By Eric Robichaud
So...what is the best way to make a PR Web site or an online newsroom more engaging? There are five easy steps to achieve this goal.
1. Return to the Public Relations 101 fundamentals. Is there a brand strategy already in place that clearly articulates core competencies and differentiators in the
form of a brand promise statement? If you cannot articulate its value proposition and succinctly explain how it differentiates itself from the pack, then how can you expect
prospects to understand and recognize these benefits?
Brand positioning should be clearly incorporated into the home page. This will succinctly demonstrate the value proposition and differentiation that the agency can offer.
Also, make sure the color schemes and the imagery that is used will support the brand promise.
2. Talk up achievements. It is highly advisable to incorporate a portfolio section into the Web site including client testimonials and a general client listing
section. There are two different schools of thought regarding client lists, and neither is right or wrong - it is simply a matter of personal business style. Some folks think
you should never list client names on your Web site if you can help it ("My best prospecting list is my competitor's Web site.") Others believe that if you don't have a solid
relationship with your clients and a random competitor calling on them will sway them, then they're not really much of a client in the first place. I tend to lean more towards
the latter approach: Whether I list them or not, people are going to call on them as part of their new business development efforts. My job is to cement my relationships so that
it doesn't matter if they call or not - my clients will give a recommendation and not get swayed away by rivals.
3. Keep spreading the news. E-mail newsletters are a must. They should be focused on your expertise and corporate philosophy only (nobody cares that you won your
local industrial softball league). Give readers useful tips and information and they'll continue to read your newsletter. The more they read your newsletter, the more you can
continue to build your reputation as an expert in your field, which reinforces your credibility and helps build referrals for future business. Make sure your emails are either
HTML formatted or at least in-line plain text. Do not attach a PDF of your newsletter to the e-mail - you will run into a firewall or get snagged in an anti-spam filter.
Additionally, think about adding RSS feeds. RSS will be ubiquitous by the end of 2006: Microsoft indicated that RSS capabilities will be part of the next version of
Outlook when they release their Office upgrade in 2006, and the Mozilla Foundation just released versions 1.5 of both their Firefox Web browser and their Thunderbird e-mail
application (both of these free applications support RSS feeds).
4. Go easy on the Flash. To me, Flash animation is like Coumadin, a lethal poison often used as an ingredient in rat poison. But used in small doses, it's also a very
helpful drug that treats a variety of issues including dissolving dangerous blood clots and preventing problems during heart surgery.
When used appropriately and moderately, Flash is a great thing. Flash can be used to animate small little menu rollovers, and text and imagery elements that are used support
brand positioning within the page content. I heartily denounce what has become known as the "skip intro" movies. The average Web user has long since gotten over the giddiness of
seeing cool flash animations on a Web site, and sitting through introductory presentations. When we visit a site it's because we're looking for something and we want to get in
and out as fast as possible. Witness the overwhelming success of Google's minimal homepage.
5. Lay off the blogs. In my opinion, blogs are a can of worms. There's a time and a place for everything, but I don't think blogs are universally appropriate. Blogs
make sense for journalists and media outlets, and for personal Web sites. On corporate sites they can be questionable. It's important to keep in mind that blogs are based around
the concept of threaded discussions - random Web visitors can post comments to blogs and the discussions can take off in unpredictable ways. Dell learned this lesson the
hard way when it was slammed with negative press from irate customers posting to its blog. Furthermore, blogs set the expectation of constant and frequent updates and postings -
it can create a burden of content expectancy that could be challenging for the firm to maintain over the long term, after the initial excitement of "Hey, look, we have a blog!"
wears off.
Contact: Eric Robichaud is CEO and founder of Mediaweave in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. He can be reached at 401.767.3106 or [email protected].