysts, buying and selling on the Internet will top $414 billion in three short years and more than $1 trillion by the year 2004. Internal use of web technology to create intranets is growing rapidly as well.
Advanced software makes it easy even for us nonprogramming types who have only pretended to understand frames, HTML, and Java, as well as the digitizing of all kinds of material, including text, graphics, audio, and video. Anybody and everybody is "out there” doing it themselves.
However, if you want to have an effective web presence—particularly externally—doing it yourself is not the best option. Spend the money needed to hire a user interface professional to handle the design for you. They are visually-oriented, and they know what does and does not work from a design standpoint. This is their profession, and because they have learned what helps build traffic and sales and what can help attract visitors to your site, satisfy them; get them to come back.
What you need to do yourself, however, is provide the written material for your site. If you can afford a copywriter or use someone in your public relations department, by all means do so. He or she will incorporate some of the following "web writing rules” into that material, but so can you if you choose.
1. Be concise, making your copy about half the length you would if it were on a typewritten page. This is because only 16% of Web users read every word of what is on the screen, and they read it much more slowly than they would hard copy. Most readers scan and move on very quickly, because reading off a standard, low-resolution computer screen is hard on the eyes.
2. Use text "markers” like bullets and bold-faced type to help the reader pick out what you think is important and to avoid scrolling. A gray block of text will produce a much smaller readership than one that is broken down into short, easy-to-read points. This will be easier if you stick to the facts—keeping them simple and free of embellishment—and take a "one-screen-to-a-concept” approach.
3. With your designer, consider the joint use of words and pictures or other graphic elements. Because graphics slow things down, take up a lot of space, and are not always self-explanatory, they should have a well-defined purpose on the site, supported by words. Don’t use them for their own sakes.
4. Use strategic links to other pages within your site and outbound to other sites. Links make it easy for the reader to get to exactly the information he or she wants. Put yourself in the readers’ shoes and think, what question might I ask at this point? Or, what additional information would I consider ‘value-added’ here? Then, create a link to the answer. Don’t worry about sending visitors off your site. If they know your site keeps up with what is interesting and relevant, they will return again and again. Links are what make the web the remarkable medium it is.
5. Never, never, never make the mistake of thinking you can take your current sales literature and "just scan it in.” Make your site a part of your communication strategy, not your total strategy or a replacement for other important parts of it. Cross reference it in all of your materials and use it to provide additional, more current, easily-found information.
6. Don’t get cute, or too personal. Think of your web site as a representative of your company, not you. It needs to be professional and contain information of interest to your customers or potential customers. They probably don’t care about your kids, your dog…or, frankly, what you and your staff look like.
7. Don’t write or design features that require frequent updates unless you can make them a priority. If you do not have time to keep a current calendar of your trade show appearances, don’t create a calendar. Find another, longer-lived way to indicate that you are active in trade shows if that is an important sales point.
8. Finally, take advantage of feedback and tracking software to help you understand how your site is being used. It can help you decide where to place emphasis, what to eliminate, or what to change.
A web site that is current, easy-to-read, to the point, and "savvy” in terms of helping visitors make connections is one that can be an invaluable marketing and information tool. Take the extra time it requires to make sure it works well for you.
|
