While the intranet
is a fantastic tool, you really have to fight to get
your message through the information overkill that seems
to pervade organisations nowadays. Steve Nichols takes
a closer look at how you can make it easier for employees
to get the message.
You know the problem. You need to get an important
message across to employees and you have the corporate
intranet at your disposal. But the trouble is, employees
have so many demands on their time and attention. They
have a group home page, their regional home page, a
departmental home page, a divisional microsite, newsfeeds
galore - and their real job to get on with too.
So how can you help them?
1. Get to the point
Read any newspaper and you will find that a good news
story gets to the point quickly and succinctly. If you
haven't told the story in the first sentence of the
first paragraph and preferably in about 20-25 words,
you have failed.
If in doubt think of what you would say if someone
asked you what the main point of your story was. You
can virtually guarantee that the first sentence you
utter would make a better opening paragraph than the
usual waffle that companies seem to want to publish.
2. Keep it simple
Long-winded prose has no place on an intranet.
Get to the point, tell people what they need to know
and stop there. Back this up with a hyperlink to a longer
more detailed story if need be.
3. Use your headline
Many people give little thought to the use of headlines
and summaries in online stories. In fact, these are
more likely to be read than any story that has to clicked
on to be read. For example, the headline "Important
News" and the summary "Click here for important
news" are utterly meaningless. The user has learned
nothing and you have not given them enough information
to decide whether to click further. Make sure your headline
tells your reader something.
4. Use your headline and summary together
People often write these as an afterthought. But work
the two together and you can impart a lot more information.
The trick is to ensure that you don't just repeat the
headline information in the summary, but use the extra
space to add something. For example, "Manchester
Branch to close" as a headline is good, but if
the summary then says "Universal Widget's Manchester
Branch is to close" you have just wasted space.
Better to say "Cost-cutting exercise will see Leeds
being the main branch in the North" has added more
detail.
5. Get your timing right
Find out the best time to publish information onto the
intranet. If your news is important there is no point
burying it in the middle of three lesser stories. Why
not leave it an hour and then publish your main story.
That way it will stand out. Core times for maximum readership
are likely to be in 09:30-11.00 period, but not on Mondays
or Fridays or just before/after a public holiday.
6. Use Questions and Answers
Sometimes a long, rambling story that contains the information
people need is just too much to wade through. If you
can, break down the story into meaningful questions
and answers – the ubiquitous Q&As. The important
thing is to ensure that the questions are ones that
people would really ask and that the answers are totally
meaningful.
7. Use Summaries
At the head of the article, use five or so bulleted
points that sums up the content below. That way, the
reader can get the gist of the feature without having
to read the whole thing. If they then wish to dig deeper
they can.
8. Prioritise your articles
It is human nature to read the top story first. So make
sure that if you need to publish three or so stories
that the most important one is placed at the top of
the pile. Make sure it stays there for a good five hours
or so for maximum effect. Depending on how your intranet
is laid out, make sure it doesn’t disappear further
down the list and so needs the user to scroll –
the modern day equivalent of being “below the
fold”.
9. Use reminders or pointers
Send an e-mail out once a week that summarises the main
news that has appeared. You just need to show the headline
and the URL. Better still have a clickable web link.
You can order the stories to suit your particular needs
and the weight you place behind each story.
10. Highlight important stories with blobs
or colour
Nothing makes important stories stand out more than
having a red blob or some other image attached to them.
You can make up an “Urgent” image and include
that if you like. Don’t overdo it though or people
will switch off.
© Steve Nichols 2005. Steve Nichols specialises
in online communications and has acted as consultant
and trainer for many blue-chip companies including Aviva,
AWG, Shell, Standard Life, HBOS, BNFL, AstraZeneca,
Diageo, Accenture and Australia New Zealand Bank. |
